One has watched with considerable dismay the increasingly intemperate, personal and politically charged attacks by Dr Adetokunbo (Tokunbo) Pearse, a Lagos State chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, particularly over the Tinubu Chicago State University degree. Nigeria is a constitutional democracy in which every citizen may criticise public officials, including the President. That freedom must not become a licence for reckless allegations, personal vilification and the deliberate distortion of established facts. Political disagreement is legitimate; the abandonment of intellectual honesty and elementary civility is not.
Tinubu Chicago State University degree: What Dr Pearse alleges
Dr Pearse’s latest remarks, reportedly made between November 8 and 10, 2026, question the President’s educational background, personal integrity and the credibility of the forthcoming 2027 general election. In inflammatory language, he reportedly called the President a “professional bonafide liar” and a “professional crook”, and alleged that Tinubu never attended Chicago State University (CSU), despite claiming to be a graduate.
These are grave allegations. They cannot be dismissed as ordinary political rhetoric, least of all when directed at the occupant of the highest office in the land. They must not be accepted as established truth merely because they are delivered with the confidence of someone who once held an academic position.
Tinubu Chicago State University degree: why a five-year teaching stint is not proof
Dr Pearse has invoked his five-year teaching experience at CSU, including his alleged position as Director of the programme Tinubu purportedly attended, as the basis for his claim. On strong logic, the argument is unconvincing, misleading and anachronistic. Former employment at a university does not confer exclusive or infallible knowledge of every student who passed through it, across different periods, departments and administrative arrangements.
More importantly, there is an institutional record that cannot responsibly be wished away by political declarations. CSU confirmed that President Tinubu attended between 1977 and 1979 and graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting. The University’s Registrar also testified to the relevant academic records during the 2023 legal proceedings.
These are matters of institutional documentation and sworn testimony, not political recollections. If Dr Pearse has credible documentary evidence contradicting CSU’s official records, he should present it through the appropriate channels. Abusive descriptions and sweeping accusations are not evidence, and academic seniority does not confer the authority to rewrite institutional history.
Tinubu Chicago State University degree and the limits of fair criticism
One is equally concerned about the increasingly personal nature of these attacks. Calling a sitting President a professional liar or crook is not an intellectual argument. It substitutes insult for evidence and political hostility for reasoned engagement. President Tinubu is a public figure and must remain open to scrutiny. His policies, decisions, political record and public conduct are legitimate subjects of democratic debate, but criticism must be anchored on verifiable facts and responsible argument.
There is also a relevant personal dimension. Professor Adebayo Williams, a respected academic who has publicly challenged Dr Pearse’s allegations, has disclosed that he personally introduced Pearse to Tinubu and facilitated their relationship in earlier years. He has also stated that he knows of the assistance and goodwill Tinubu extended to Pearse, and that the President has never paraded these private acts of generosity or used them to embarrass anyone.
This testimony deserves consideration, not because personal assistance should buy political loyalty, but because it raises legitimate questions about the fairness and consistency of the narrative now being advanced. Nobody is obliged to agree politically with a former benefactor, and nobody should be compelled to support a President out of past kindness. But political disagreement should not become an excuse for distorting history, denying established facts or gratuitous character assassination.
Tinubu Chicago State University degree row and the 2027 general election
Dr Pearse has also reportedly suggested that President Tinubu and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) could face international legal consequences if serious electoral wrongdoing occurs in the 2027 general election. It is necessary to distinguish legitimate electoral vigilance from politically motivated alarmism.
Nigeria’s electoral process must be transparent, credible and accountable. Every party, candidate, institution and stakeholder must protect its integrity. Any credible allegation of malpractice must be investigated, and anyone found culpable must face the consequences prescribed by law. But the mere suggestion of international prosecution, without established facts or a demonstrated legal basis, should not be presented as though liability has already been proven.
Nigeria is a sovereign constitutional democracy with established electoral and judicial institutions. Disputes must be settled through the appropriate legal mechanisms, and accountability must rest on evidence, not threats or speculation. Dr Pearse is entitled to express apprehension about 2027. He is not entitled to present conjecture as a verdict.
Tinubu Chicago State University degree: academic credentials are not a substitute for evidence
What makes this episode unfortunate is that Dr Pearse is a former university lecturer. His background should encourage precision, intellectual discipline and respect for documentary evidence. The classroom is a place where assertions are tested and conclusions reached through reasoned inquiry. Those standards should not vanish because the subject has become politically inconvenient. One is compelled to ask: is Dr Pearse speaking as an academic seeking historical accuracy, or as a partisan actor seeking to discredit a political opponent?
There is nothing wrong with being partisan. But intellectual credentials should never replace evidence, and academic titles should never be used to legitimise unsubstantiated attacks.
Let the position be unequivocal: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not above criticism. No elected official is. His administration must be scrutinised and his policies interrogated, but criticism must be truthful, proportionate and responsible.
Nigerians should reject the politics of personal vilification, historical distortion and reckless allegations masquerading as public enlightenment. Dr Pearse should substantiate his claims. If he has documents that contradict CSU’s records, he should present them. If he has evidence of electoral wrongdoing, he should submit it to the appropriate authorities. Otherwise, the public deserves better than a succession of provocative statements, personal insults and politically convenient revisions of history.
The President would do well to ignore this attention-seeking invitation to a mud contest. One’s appeal to Dr Pearse is simple: let facts prevail over fury, evidence over insinuation, and intellectual integrity over partisan expediency. President Tinubu can be challenged on his record, policies and performance, but allegations must not become facts through repetition. Nigerians deserve truth, not theatre, and responsible opposition, not opposition by invective.
Enough is enough!
