On Monday, social media erupted after Chicago State University disclosed President Bola Tinubu‘s academic records due to a court order. Atiku Abubakar, Tinubu’s rival in the 2023 presidential race, had requested these records to support his appeal at the Supreme Court against Tinubu’s victory.
The release, in line with the court order, revealed seven crucial facts, some confirming Tinubu’s claims while others raised more questions than answers.
Firstly, Chicago State University confirmed that Bola A. Tinubu attended the university from August 1977 to June 1979 and was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Honors on June 22, 1979. However, this conflicts with another certificate purportedly submitted by Tinubu, indicating he studied accounting with 1st class honors.
Secondly, the university’s transcript showed that the pre-qualification papers belonged to a woman, raising questions about the authenticity of the documents.
Thirdly, discrepancies emerged between the CSU certificate submitted to INEC in 2022 and the one provided in 1999. Fonts, logos, and characters differed, indicating inconsistencies.
Fourthly, it was revealed that Bola A. Tinubu, who applied to Southwest College for an associate degree in 1975, claimed to have attended Government College, Lagos. However, Government College, Lagos, was established in 1974, casting doubt on the authenticity of his claims.
Fifth, Tinubu’s CSU admission letter was addressed to ‘Mr. Tinubu,’ not ‘Ms.’ or ‘Miss Tinubu,’ raising confusion considering some documents were marked ‘f’ for female.
Sixth, the recorded birthdate in Tinubu’s CSU transcript contradicted his public claim. He stated he was born on March 29, 1952, but the transcript showed March 29, 1954. Blank spaces in his Southwest College and secondary education transcripts added further uncertainty.
Lastly, several inconsistencies were noted in the spelling of Bola A. Tinubu’s last name in the documents released by CSU.
The Atiku camp awaits explanations for these inconsistencies, raising questions about the identity of a president whose background has been the subject of legal battles and controversies since 1999.
