Tinubu Is 90, Atiku Claims, Promises Evidence in Court

By Al-Amin Ciroma

Nigeria’s political season appears to have discovered a new measuring tape. Just when the 2027 presidential race seemed sufficiently crowded with questions about alliances, competence, experience and who can actually fix what ails the country, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has introduced another subject into the national conversation, the age of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In a recent BBC interview, Atiku claimed that Tinubu is 90 years old and also described him as ill. When the interviewer pointed out that the President is not yet 90 according to the publicly available record, Atiku did not retreat.

Instead, he raised the stakes.

Atiku said he had evidence and records to support his claim and that he would present them in court. And just like that, Nigeria’s already colourful political debate acquired another chapter.

For years, the country’s political arguments have revolved around who is qualified, who is competent, who is experienced and who is capable of leading Nigeria. Now, apparently, Nigerians may also have to keep their calculators and birth certificates close by.

There is, however, an important distinction between a political allegation and an established fact.

Atiku's statement is an allegation. His assertion that documentary evidence exists remains something for him to substantiate, particularly if, as he suggested, the matter eventually finds its way into court.

That is where the story becomes more interesting than the headline.

If Atiku truly possesses documentary records capable of settling the long-running questions surrounding Tinubu's age, a courtroom would provide a considerably more serious stage than campaign rallies, television interviews and social media arguments.

Until such evidence is produced and independently examined, however, the public is left with competing claims and the familiar Nigerian political tradition of turning personal history into electoral ammunition.

Tinubu's age has been a subject of political controversy for years, with publicly available records generally placing his birth year in 1952. The latest claim therefore adds another layer to an argument that has repeatedly resurfaced in Nigerian politics.

But beneath the humour is a more serious political question.

Why does age matter so much in the 2027 contest?

Atiku, who is himself approaching 80, used the interview to argue that age should not automatically be treated as a measure of a politician's capacity. His argument was essentially that physical fitness and the ability to serve should matter more than the number attached to a birth certificate.

That argument may ultimately be more consequential than the numerical dispute.

Nigeria is heading toward another fiercely contested presidential election, and the opposition will inevitably search for every possible weakness in the incumbent's record. The ruling camp, in turn, can be expected to scrutinise the records, history and claims of its challengers.

So, somewhere between campaign strategies and courtroom promises, Nigerians may soon find themselves watching a political contest where policy documents compete with birth records for headline space.

The bigger question, perhaps, is not whether Nigerian politicians can count their years. It is whether they can make those years count.

For voters struggling with insecurity, unemployment, inflation, poor infrastructure and other everyday challenges, the 2027 election will eventually have to move beyond the arithmetic of age and return to the mathematics of performance.

Because whether a politician is 70, 80 or 90, the Nigerian voter still has one simple question; What can you actually do for the country?