I’m wondering how Tinubu got varsity degree without primary, secondary education –Atiku

By Chinelo Obogo

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has said he always wonders how President Bola Tinubu got a university degree without primary and secondary school education.

Taking to his X (formerly Twitter) handle, yesterday, the former vice president raised concerns about what he said were the inconsistencies in Tinubu’s educational history.

He said: “I woke up this morning wondering how we got to this cul de sac. In 1999, Tinubu claimed he attended St. John’s Primary School, Aroloya, Lagos, before proceeding to Children Home School in Ibadan. According to him, his next port of call in his educational journey was Government College Ibadan and, Richard Daley College and Chicago State University in the United States.

“Curiously, in 2023, Tinubu settled with attending only Chicago State University. I am scratching my head. How is that possible? Methinks that all well-meaning Nigerians should be as confused as I am with Tinubu’s declaration that he had no primary and secondary education, yet he has a university degree. You may wish to ask Tinubu how he attained this feat so that we can learn from his ingenuity.”

Reacting to Atiku’s post, some Nigerians on social media hailed the former VP, while some flayed his actions. Chief Ajiji, said: “This is the first time, in +30 years, after six attempts, that Atiku has refused to back down and return to Dubai despite losing the presidential election. AA is sure about something except 25% of FCT”, while Rilwan said, “The late Gani Fawehimmi was the first man to raise the issue of Tinubu’s academic qualifications. RIP to the late human right lawyer. He will be happy now that Atiku is making an effort to uncover the long lasting mystery.”

Abdul-Aziz Na’ibi Abubakar wrote: “Atiku only urged Nigerians to #AskTinubu about his academic qualifications. If you want to defend Tinubu, show us his school certificates from primary up to university and who’re his classmates. Is that too much to ask.”

Tajudeen said: “Dear Atiku, Tinubu is a graduate of Chicago State University and he meets our constitutional requirements for Nigeria President.

“Unfortunately for you, the school has acknowledged him as their student, so why are you still crying?” while, Muhammad Ayuba said: “We spent 8 years asking Buhari same question. Can’t we have another important question to ask? This is too low for Atiku.”

Atiku and the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February 25 presidential election, Peter Obi, are challenging the election and eligibility of Tinubu, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), before the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) in Abuja.

Earlier this month, Atiku sought approval at a United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, demanding that Chicago State University (CSU) release all of Tinubu’s academic records over irregularities in the certificate he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This was prompted by his belief that these documents would help clarify significant inconsistencies in Tinubu’s background.

In response to Atiku’s application, CSU agreed to release Tinubu’s credentials once the court issues the order. In a statement dated August 23, by the university and signed by the university’s counsel, the university noted that once they get an order from the court, the academic records of Bola Tinubu would be released.

The court then gave Tinubu until August 30 to answer why his academic credentials should not be released to Atiku and on August 23, President Tinubu in his response to Atiku’s suit asked CSU not to release his academic credentials to the PDP candidate because, according to him, the case at the PEPT had closed and his credentials are not relevant to the suit.

Responding to Tinubu’s statement in the US court, Atiku’s counsel, Angela Liu, who already submitted a 24-paragraph declaration in support of the application, pursuant to 28 U.S.C 1782, for an order granting leave to serve the subpoenas to CSU said: “How can you have two certificates issued by the same university, to the same person, for the same course of study, but issued on different dates and signed by two different people?”