Quizzes

Stacks

Shows

Podcasts

Newsletters

Naira Life

Love Life

Hustleprint

Love Currency

Sunken Ships

What She Said

My Bro

So You Don’t Have To

Interview With…

Zikoko Memes

Jollof Road

Cholera Outbreak Update

Follow our socials

  • This is Zikoko Citizen’s Game of Votes weekly dispatch that helps you dig into all the good, bad, and extremely bizarre stuff happening in Nigeria and why they’re important to you.

    Subscribe now to get the newsletter in your email inbox at 8 am every Friday instead of three days later. Don’t be LASTMA

    Doyin Okupe Resignation Sanwo-olu Meffy

    In another universe, Nigeria’s a hit reality TV show with no boring moments; from actors who say their only mortal flaw is unfaithfulness to their partners, and socialites attending yacht parties in aso-ebi, to election candidates making more enemies than friends.

    During the campaign rally held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom for the All Progressives Congress (APC), their presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, once again made scathing remarks that had everyone wondering if the APC’s being serious with their choice of candidate. And at this point, the APC’s public relations team should probably ask for a pay raise because they’ve done more damage control and quenched more fires than Nigeria’s Fire Service.

    But what exactly happened? 

    Rather than do his campaign peacefully in a state ruled by the opposition People’s Democratic Party, Tinubu insulted the state’s governor, Emmanuel Udom, referring to him as “a boy” who lives in his backyard in Lagos. And that, if not for his graciousness, he’d have driven Udom out of his mansion with reptiles. 

    Governor Udom, trying to be the bigger person, brushed off the comments by saying Tinubu has nothing to offer the country. But a Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Awka Ibom wants to defend their governor’s honour and has given Tinubu seven days to retract his statements, apologise, or face the almighty legal actions. 

    Well, people have always referred to Bola Tinubu as a “master tactician”, so maybe making enemies is one of his strategies for winning the election, and the rest of us can’t see it because we aren’t eating enough corn.

    What else happened this week?

    Bola Tinubu Campaign Udom ISWAP insurgents Akwa Ibom

    ISWAP Does Giveaway For Borno Passengers

    It’s weeks until the 2023 general elections, but it’s starting to look like the country is on airplane mode. The impossible is now becoming a reality as the naira is now so scarce Nigerians are spending naira to buy Naira, and insurgents have started giving money away to people.  

    Bola Tinubu Campaign Udom ISWAP insurgents Akwa Ibom

    On January 28, 2023, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgents dressed in camouflage and stood under a tree with bags of money on the Maiduguri/Monguno highway in Borno State. Then, they stopped vehicles along the route and gave each passenger ₦100,000. But that wasn’t all; they also instructed them to swap it for new naira in banks if possible and then let them go with a prayer saying: “May Allah make it beneficial for you”. 

    At this point, one would think this is a skit.

    Have you seen this video?

    Question of the week

    Many people this week have had to pay ridiculous charges to withdraw money at POS centres. Is it time to go back to the trade-by-barter system? 

    Ehen one more thing…

    A freak accident happened this week at the Ojuelegba bridge, which claimed the lives of 8 people. But this isn’t the first time. Here’s a timeline of accidents that have occurred on the same bridge.

  • It is not news that Nigeria’s education system is drastically poor. From the frequent strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to high tuition fees by public universities, graduating from a Nigerian university has become as difficult as forcing a horse to drink water.

    On rising tuition, APC Presidential aspirant, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT), said he has a solution. But let’s first understand how serious the problem is.

    The problem of education financing in Nigeria

    Nigeria desperately needs to get more money for education. A 2022 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report states that Nigeria now has 20 million children who are out of school, which is largely due to high tuition.

    But when it comes to meeting the yardstick for financing that could help pay for these fees, Nigeria is way below the cut-off mark. 

    In August 2022, United Nations said if Nigeria doesn’t act fast on increasing its education budget to 20%, meeting the global agenda goal for education would prove difficult in 2030.

    While President Buhari has allocated ₦1.79 trillion (which is an increase from 8.8% to 7.9%), it is still far off from the 20% ‘cut-off’ mark. Experts have predicted that the future of Nigeria’s education sector is in the hands of our future president now. And that is where BAT comes in.

    Bola Ahmed Tinubu [Premium Times]

    Bola Tinubu and the Student Loan

    BAT has been preaching consistently about his plans for student loans since 2015, when he campaigned for President Buhari.

    Fast forward the clock eight years later, and Nigerian citizens are yet to hear anything about student loans. Tinubu has also not revealed any concrete plans to the media on how the student loans will be distributed.

    According to Tinubu’s wingman and Federal Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, the promise has not been fulfilled due to a lack of revenue. 

    https://twitter.com/realuchepokoye/status/1583700679511928837?s=46&t=rxRQT9txYHxEfvwMmMppQg

    But if this is true and the country truly wasn’t gaining enough revenue, what happened to miscellaneous money received like Abacha’s loot?

    The reality of Tinubu’s student loan

    As much as the student loan may sound like a nice plan to avoid high tuition fee billings, this may not be the solution Nigerian students need. Here’s why:

    Students may not be able to pay back the loans 

    The fact still remains that a lot of Nigerian citizens are very broke. In November 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced that over 130 million Nigerians are suffering from multidimensional poverty.

    Just imagine suffering from not just a lack of money, but lack of good hospitals, lack of quality education, and even clean water. That’s what multidimensional poverty looks like.

    This is not to talk of the unemployment rate in Nigeria which rose to over 33% in 2022. How would Nigerian students pay their loans if they have no jobs?

    It hasn’t worked for other countries 

    America is a very good example of this. In August 2022, President Joe Biden announced his plans to cancel $10,000 worth of student loans for low to middle-income earners. 

    This was after America started experiencing loan debt of $1.6 trillion and above for more than 45 million borrowers.

    If America could suffer this much student debt with only a 3.7% unemployment rate, who is Nigeria to take the challenge on?

    Nigeria already has an education tax

    Many corporate companies are already paying for education funding in Nigeria, thanks to the Education Trust Fund (ETF) Act of 2011 and the Education Tax under it. 

    According to the Act, all corporate companies are required to pay 2.5% of their assessable profit every year to support the funding of Nigerian universities. There are even plans in the new Finance Bill of 2022 to increase the tax up to 10% for these companies. And it’s not just your regular startups. Think of companies like MTN, Dangote Group, Mobil, and many more. 

    But despite this tax increase, why isn’t this having the desired impact on education financing? These are factors Tinubu should consider before embarking on the implementation of a student loan.

  • On 6 January 2023, the All-Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, caused quite a stir on social media timelines with a photoshopped picture of him appearing on a campaign billboard. 

    The victim of the act was Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, host of the popular reality TV show, Big Brother Naija (BBN). In the photo, both Tinubu and Ebuka seem to be sharing the same pose, clothes, and even his wedding ring.

    [Photo Credit: Mufasatundeednut on Instagram]

    Many Nigerians have criticized the photo, with former senator Dino Melaye even going as far as saying that there is nothing original about the “emi l’okan” man. 

    Sadly, this isn’t the first time politicians have been accused of the photoshop act. Here are some other cases:

    Atiku receiving a handshake from Trump

    During Atiku’s 2019 presidential campaign, a picture of him with a former American president, Donald Trump, was circulated. This was to clear rumours about his ban in the U.S. 

    However, Africa Fact Check revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari was the original person in the photo in April 2018.

    Peter Obi with “Tinubu’s Insignia” Cap

    Shortly before the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate joined the party in May 2022, a post by Facebook user Taiwo Olaore was circulated. In the photo, Obi was wearing Tinubu’s insignia cap at an event. This drove the narrative that Obi was a supporter of Tinubu’s campaign or “BATified”.

    However, further checks by The Cable revealed that the cap was digitally imposed on his head, as he wore no cap in the original photo.

    The Buhari and ‘Jubril from Sudan’ Rumors

    In 2017, rumours started to circulate that Buhari was dead after three months of ill health in the United Kingdom. Pictures from a lookalike named “Jubril” was now the new president.

    However, this was thoroughly disputed by Buhari himself. He came out to assure the public that he has not been replaced by a double.

    Tinubu with Joe Biden

    Shortly before his Chatham House visit in 2022, a photo of Tinubu speaking with the current president of America, Joe Biden, was circulated.

    However, the APC campaign media director, Bayo Onanuga, cleared the air that the photo had been doctored and there the presidential candidate’s last location then was at Abuja.

  • As if the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, hadn’t already surprised Nigerians enough for one week with a rare presidential town hall at Chatham House, he also granted a rare interview with BBC Africa.

    Hosted by BBC correspondent, Peter Okwoche, the eight-minute interview caused a flurry of conversation online.

    Tinubu had some interesting things to say in this interview. Let’s get into the tea here:

    “Insecurity has actually reduced”

    We saw evidence of the Tinubu-Buhari bromance in the candidate’s response to a question about insecurity. According to Tinubu, insecurity in Nigeria has actually reduced as the four states and 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs) with “foreign jihadist flags” are long gone.

    But how sure is Tinubu of this fact?


    Although the Buhari administration has made significant progress in kicking Boko Haram’s ass in the northeast, its sister group, the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) is still causing problems. ISWAP attacked the Kuje Prison in Abuja in July 2022 and has a dominant presence in Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, and even the South-West. Let’s not talk of the bandit attacks that have been happening across Nigeria’s North-West with thousands of people killed and more displaced.

    “The West is not yet comfortable enough to sell arms to Nigeria”

    Ladies and gentlemen, the above statement is a big lie.

    The U.S. is careful about selling arms to countries like Nigeria that have questionable human rights records. However, they’ve still come through for us in recent times. This includes the delivery of 12 Tucano fighter jets and the approval of a deal that’s $1 billion worth of arms.

    “I’m different. I’m Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

    For Tinubu, voters should choose him as the next president of Nigeria just because he’s different and he’s Bola Ahmed Tinubu. 

    But what makes him so special? Tinubu took the pains to explain his track record as the governor of Lagos State, and how he raised Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from ₦600 million to ₦5 billion a month.

    Tinubu also took credit for “taming the Atlantic Ocean” with the Eko Atlantic project to protect the state’s residents. But there are still question marks over how well the project was designed.

    “I inherited great real estate and turned the values around”

    Tinubu can’t escape questions about the source of his wealth. When he faced it again during this interview, he said he made his fortune through investments

    He said, “I inherited great real estate and I turned the values around. I’m not denying my wealth. I was the most investigated, the most accused governor in the opposition for eight years and up till 2007.”

    Well, Tinubu definitely has a bulky bag of accusations. These range from drug trafficking in the US to a ₦100 billion tax evasion, fraud, and a money laundering court petition for one of his consultancy firms, Alpha Beta.

    Clearly, Tinubu needs to start showing some receipts — if he can find them — to prove his innocence if indeed he isn’t guilty. 

  • After keeping a track record of constantly dodging important campaign events the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, did the one thing we thought he could never do — attend a presidential town hall…

    …in Chatham House, London.


    Nigerans were confused when they heard the news on December 5, 2022, and they wondered why Tinubu would leave all the presidential town halls in Nigeria to attend one overseas. 

    Well, if there’s anything we know, it’s that a Tinubu show is never boring. Here are highlights of what went down during his Chatham house appearance:

    “My birth, academic records are consistent”

    Tinubu took advantage of the outing to throw a comeback shot at all the haters doubting the genuineness of his birth and academic records. According to Tinubu, his date of birth and transcript clearly show March 29, 1952. Of course, this is easy to say, considering his birth certificate can’t be found in the first place. 

    He also boasted of Deloitte training him as an accountant and Mobil attesting to his outstanding performance.  There was no one there to remind him Deloitte already denied his record as an employee:

    The Atiku diss

    Really, can you say Tinubu is at an event if he hasn’t tackled his fellow political rivals? Definitely not. As he was verifying speculations concerning his Tinubu surname, the BAT dared his critics to request a DNA test, saying that “one of them (a presidential candidate) has been accused of not being a Nigerian.”

    In case you’re wondering who it is, look no further than this guy:

    PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar

    In 2019, the Incorporated Trustees of Egalitarian Mission for Africa (EMA) filed a lawsuit against Atiku Abubakar for vying for the presidency in the 2019 elections, since he was born in Jada, Cameroon before it became a part of Nigeria. However, the court dismissed the suit in February 2022 and called EMA a “busy body”.

    The APC team strategy

    Instead of continually making gaffes whenever he speaks, Tinubu decided to take the easy way out by making his homies answer questions for him.


    People online were already disappointed that Tinubu was handing down important questions about his future policies to his minions team to answer, but it got even worse when he asked Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to answer the question on security. This is a governor that terrorists have killed over 400 people in his state in the span of six months.

    “I don’t do live interviews because I’m marketable”

    During the town hall, a journalist had the courage to ask Tinubu why he’s not been granting requests for interviews and debates in Nigeria. To that, Tinubu replied that he sees himself as a “marketable individual”, and thus, he would not be used to make money.

    A slight gaffe appeared

    Most people considered the Chatham outing was one without gaffes. But Tinubu still managed to create a new word while trying to pronounce  “magnificent.”

    Reno Omokri fans clash with Tinubu stans

    Social media influencer and former special assistant to Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, decided to take his opposition of Tinubu to the streets of London in front of Chatham House. His supporters engaged in a shouting match with Tinubu stans. Omokri and his supporters shouted “Tinubu, drugs, Tinubu, heroine,” in an apparent dig at the APC presidential candidate. Tinubu’s supporters, who held placards, chanted, “Tinubu for President.” They also sang, “On your mandate, we shall stand.”

    We wonder who won.

  • This is Zikoko Citizen’s Game of Votes weekly dispatch that helps you dig into all the good, bad, and extremely bizarre stuff happening in Nigeria and why they’re important to you.

    Subscribe now to get the newsletter in your email inbox at 8 am every Friday instead of three days later. Don’t be LASTMA.

    It must not be easy to be Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2022. When he won his presidential ticket in June, he signed up for a world of public scrutiny so intense it can power Nigeria’s erratic national grid. 

    Journalists, political rivals and even random 12-year-olds with an internet connection have poked and prodded into his life.

    Will the Real Bola Tinubu Please Stand Up?

    [Zikoko Memes]

    This isn’t a bad thing — the scrutiny is necessary for anyone auditioning for Nigeria’s highest political office. It’s not when you’ve already elected someone into office you want to find out they’re medically unfit, love eating semo or used to sell drugs.

    In Tinubu’s case, he’s made the job pretty easy for his haters by running a campaign so chaotic in its messaging and frightening in its prospects. Even before he won the ticket, he pissed everyone off with his infamous “emi lokan” rant and his unending stream of public slips of the tongue has made him a fertile target for online ridicule. But one of the candidate’s biggest burdens is his unresolved shady past threatening to blow up his campaign.

    Will the Real Bola Tinubu Please Stand Up?

    [Zikoko Memes]

    This week, a former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke, complained that the Tinubu campaign has been using a picture of him as a young boy to represent the former Lagos State governor. The controversial documentary about the life and times of Tinubu first aired in June and implied the dashing young boy was a younger version of the candidate who says he’s now 70.

    Will the Real Bola Tinubu Please Stand Up?

    We need the wisdom of King Solomon to settle this one

    This would be considered an honest mistake for any other candidate. But for Tinubu, it’s just the latest issue to cast uncertainty over his real identity, especially with the many hazy details about his past.

    Tinubu has had many allegations thrown his way, from his dodgy academic credentials to his unclear employment records and even his political legacy. It’s an absolute miracle his campaign is still standing largely unharmed, but is there a point where his nine lives run out?

    What else happened this week?

    Make Air Travel Great Again (MATGA)

    [ThisDay]

    Using Nigerian airlines comes with some pretty heavy baggage, starting from when you arrive at the airports. If it’s not the bambiala officials, it’s the annoying queues, the announcer’s confusing accent, overpriced food, and security officials touching you anyhow in the name of inspection.

    It’s a very long list of discomforting issues, but all of these don’t even compare to the moment you find out your flight is delayed or, even worse, cancelled. It’s a vicious cycle of feeling you’re on your own and not getting your money’s worth.

    If you’re one of the Nigerians worried about not getting quality service from the aviation industry, worry not because the House of Representatives is stepping in to save everyone. House member, Simon Karu (Gombe – APC), raised a motion this week for an investigation into the violation of the rights of passengers in Nigeria.

    The goal of the investigation is to improve the system to provide quality air travel services in the country. This means airline operators will stop shortchanging their customers and provide them with due compensation when they mess up.

    [Zikoko Meme]

    Hopefully, this new energy for the industry can cause a chain reaction that’d remove the bambiala officials, the annoying queues and the customer service agents walking around with the attitude of an irritated porcupine.

    Oh, look, a flying pig.

    Have you seen this video?

    Question of the week

    On a scale of “Over my dead body” to “I’d like to sleep with them under my pillow”, what are your thoughts on the new naira banknotes?

    Click here to tweet your answer to @ZikokoCitizen on Twitter.

    Ehen, one more thing…

    The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, complained this week that police officers don’t have any human rights activists to advocate for them when members of the public violate their rights. Has he met Nigerian police officers before?

  • If we asked you to describe the 2023 presidential election campaigns, what word would you use? 

    Whichever word just ran through your mind, we know it doesn’t rhyme with “boring” or “dry”, because the campaign season has been entertaining. 

    Millions of Nigerian voters have picked their candidates for the 2023 presidential election, but we won’t know who has more supporters until February 2023. But because some people want to see the future, they’ve been organising polls to frame the picture of what will happen. These polls represent the most dominant public opinion and we looked at five of the biggest polls to see which candidate is leading.


    NOI Poll — Peter Obi

    According to a poll conducted by the NOI Polls Opinion Learning Center (NOPC) in September 2022, Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will most likely win the election with 21% of the votes.

    Bloomberg Poll — Peter Obi

    The candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu, ended up with 13% each. Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) finished last with only 3% of voters rooting for him.

    Obi was also projected to win another poll conducted by American media company, Bloomberg. He finished the poll with a whopping 72% of decided voters rooting for him.


    Tinubu finished the poll with 16% of voters in his corner and Atiku finished in third place with 9%.

    Fitch Institute Research — Bola Tinubu 

    Obi’s flawless record as the winner of presidential polls ended when Fitch Solutions, a research company, released its own report and crowned Tinubu the most likely winner. 

    However, Tinubu’s projected victory wasn’t without a comma as Fitch also projected it would cause social unrest in Nigeria especially due to his choice of another Muslim as vice-president.

    We2Geda — Peter Obi

    When We2Geda asked 15,438 registered voters across Nigeria in September 2022 who they plan to vote for, 51% of them crowned Obi. 25% of them ended up in Atiku’s corner and Tinubu had to settle for 19% of respondents.

    Further analysis also showed Obi remained a favourite in four geopolitical zones: North-Central, South-South, South-West, and South-East, while Atiku was the poll leader in the North-East and North-West zones.

    Nextier — Peter Obi

    When Nextier polled 2,000 Nigerians in rural areas, they also crowned Obi as Nigeria’s next president. Nextier excluded the home states of the leading presidential and vice-presidential candidates in conducting the poll.

    Who’s the winner?

    After much deliberation and collation of facts, the winner of the 2023 presidential election polls is… Peter Obi!

    But how effective are opinion polls on Nigerian elections?

    Polls aren’t considered a big deal in Nigerian elections, but facts don’t lie and neither does history. In 2010, 53% of people from the NOI poll believed that Jonathan would win the 2011 election, and he did. Buhari also won the NOI poll of 2014 with 32% and later became president in 2015. He also won the NOI poll of 2018 ahead of the 2019 election and look who’s still our president.

    If the history of polls tells you anything, it’s that they can be very reliable. However, it’s still nothing but a waiting game until Nigerians elect their new president on February 25, 2023.

  • In the past, Nigerian politicians used to get away with selling voters pipe dreams and empty promises. But the campaigns for the 2023 elections have shown us Nigerians are no longer gullible and are willing to ask questions. This is why Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC), is again under public fire.

    What has he done now?

    On November 22, 2022, at the inauguration of the first drilling of crude oil in Bauchi State, Tinubu made some promises. But the one that’s got everyone talking is his promise to recharge the Lake Chad. Supporters of rival candidates have ridiculed his plan on social media, but there are important things you should know about the Lake Chad before you take up arms.

    What makes the Lake Chad special? 

    The Lake Chad, once called the epitome of productivity, was one of Africa’s largest freshwater bodies and the world’s sixth-largest inland water body. In the 1960s, it used to have an area of 25,000 square kilometres with about 135 species of fish. Nigeria shares the Lake Chad with Cameroon, Chad and Niger. 

    How important is the Lake Chad to Nigeria?

    Because of how large and rich the water body was, the lake provided a means of livelihood and food for about 30 million people who lived around it. Unfortunately, the water levels began to shrink, and today, it’s reduced by over 95%. The effect of this change has been devastating. 

    Hmmm, how?

    Loss of livelihoods

    The lake provided a source of income for people who depended on farming, fishing and cattle herding. But with the water source almost gone, herders battled daily loss of livestock, and farmers and fishermen found it virtually impossible to work.

    Insecurity

    The loss of income in the areas around the lake pushed many people into a life of crime. Cattle rustling, banditry, and farmer-herdsmen clashes have become the order of the day. About two million people have been displaced from their homes, and over five million people suffer and die from malnutrition. 

    How would Tinubu’s plan help the Lake Chad?

    Recharging the Lake Chad means refilling the water body by building dams and canals to pump water from the Congo River. This proposed solution is estimated to cost around $50 billion.

    The blowback over Tinubu’s promise shouldn’t be that recharging the lake is unnecessary, it should be about if he, or whoever becomes president, can address the problem once in office.

  • The 2023 general elections are right around the corner; you can almost taste the growing tensions in the air. The presidential candidates are running everywhere begging for votes in places they’ll never visit again if they win and voters are trying to decide who’s the most qualified for the job. 

    Various interest groups are also aligning with these candidates because, after all, who wouldn’t want to be in the good books of the future president? 

    How Tinubu Won the Support of Goodluck Jonathan's Kinsmen

    Ever since Bola Tinubu won the presidential ticket of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) and kickstarted his campaign, it’s almost as though he’s playing three-dimensional chess. Because despite his many gaffes, concerns about his health and unanswered questions about his academic credentials, more followers from across the country keep falling at his feet. 

    Who joined the bandwagon recently? 

    The members of the Citizens Network For Peace and Development (CNPDN) are the latest group to declare their support for Tinubu who they believe is the candidate with the best structure and capacity for victory. 

    How Tinubu Won the Support of Goodluck Jonathan's Kinsmen

    The CNPDN was part of the coalition of Goodluck Jonathan’s kinsmen who tried to convince the former president to contest for a second term in 2023 as a candidate of the APC. There were mixed reactions to this possibility which looked like it was going to happen until Jonathan abandoned ship because he wants nothing to do with Nigeria’s mess again. 

    This setback forced the CNPDN to throw their weight behind Tinubu because they think he’s the best thing since Jonathan. In their words, the next president of Nigeria needs to be a southerner and Tinubu possesses a wealth of political experience and intellectual sagacity. 

    How Tinubu Won the Support of Goodluck Jonathan's Kinsmen

    With the political climate right now looking like a real life Game of Thrones, we can only anticipate what’s in store for us in the weeks leading to the 2023 elections. It may be difficult to predict which candidate has the upper hand right now, but it’s interesting to watch  different alliances form. 

    Regardless of who comes out victorious, we hope the odds will be in the favour of those that matter the most: the people.

  • All eyes are set on the 2023 presidential candidates in the race to become Nigeria’s next president and move into Aso Rock Villa. We’ve already profiled the candidates and profiled the wives of the top contenders. But what do we know about their children who could also follow them to Aso Rock Villa next year?

    Bola Tinubu — All Progressives Congress (APC)

    We know Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) has fathered at least six children. They are: Olajide Tinubu (late), Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, Seyi Tinubu, Zainab Tinubu, Habibat Tinubu and Olayinka Tinubu. 

    BAT with his wife and two daughters, Zainab and Habibat. [Daily Post]

    From all indications, only Folashade and Seyi are at the forefront of BAT’s campaign. Seyi, especially, has featured heavily on his father’s campaign trail, most recently in Kano where he led a one-million man march. 

    https://twitter.com/tvcnewsng/status/1594369342652964867

    Seyi describes himself as a serial entrepreneur and happens to have many powerful friends just like his dad.

    Seyi playing with the Oba of Lagos. [Twitter/@BolanleCole]

    With the way he’s moving, Seyi might get an appointment in his father’s administration if he wins. 

    Atiku Abubakar — Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP)

    As the husband to a total of six wives over the years, Atiku Abubakar has fathered enough children to fill two football teams. As at last count, he’s fathered at least 30 children but we certainly won’t be listing all of them here. 

    Atiku with one of his wives and children. [DNB]

    In the book titled “Atiku – The Story of Atiku Abubakar”, he explains that his choice of polygamy was to expand his family having been born without siblings.

    We’re not aware of any of his children actively involved in his campaign though and who can blame them? The man is on his sixth run for the presidency since he started running back in 1993. If it was you, wouldn’t you be tired?

    Peter Obi — Labour Party (LP)

    Peter Obi of the Labour Party has two children: Gabriella Nwamaka Frances Obi and Gregory Oseloka Obi. As far as we know, Gabriella is a teacher based in Nigeria and Gregory is an actor based in the United Kingdom (UK). 

    Obi with his family and Archbishop Valerian Okeke [DNB]

    Like Atiku, we’re not aware of any of Obi’s children actively involved in his campaign. The one time he spoke of his children publicly was to say his son, who was almost 30, had no car. This caused some funny reactions online. 

    ALSO READ: One of These Women Is Nigeria’s Next First Lady