Old Photo Surfaces to Counter Claims About President Tinubu’s Age

Old Photo Surfaces to Counter Claims About President Tinubu’s Age.

A photograph taken in London in 1996 has emerged as the latest piece of evidence in the ongoing debate over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s age, following allegations from opposition figure Atiku Abubakar that the Nigerian leader is 90 years old.

A photograph taken nearly three decades ago in London has become the center of a new round of debate over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s age, after opposition politicians raised questions about his date of birth.

The image, showing Tinubu alongside journalist Dele Momodu in 1996, has been shared widely online as counter-evidence against claims that the President is 90 years old. Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, posted the photo and challenged Nigerians to examine it for themselves.

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“If Asiwaju is indeed 90 years old, as recently alleged, then Dele Momodu must be in his eighties,” Omokri wrote. “Look at the photo yourself. I have not altered it in any way.”

The debate over Tinubu’s age resurfaced after Atiku Abubakar, who ran against Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, made statements suggesting the President was older than his official records show. Tinubu’s campaign has consistently maintained that he was born on March 29, 1952, which would make him 73 years old.

Omokri pointed out that if the President were 90 today, he would have been 60 when the London photograph was taken thirty years ago.

“Does the gentleman on the right look sixty? Does he even look fifty?” he asked.

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The post also referenced the late Fuji musician Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, who was born on February 9, 1948. Barrister, who passed away in 2010, referred to Tinubu as his “Aburo” (younger brother) in one of his songs, a fact Omokri says further confirms the President is not as old as his critics claim.

Omokri reminded Dele Momodu that Tinubu had been good to him during his exile from the Abacha regime, and questioned whether it was morally acceptable for Momodu to remain silent while his former benefactor faces what he described as “age-shaming.”

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“Perhaps we can raise the bar for this election by raising issues germane to the Nigerian people and brainstorming ideas to resolve the challenges plaguing our polity,” Omokri wrote. “But to age-shame people with ages that are not even theirs is to reduce the discussion about who governs Nigeria to an unbecoming level.”

The age controversy is the latest twist in what has been a heated political atmosphere in Nigeria, with both the ruling party and opposition trading accusations ahead of future electoral contests.

Neither the presidency nor Dele Momodu has issued an official response to the post.

Old Photo Surfaces to Counter Claims About President Tinubu’s Age.