Over the years, President Bola Tinubu, a former senator and two-term governor of Lagos, has garnered supporters and critics in his political career spanning over three decades. Though often defined by several scandals and his sordid past, Mr Tinubu, 74, has evolved from a senator in 1993 to a two-term governor and now president, earning praise from supporters.

Political grit, formidable foe

Over three decades, Tinubu stands out as the most visible and politically relevant figure in his generation of Nigerian politicians. Mr Tinubu’s biggest strength, admired by his supporters and some critics, has been his dexterity in politics and his ability to galvanise and form alliances across divides for long-term gains.

At Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, Mr Tinubu was among the voices of opposition in the country. Though he now wants to see the opposition in confusion and disarray, Mr Tinubu fought to keep opposition politics alive as Lagos governor, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo led the Peoples Democratic Party to control almost all 36 states.

In his political career spanning over 30 years, Mr Tinubu has cultivated and maintained a friendly posture with the media. Though often criticised, Mr Tinubu has dissociated himself from journalists’ arrest and detention by security forces.

Courage to push through policies despite criticism and opposition. Mr Tinubu has shown courage in pushing through tax reforms in Lagos in the 1990s. Similarly, he showed courage with subsidy removal and floating of the naira, dual policies lauded as healthy for the country’s long-term survival by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Mr Tinubu appears to have cultivated a coterie of loyalists and supporters across party lines, mentoring and raising several other politicians from within and outside his camp. Some of his protégés have become governors and ministers.

Scandals and Tinubunomics

The economic hardship Nigerians are experiencing is a top factor that could work against the incumbent in the 2027 presidential election. Many Nigerians appear tired of being fed with hope for the future. The average citizen worries about the present and how to survive each day despite his administration promisingthat Nigerians will begin to feel greater benefits from ongoing economic reforms as it consolidates recent gains in inflation, foreign reserves, economic growth and investment.

As a former Lagos governor and president, Mr Tinubu’s political career has been riddled with controversies ranging from his age, the primary and secondary schools he attended, and Chicago State University certificate forgery to involvement in a cocaine trafficking scandal.

A major scandal hanging on Mr Tinubu’s neck, despite massive media pushback, remains his involvement in drug trafficking that saw him forfeit $460,000 linked to a heroin trafficking case in the 90s. This scandal, among others, has damaged Mr Tinubu’s public image both locally and internationally.

Another scandal that has rocked Mr Tinubu’s political career is his purported Chicago State University certificate.

Since Mr Tinubu served as Lagos governor in Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, he has remained a godfather, christened ‘Lagos Landlord’, for his vice-grip on the state’s political and economic resources.

Peoples Gazette exposed how Mr Tinubu’s Alpha-Beta transferred billions to a shell companyrun by TVC, BRT executives.

Over three years into office, Mr Tinubu has avoided media engagements that could subject his mental acuity to scrutiny or force him to answer questions about his policies and the myriad challenges rocking the country under his watch—challenges that range from insecurity and rising poverty to unprecedented economic hardships.