Mr Tinubu stated in official records that he was born on 29 March 1952. His mother, Abibatu Mogaji, was a renowned trader in Lagos State, who held the title of Iyaloja General of Nigeria until her death at the age of 94.

This date of birth is also controversial. His transcript from Chicago State University has 1954 as his year of birth. In August 1999, this discrepancy was a subject of a probe by the Lagos State House of Assembly following a petition filed by the duo of Jameed Seriki and Waliu Balogun-Smith. The petition raised the discrepancy of date of birth on the academic transcript and the age filled in his INEC form.

Aside from the controversy of parentage and place of birth, there is a historical void between 1952 and 1977 that is yet to be filled by Mr Tinubu and sources close to him. In the absence of reliable sources, political opponents have filled the void with conspiracy theories and speculations.

Bode George, a former deputy national chairman of the opposition PDP, had insisted at the time that Mr Tinubu was not from Lagos. Mr George who was also a former military governor, claimed Mr Tinubu hailed from Iragbiji, a town in Osun State, though he did not provide substantial evidence to back his claim. His argument was that Isale Eko, a hood in Lagos Island where Mr Tinubu grew up, is like a community where everyone is familiar with one another.

"If he says he grew up in Isale Eko, which school did you attend? Where were his childhood friends?" Mr George said in an interview last December.

Mr Tinubu, in an interview with TheNews, provided insight into how he left Nigeria in 1975. While the interview left out his academic record before then, he explained how he left the country with his friend, Bolaji Agaba for New York in 1975.

According to Mr Tinubu, after his arrival in the country, he stayed briefly in Washington DC, Virginia and finally settled in Chicago. It is believed that he enrolled at Richard Daley College, a community college in Chicago, in September 1975. From the community college, he was admitted into the Chicago State University in 1977, to study Business and Administration, majoring in Accounting.

The university has since confirmed that Mr Tinubu attended the school.

While at the university, he was a roommate to Tunde Badejo, who is one of the major shareholders in Alpha Beta. Ahead of the 2023 general election, in a video, Mr Badejo said Mr Tinubu was elected president of the accounting students at the institution and also worked as a student tutor. He also gave a hint about the interest of the young Tinubu in Chicago politics. During those years in Chicago, on Sundays, Bola never left home - on Saturday and every other day of the week, he would leave the House, but on Sundays, never. We all visit him, however, you cannot change the television from the political channel. Chicago politics for example - he would watch it seriously. Other than that, he watches football and other strategic activities," Mr Badejo said in a campaign video.

Before his graduation from Chicago State University in 1979, he was recruited by Deloitte, Haskins and Sells. Mr Tinubu had explained in an interview that his decision to join the accounting firm was based on the advice the Dean of his faculty, Joe Jesse, gave to him.

Mr Jesse argued that Deloitte, Haskins and Sells had a number of clients in the oil sector, and since Nigeria is a major oil producer, joining the firm offers a better career path. From Deloitte, he moved to General Telephone and Electronic (GTE), where he served as Assistant Manager.