Tinubu Is Nigeria’s Only President Without Known Classmates – Odinkalu, ex-NHRC Chairman – Report
By KEMI KASUMU
“Which country does he come from, we actually don’t know because at the time he ran for President, Tinubu had a passport from Guinea and that actually prevents him from the presidency if you apply the law properly,” he said.
Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has reportedly described President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the only Nigerian president whose schoolmates are not publicly known.
Odinkalu made the claim while questioning what he described as the lack of verifiable information about Tinubu’s educational background and personal history.
According to him, Tinubu remains a “mystery” to Nigerians because details about the schools he attended and his early educational history have been difficult to independently establish.
He also alleged that Tinubu did not provide details of his primary and secondary education on documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during his presidential bid.
Odinkalu further questioned Tinubu’s nationality, citing reports concerning a Guinean passport allegedly held by the President at the time he contested the presidency.
“Which country does he come from, we actually don’t know because at the time he ran for President, Tinubu had a passport from Guinea and that actually prevents him from the presidency if you apply the law properly,” he said.
The former NHRC chairman argued that, unlike previous Nigerian presidents, there is little publicly verifiable information linking Tinubu to former classmates who could speak about his early years.
“This man is a total mischief. He is the only Nigerian President who does not have people he went to school with, the only Nigerian leader in our entire history,” Odinkalu said.
He cited Nigeria’s past leaders, including Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Yakubu Gowon, Murtala Mohammed, Olusegun Obasanjo, Shehu Shagari and Muhammadu Buhari, as examples of presidents whose educational and professional histories, including schools attended, are documented.
According to him, Buhari’s former schoolmates from Daura even visited him after he became president, saying such public connections were absent in Tinubu’s case.
“Tinubu is the only President in our history who does not have school mates and none of whose school mates have ever dreamt of taking pride in his ascension to the presidency,” he added.
Odinkalu said the issue went beyond allegations surrounding Tinubu’s past, describing it as part of what he called a broader mystery surrounding the President’s background.
“Does it not bother you? This is more than a drug story because it’s part of a larger mystery of a man whom we have in the presidency. Is he from Nigeria?” he asked.
