A Bola Tinubu Graduated From Chicago State University

By Farooq A. Kperogi Twitter: @farooqkperogi In light of renewed doubts about Tinubu’s degree qualifications, I again reached out to a colle...

By Farooq A. Kperogi

Twitter: @farooqkperogi

In light of renewed doubts about Tinubu’s degree qualifications, I again reached out to a colleague of mine at the Chicago State University to help me verify if Tinubu indeed graduated from the school. She told me he did but said she'd go ask at the Registrar's office. She shared this with me.

Apparently, the school prepared this in response to a cornucopia of inquiries from Nigeria. So, it's not exclusive to her. But I can confirm that this is legitimate. The so-called FBI statement doing the rounds on social media that claims no Bola Ahmed Tinubu graduated from Chicago State University appears to be a fabrication.

Of course, this doesn't answer the other concerns about Tinubu. Is the person we know as Bola Ahmed Tinubu the same person that attended Chicago State University? Why did he claim to have attended the University of Chicago when didn't? Why did he claim to have attended a primary school in Lagos and a secondary school in Ibadan that he didn't attend? That's still a mystery to me.

People have also asked me whether it's possible to be admitted to a university in America without attending a primary and secondary school. The answer is yes, you can earn a degree in America without attending a secondary school. 

There's something called the General Educational Development test (or GED) for people who didn't earn a high diploma before the age of 18. It's equivalent to what used to be called "GCE" in Nigeria.

For example, my friend Comrade Umoru Ibrahim didn't attend a primary school or a secondary school in Nigeria. He took the GCE and today has a master's degree in political science. I wrote about him in a May 22, 2010 column titled "Beyond Yar’adua: Tributes to Little-Known Living Heroes."

Similarly, my late friend and colleague Dr. Matt J. Duffy didn't have a high school diploma. He had a GED but ended up with a PhD.

There's also the question of how Tinubu earned a degree in just two years. Well, he said he first attended a 2-year community college called Richard J. Daley College in Chicago from where he transferred his credits to the Chicago State University, and there is evidence that a Bola Ahmed Tinubu attended Daley College in Chicago. 

Whether that Tinubu is the Tinubu we know I can't say. This is merely to set the records within the limits of what I know.