Bola Tinubu

Tinubu was born in Lagos to a Muslim family from the Yoruba ethnic group, the son of Abibatu Mogaji, the Ìyál'ọ́jà of Lagos. He is generally accepted in reliable sources to have been born in 1952; this year of birth is sometimes disputed by political opponents, who argue that he is much older. Some reliable sources note that his age has not been verified.

Education

Tinubu attended St. John's Primary School, Aroloya, Lagos before proceeding to Children Home School in Ibadan. Tinubu arrived in the United States in 1975, where he commenced undergraduate studies first at Richard J. Daley College in Chicago and then at Chicago State University where he majored in accounting and management. He worked odd jobs as a dishwasher, night security guard and cab driver to support himself through college. He made the honor dean's list as an undergraduate and taught remedial class tutorials, some of his classmates credited his lectures for their improved grades. Tinubu was the university accounting society president in his senior year. His cumulative GPA was 3.54. Tinubu graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1979.

Early career

After graduating, Tinubu worked as an accountant for the American companies Arthur Andersen, Deloitte and GTE Services Corporation. At Deloitte, he gained experience in auditing and management consultancy services for Fortune 500 corporations. He was a consultant for Saudi Aramco's joint venture partner National Oil, helping to establish their accounting and auditing system and leading to his first financial breakthrough. Tinubu moved to London where he was recruited as an auditor for Mobil Oil UK before later joining Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (now Seplat Energy) as a senior company executive and treasurer in the 1980s.

Tinubu actively contributed and raised funds for community development programs in Lagos leading Primrose Group, a political action organization advocating for fundamental progressive changes in the state's politics during the Babangida administration. He later opted fully to enter politics in exchange for his lucrative job at Mobil.

Tinubu married Oluremi Tinubu, who is a former senator representing the Lagos Central senatorial district, in 1987. They have three children, Zainab Abisola Tinubu, Habibat Tinubu and Olayinka Tinubu. He fathered three children from previous relationships, Kazeem Olajide Tinubu (12 October 1974 – 31 October 2017), Folashade Tinubu (born 17 June 1976) and Oluwaseyi Tinubu (born 13 October 1985).

Tinubu's mother, Abibatu Mogaji, died on 15 June 2013 at the age of 96. On 31 October 2017, his son, Jide Tinubu, died in London.

Tinubu is a Muslim.

Tinubu's political career began in 1991, when he joined the Social Democratic Party and was actively involved in campaigning for the candidacy of Moshood Kashimawo Abiola.

Third Republic

In 1992, he was elected to the Senate, representing Lagos West Senatorial District. At the National Assembly, he chaired the Senate Committee on Banking, Finance, Appropriation, and Currency.

After the results of the 12 June 1993 presidential elections were annulled, Tinubu became a founding member of the pro-democracy National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), a group which mobilized support for the restoration of democracy and recognition of Abiola as the winner of the 12 June election.

Allegations of corruption

In 1993, his assets were frozen by the United States government as a result of a court case asserting that the American government had "probable cause" to believe Tinubu's American bank accounts held the proceeds of heroin dealing. He settled with the U.S. government and forfeited about $460,000 later that year. Court documents and later reporting on the case suggested he worked in league with two Chicago heroin dealers.

In April 2007, after the general elections, but before the governor-elect Babatunde Fashola had taken office, the Federal Government brought Tinubu before the Code of Conduct Bureau for trial over the alleged illegal operation of 16 separate foreign accounts.

In January 2009, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission cleared Tinubu and governors James Ibori of Delta State and Obong Victor Attah of Akwa Ibom State of charges of conspiracy, money laundering, abuse of office and official corruption in relation to a sale of Vmobile network shares in 2004. In September 2009, there were reports that the British Metropolitan Police were investigating a transaction in which the Lagos State government made an investment in Econet (now Airtel). Tinubu said the transaction was straightforward and profitable to the state, with no intermediaries involved. The Federal Government rejected a request by Britain to release evidence needed for further investigation and prosecution of the three Nigerian ex-governors in a London court.

During the 2019 election, a bullion van was seen entering Tinubu's residence on Bourdillion Road in Ikoyi, which caused him to later exclaim: "I keep money anywhere I want."