{"id":120031,"date":"2025-06-24T17:36:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T16:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=120031"},"modified":"2025-06-24T17:36:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T16:36:18","slug":"atiku-questions-tinubu-over-classmate-zingman-who-graduated-at-13-linked-to-arms-trafficking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/atiku-questions-tinubu-over-classmate-zingman-who-graduated-at-13-linked-to-arms-trafficking\/","title":{"rendered":"Atiku questions Tinubu over classmate Zingman who graduated at 13, linked to arms trafficking"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Myke Agunwa<\/div>\n
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The recognition of Mr. Alex Zingman as a classmate by President Bola Tinubu has generated fresh controversy, as Zingman was 13 years old in 1979, the supposed year of Tinubu\u2019s graduation from Chicago State University (CSU) and has been allegedly linked to arms trafficking.<\/div>\n
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Recall that President Tinubu, at the launch of the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme in Abuja on Monday, identified a Belarusian Businessman known as Alex as his schoolmate back then in Chicago.<\/div>\n
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\u201cTo all of you, Alex was my very good neighbour and went to the same school with me in Chicago,\u201d Tinubu said while the man stood up for recognition. Though the president did not mention the other name of his schoolmate, he said Mr. Alex is a successful Belarusian businessman.<\/div>\n
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\u201cNever did we dream that I would be in this position as president of Nigeria and Alex, a successful businessman from Belarus,\u201d Tinubu said.<\/div>\n
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The claim, rather than evoke confidence and lay to rest the suspicion on the personality surrounding the early life of President Tinubu, it triggered more questions, particularly regarding the President\u2019s long-contested academic history.<\/div>\n
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The first salvo was thrown by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who in a statement on Tuesday disclosed that a basic review of available information showed that \u201cMr. Alex Zingman, a Belarusian businessman whose name features prominently in controversial dealings across Africa \u2014 including allegations of arms trafficking and financial improprieties in Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo \u2014 is listed in various reports as being born in 1966.<\/div>\n
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“By the year 1979, when President Tinubu claims to have graduated from CSU, Mr. Zingman would have been only 13 years old.<\/div>\n
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\u201cAre we now to believe that the Guinness Book of Records missed the story of a 13-year-old Belarusian prodigy graduating from an American university alongside Bola Ahmed Tinubu?<\/div>\n
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\u201cEven more troubling is the President\u2019s casual association with a man whose international reputation is mired in scandal.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThis leads us to ask, with the solemn weight of patriotism and the urgency of truth\u201d.<\/div>\n
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Atiku said that that Nigerians deserve to know the truth about the personality of the president arguing, \u201cyour oath of office binds you not just to protect our nation but to honour its truth. The Presidency is not a sanctuary for secrets \u2014 it is a platform for integrity. And as such, Nigerians await not tales of Alexes from distant lands but proof, clarity, and the simple dignity of facts.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMr. President, Nigerians deserve to know why a man born in 1966 is being paraded as your classmate who graduated in 1979. Were you taught in the same classroom or in different decades?<\/div>\n
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\u201cMr. President, Nigerians deserve to know if the Alex Zingman of global infamy \u2014 the arms-linked tycoon \u2014 shares the same seat in your memories or only in a script of fiction.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMr. President, Nigerians deserve to know why the mystery around your academic record deepens with every attempt to clarify it. Who truly walked the halls of Chicago State University with you?<\/div>\n
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\u201cMr. President, Nigerians deserve to know why, since you claim to have presented a certificate from Government College, Lagos to gain entry into Richard Daley College in 1973, no classmate from that institution has ever spoken of sharing a desk with you.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMr. President, Nigerians deserve to know how a school founded in 1972 could issue you a certificate dated 1970\u2014unless you were a lone prophet of a school yet unborn.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMr. President, Nigerians deserve to know why you have not proudly unveiled a single verifiable classmate from your supposed years in Government College, Lagos or Government College, Ibadan or Chicago State University, the way other leaders do with ease and pride\u201d.<\/div>\n
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Recall that Atiku had in 2023, urged a United States Court to release Tinubu\u2019s academic record. The documents sought by Atiku, through his counsel, Angela Liu, include Tinubu\u2019s record of admission and acceptance at the Chicago State University, dates of attendance as well the degrees, awards, and honours obtained by Tinubu from the CSU.<\/div>\n
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