About a week ago, I decided to tweet about Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) using the hashtag #Jagaban. What prompted the tweet series was the personality attack being aired against his person by AIT, which many of us think is totally out of place, callous and uncalled for by whoever the sponsor is.

To set the records straight, I am a Lagosian and a practicing Chartered Accountant with a professional services firm because I know some people may think I am a political jobber. I am not a regular writer due to the busy nature of my work, however, I have had several requests to put my tweets together in an article so that several other people can know who BAT is and not what PDP/AIT want you to see.

To me Tinubu is one of the greatest politicians of our time and someone we can partly attribute the robust opposition we have in Nigeria today to. Before I go ahead, I like to say a few words about the background of BAT. BAT was born on 29 March 1952.He went to the United States in 1975, where he studied first at Richard J. Daley College in Chicago, Illinois and then at Chicago State University. He graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. Tinubu worked in the United States with Arthur Andersen (formerly one of the big five accounting firms in the world), Deloitte, and GTE Services Corporation before returning to Nigeria in 1983 to join Mobil Oil Nigeria where he rose to become an executive of the company.

Going by the above background, it is clear that Tinubu was probably born with a silver spoon, had one of the best education in the United States, trained with two of the big five accounting firms in the world, and retired in one of the biggest oil companies in the world. I am surprised that someone with such background will be portrayed as making his money from politics. It is obvious he has been wealthy long before joining politics, and he is just a smart entrepreneur that took advantage of several opportunities in his environment.

Tinubu was elected into the Nigerian Senate at the age of 40, a rare feat in Nigeria. He participated fully in the June 12, 1993 activism by being a major financier of the pro-democracy group National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), if he was poor in 1993, he wouldn’t play such a role in NADECO. He was forced to go into exile and returned to Nigeria in 1998 after the death of Abacha. He learnt from the likes of Abraham Adesanya under Alliance for Democracy (AD) and contested for the AD primaries against Funsho Williams and Wahab Dosunmu and subsequently won the election in 1999 to become the Governor of Lagos State.

Tinubu stood firm against the greatest intimidation of his administration by from Obasanjo when he withheld Lagos allocation for several months, Ambode was Accountant General and he helped the State by increasing IGR which sustained the State and the 57 local govts. No wonder he is trusted to lead the State after Fashola.

BAT has been accused of embezzling public funds to enrich his empire but I disagree with that position. Tinubu is just a smart entrepreneur that turned the little money he made in private service to a big empire before and after his terms as Governor. You may belief Tinubu owns the whole of Lagos but I think we still owe him a credit by establishing several organizations in Lagos generating employment to citizens and contributing to the development of the economy. The truth is all those working in companies associated with Tinubu would continue to pray for him because he has given them hope where the government has failed.

Tinubu is not one of those politicians that would stock millions of dollars of cash in the wardrobe but rather he prefers to incorporate companies that can effect positively all the benefactors of the companies including the Federal Government via Withholding Tax, Value Added Tax, Companies Income tax and Tertiary Education Tax. He has been tried by the code of conduct Bureau severally under the leadership of PDP government and he has come out clean in those times.
We can attribute the robust opposition we have in Nigeria partly to his doggedness and never give up spirit. He is someone that should start a school of politics, so that we can learn from, he is an astute politician and he never loses any battle he commits himself to.

I am bold to say I am officially a Tinubuist and on that note I say a toast to a great man, a true democrat, an entrepreneur par excellence & a great politician; Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Cheers!!!
http://oluseunakinrinoye..co.uk/2015/03/the-tinubu-they-wont-tell-you-about-by.html?spref=tw

U see see tinubu
U see d fake change
Say no to fake change
Say yes to jonathan
Say yes to transformation
As ya vote for transformation may ya life be transformed and vice versa

OP,am really inspired.I never knew he was this rich even before entering politics.Thanks for the eye opener

Without an investment culture, even those that wins election would still end up as pauper after their tenure.

After tomorrow, all these will rest a bit

ONE DAY TO GO!
Vote here now

http://www.plafomia.com/661/presidential-poll-goodluck-vs-buhari

We don't want nice people.
We want democracy in Lagos
We don't want one man empire
Say no to jagaban

A dunce like this OP is first class.Is Tinubu contesting any elections for God sake?.Why not Vote the candidate of ur choice rather than thwarting somebody's C.V?

Being born with a silver spoon doesn't stop people from loothing public fund,The Lagos Tinubu inherited and the money the state have either earned or accrued does not reflect on the people (the masses) .And turning every state owned property into private business isn't the same thing as investment.

Being born with a silver spoon doesn't stop people from loothing public fund,The Lagos Tinubu inherited and the money the state have either earned or accrued does not reflect on the people (the masses) .And turning every state owned property into private business isn't the same thing as investment. Your write up makes no sense at all.

Interesting times in Naija. Hmmmmmnn...na wah o! This election is really shaping up to be an interesting contest but really, what else should we expect? NL.. is blocking so much info these days from people! Check my signature for the truth, take action!.