4 things Tinubu has in common with Buhari

“I have informed the President of my ambition but I have not informed Nigerians yet, I am still consulting,” the former Governor said as he addressed journalists after meeting the latter at the State House, Abuja.

Following Tinubu’s expression of interest to contest the 2023 presidential race, there have been reactions from the country’s political stakeholders, his critics, and supporters. While some of them threw their weights behind the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, others rebuffed him, saying affliction would not rise the second time in a row.

It is noteworthy to say that during his engagement with journalists after disclosing his interest to contest, Tinubu expressed his great admiration for Buhari, as he described him as a democrat. This writer, therefore, presents below four things they both have in common.

Age uncertainty -In 2017, Buhari was quoted to have said he thought he was 74-year-old when he was 75. “It has been a tumultuous year. I am thinking I am 75. I thought I was 74 but I was told I was 75,” he stated as he received a delegation led by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Muhammed Bello, who paid him a Christmas homage at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The statement, according to Buhari’s critics, insinuated that the President didn’t know his age. Like him, Tinubu who’s also keen on ruling the country, has had his life controversial due to the uncertainty that surrounds his age.

Last year’s March, Tinubu’s actual age controversy heightened on social media, as data from Wikipedia put his age at 79, and not the 69 that he claimed at the time. Many internet users who agreed with Wikipedia's report maintained that Tinubu’s acclaimed 69th is ‘football age’. According to them, it is part of the strategy to leverage his presidential ambition.

Academics -The academic milestones of Tinubu again raised eyebrows after he made his intention to become President public, with many people accusing him of fraudulently laying claim to some qualifications. His trouble started in 1999 when he wrote on his Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) forms that he is a graduate of the University of Chicago, a prestigious private university in the United States, when he actually graduated from Chicago State University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). 

Compounding his issue further, Tinubu’s former press secretary, Segun Ayobolu, in an article, stated that the former Lagos Governor did not attend secondary school after his primary school education “because of his poverty.”

However, even though the Chicago State University had confirmed that Tinubu is its alumnus after completing a two-year degree course on its campus, and Richard J. Daley College, a community college in Chicago, confirmed that the Jagaban as fondly called, received its associate degree (equivalent to an ordinary national diploma in Nigeria), many Nigerians still believe his academic milestones are fraudulent. 

Tinubu’s case was also similar to that of Buhari, until the latter presented his West African School Examination (WAEC) certificate from Cambridge University to the presidential election tribunal.

Common Lifelong ambition -Tinubu and Buhari have never hid in their feelings, especially when it relates to getting elected as Nigeria’s President. The latter finally clinched Nigeria’s top post in 2015 after losing three presidential races. For the former, even though he first made his intention to become President known some weeks ago, he’s someone who’s widely believed is interested in ruling the most populous African nation. 

“That’s our business. He is a democrat. He didn’t ask me to stop. He didn’t ask me not to attempt and pursue my ambition, it is a lifelong ambition,” Tinubu stated when asked about Buhari’s response as it relates to his interest to succeed him.

Lack of trust for Nigeria’s health system -Like other elites in the country, Tinubu never trusted Nigeria’s health system. In spite of the fact that he’s always quick to brag that he made Lagos a mega city with infrastructures, the former Governor, like Buhari, prefers to seek medical help overseas than to get treated in Nigeria. 

As of last year’s August, Buhari spent no less than 200 days in the United Kingdom (UK) for medical treatment since he became President. Like Buhari, even though he has always claimed to be fit enough to govern Nigeria, Tinubu had so far spent no less than 90 in the northwestern European country within a period of a year.