Did you know that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu once sought to be the running mate to former vice president Atiku Abubakar under the Action Congress in the 2007 general election?

Nigeria's current President Bola Ahmed Tinubu wanted the presidency so bad that he ran on his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), with the Yoruba slogan 'emi lokan' which when translated into English means 'It's my turn'. At last, he currently occupies Nigeria's seat of power as its 16th president, but currently battling to redeem his reputation as a sage going by the economic challenges facing his administration.

Born in Lagos into the merchant family of Abibatu Mogaji, the Ìyál'ọ́jà of Lagos, Tinubu attended St. John's Primary School, Aroloya, Lagos before proceeding to Children Home School in Ibadan. He later completed undergraduate studies in the United States, first at Richard J. Daley College in Chicago and then at Chicago State University in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. He worked as an accountant for the American companies Arthur Andersen, Deloitte and GTE Services Corporation. On returning to Nigeria in 1983, he joined Mobil Oil Nigeria, and later became a company executive.

The leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) political career began in 1991 when he joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He later got elected in 1992 into the Senate representing Lagos West constituency in the short-lived Nigerian Third Republic occasioned by the annulment of the popular June 12 presidential elections in 1993 by General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida.

In a bid to push for the restoration of democracy and the recognition of Moshood Kashimawo Abiola (MKO) as winner of the election, Tinubu became a founding member of the pro-democracy group, the National Democratic Coalition. However, with the seizure of power as military head of state by General Sani Abacha, Tinubu was forced into exile in 1994, only returning to the country in 1998 after the death of the military dictator which ushered in the transition to the Fourth Nigerian Republic.

In the run-up to the 1999 elections, Bola Tinubu was a protégé of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) leaders, Abraham Adesanya and Ayo Adebanjo. He went on to win the AD primaries for the Lagos State governorship elections in defeating Funsho Williams and Wahab Dosunmu, a former Minister of Works and Housing. In January 1999, he stood for the position of Governor of Lagos State on the AD ticket and was elected governor.

During his eight years as Governor of Lagos State, Tinubu initiated new reforms such as the construction of new roads required to meet the needs of the fast-growing population of the state. Alongside a new deputy governor, Femi Pedro, Tinubu won re-election into office as governor in April 2003, while other states in the South West fell to the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in those elections.

Within that period, Tinubu was involved in a struggle with the Obasanjo-controlled federal government over whether Lagos State had the right to create new Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) to meet the needs of its large population. The controversy led to the federal government seizing funds meant for local councils in the state. During the latter part of his term in office, he was engaged in continuous clashes with PDP powers such as Adeseye Ogunlewe, a former Lagos State senator who had become minister of works, and Bode George, the southwest chairman of the PDP.

In 2006, Tinubu attempted to persuade the then-vice president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar to become the head of his party, the Action Congress (AC). Abubakar, who was a member of the PDP, had recently fallen out with President Obasanjo over Abubakar's ambition to succeed his Boss as president. Tinubu offered Abubakar the chance to switch parties and join the AC, offering him his party's presidential candidacy, with the condition that he, Tinubu, would be Abubakar's running mate. However, Atiku declined the proposition and chose a running mate from the South East, Senator Ben Obi. Although Atiku ran for office on Tinubu's platform in the election, the PDP still won, in a landslide.

Relations between Tinubu and deputy governor Pedro became increasingly tense after his deputy declared his intention to run for the gubernatorial elections. Pedro competed to become the AC candidate for governor in the 2007 elections, but withdrew his name on the eve of the party nomination. He later defected to the Labour Party (LP) while still keeping his position as deputy governor. Tinubu's tenure as Lagos State Governor ended on 29 May 2007, when his successor Babatunde Fashola of the AC took office.

Following the landslide victory of the PDP in the April 2007 elections, Tinubu became involved in negotiations to bring together the fragmented opposition parties into a "mega-party" capable of challenging the then ruling PDP. In March 2009, there were reports that a plot had been identified to assassinate Tinubu. In February 2013, he was among several politicians who created a "mega opposition" party with the merger of Nigeria's three biggest opposition parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the new PDP (nPDP), a faction of the then ruling PDP – into the APC.

In 2014, Tinubu supported former military head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari, leader of the CPC faction of the APC, who commanded widespread following in Northern Nigeria, and had previously contested in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 presidential elections as the CPC presidential candidate.

Again, what played out in 2007 with Tinubu's attempt to be Atiku's running mate resurfaced. However, he later conceded for his ally and former commissioner of justice, Yemi Osibanjo, to be Buhari's vice presidential candidate. In 2015, Buhari rode the APC to victory, ending the 16-year rule of the PDP, and marking the first time an incumbent Nigerian president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, lost to an opposition candidate.

Tinubu went on to play an important role in the Buhari administration, supporting government policies and holding onto the internal party reins, in lieu of his long-held rumored presidential aspiration. In 2019, he supported Buhari's re-election campaign defeating the PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar. In 2020, following an internal party crisis which led to the removal of Tinubu's ally and party chairman, Adams Oshiomole, it is believed the move was to scuttle his presidential prospects ahead of 2023.

On 10 January 2022, Tinubu made his formal announcement of candidacy for president. On 8 June 2022, he won the party convention vote of the ruling APC, scoring 1,271, to defeat Vice President Osinbajo and Rotimi Amaechi (a former governor of Rivers State and minister of transportation in the Buhari's regime) who scored 235 and 316, respectively.

On 1 March 2023, INEC declared Tinubu winner of the 2023 presidential election. He was declared president-elect after he polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat his opponents: Atiku Abubakar of the opposition PDP (runner-up) who polled 6,984,520 votes and LP's Peter Obi who polled 6,101,533 votes to come third in an election that some alleged was manipulated to his favour.

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