Double celebration: Tinubu, Ghanaian President, Akufo-Addo share birthday
Today, March 29, President Bola Tinubu is not the only leader blowing out candles. Across the border, Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo, is also celebrating his special day.
As both nations celebrate their leaders, it is a unique moment of shared joy between the neighbours who are constantly at odds over jollof rice, music, and football.
While Nigerians honour Tinubu, Ghanaians extend warm wishes to their leader.
Both presidents come from influential backgrounds.
Tinubu, aged 72, was born in Lagos into the merchant family of Abibatu Mogaji, who held the esteemed position of Iyaloja of Lagos.
Akufo-Addo, 80, was born in Swalaba, a suburb of Accra, Ghana, on March 29, 1944, to a well-known Ghanaian royal and political family as the son of Adeline and Edward Akufo-Addo.
In terms of education, Akufo-Addo studied Law in the UK and was admitted to the bar in England (Middle Temple) in 1971 and in Ghana in 1975.
According to transcripts, Tinubu studied at Southwest College (now Richard J. Daley College) in Chicago before transferring to Chicago State University. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with Honours on June 22, 1979. His area of study was Accounting.
Tinubu secured the Lagos West senate seat in 1992 as a member of the Social Democratic Party. Later on, he got involved with the National Democratic Coalition, a pro-democracy group. After being imprisoned for his pro-democracy activities, he escaped into exile in 1994.
He returned to Nigeria in 1998.
In 1999, Tinubu, who is now a member of the Alliance for Democracy party, was elected as the governor of Lagos state. He was then reelected in 2003.
He helped to form a new political party, the All Progressives Congress.
In the 2023 general elections, he was one of the 18 presidential candidates. He emerged victorious over Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democracy Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, who were considered the front-runners.
Tinubu constitutionally began his presidency 10 months ago on May 29, 2023.
In contrast, Akufo-Addo, a lawyer and politician, became president of Ghana in January 2017.
In 1992, he became a member of the New Patriotic Party and represented the party as a member of Parliament for three consecutive terms (1996–2008). During President John Kufuor’s tenure, Akufo-Addo held the positions of Attorney General and Minister of Justice from 2001 to 2003. In that year, he assumed the role of foreign minister, which he held until 2007. He made the decision to resign from his position in order to participate in the contest to become the NPP’s flag bearer in the 2008 presidential election.
In the 2008 Ghanaian presidential election, Akufo-Addo won the first round with over 49% of the vote, but was narrowly defeated by John Evans Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress, taking 49.77% of the vote in the second round.
In the 2012 election, Akufo-Addo was the NPP’s candidate, facing John Mahama, who won with 50.7 per cent. Akufo-Addo and the NPP challenged the results, but the Supreme Court upheld Mahama’s victory in August 2013.
Akufo-Addo accepted the outcome. He was lauded for his response to the ruling, which helped diffuse tensions in the country.
In 2016, Akufo-Addo stood as the NPP presidential candidate for a third time. He again faced Mahama in the election, which was held on December 7. This time, Akufo-Addo was declared the winner, with about 53.8 per cent of the vote.. Akufo-Addo was inaugurated on January 7, 2017.
The country’s next presidential election was held on December 7, 2020. Akufo-Addo was reelected outright in the first round of voting, with slightly more than 51 per cent of the vote.
Akufo-Addo was sworn in for his second term on January 7, 2021.
Meanwhile, both Presidents are at critical junctures in their tenure. Nigeria is currently facing significant economic challenges, and the frequency of kidnappings has reached alarming levels. Akufo-Addo finds himself caught in squabble over an anti-LGBTQ bill.
