Ambassador-designate to Mexico Reno Omokri has robustly defended President Bola Tinubu amid fresh scrutiny of his primary and secondary education records, insisting that conventional schooling was far from the norm for many Nigerians of that generation.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday, Omokri dismissed concerns over the lack of traditional primary and secondary school certificates in discussions about the President’s educational background.
He argued that the education system of the period when Tinubu would have attended primary and secondary school differed markedly from today’s standards.
“Are you aware that at the time the president went to primary school… most Nigerians were not going to regular schools; a lot of them were being homeschooled,” Omokri said.
He challenged critics to produce evidence of their own primary school classmates, declaring: “If you ask some of these opponents of the president to produce their primary school classmate, they cannot.”
Drawing from personal experience, the former presidential aide noted that one of his children is homeschooled and that his Ethiopian wife also received her education through homeschooling.
Omokri maintained that questions about Tinubu’s early education have no bearing on his eligibility to hold the presidency or seek re-election in 2027.
“We know for a fact that the president is qualified for the position he’s holding, for the position he wants to be reelected to,” he stated.
He further highlighted Tinubu’s tertiary education, stressing that Chicago State University has confirmed the President’s admission, attendance and graduation.
“He went to Chicago State University. The registrar of that school went to court, and they confirmed that Tinubu was admitted, attended, and graduated from that school. That is enough,” Omokri concluded.