There is Nowhere Like Home – Tinubu Speaks on Experiences in America

President Bola Tinubu has declared that there is no place like Nigeria despite his years of training and professional experience in the United States.

The Nigerian leader said he chose to return home to apply the knowledge he gained abroad.

Tinubu made the remark on Friday during a meeting with members of the Nigerian Diaspora Medical Association.

Reflecting on his early career, the President recalled his time in the United States, where he worked after receiving professional training in accountancy and finance.

“There is nowhere like home. I have experienced being in America and have taken the best of America in my chosen profession, accountancy and finance. Where can I apply it best after initial training with Deloitte & Touche, I can’t forget the Standard Oil Building in Chicago and my first week there,” Tinubu said.

The President’s comments came at a time when renewed attention has been focused on his decades-old civil forfeiture case in the United States following a fresh push by the camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for further scrutiny of the matter.

Earlier on Friday, Atiku’s Special Adviser on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, responded to the Presidency’s defence of Tinubu, arguing that the government should release evidence instead of engaging in public exchanges over the controversy.

Addressing Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga in a post on X, Shaibu wrote, “Good morning, @aonanuga1956. You know I have too much respect for my elders to put them through unnecessary stress. So, abeg, kindly advise Baba to just publish the evidence everyone is asking for. It will save you from having to explain what documents can explain better.”

He added, “With all due respect, this one is not a war of adjectives. It’s a contest of evidence. And, sir… I’m not sure you have the energy for the battle ahead.”

The latest exchange followed a statement issued on Thursday by Onanuga, who accused Atiku of spending $1.2 million on American lobbyists to revive a case he insisted had been resolved more than 30 years ago.

Onanuga criticised the reported effort to draw the attention of United States President Donald Trump and members of the US Congress to Tinubu’s 1993 civil forfeiture proceedings, describing it as an attempt to internationalise Nigeria’s domestic politics.

“It is baffling and disappointing that someone who has sought the presidency for over three decades now resorts to reporting the President of Nigeria to US President Donald Trump and members of the US Congress,” Onanuga said.

He maintained that the forfeiture issue “was resolved over 30 years ago in the United States and has been thoroughly litigated, explained, and rendered moot by the electoral mandates conferred on President Bola Tinubu by the people of Lagos and Nigeria at large.”

The presidential spokesman also argued that Nigeria is a sovereign nation and said it was inappropriate to report its president to a foreign leader. He further alleged that Atiku had his own legal issues in the United States, declaring, “Indeed, if Atiku Abubakar were Chinese, he would be rotting away in jail for his crimes against the Nigerian people.”

The Presidency insisted that Tinubu remains focused on governance and would not be distracted by what it described as Atiku’s political tactics.

The renewed debate followed claims by Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, that more than 60 pages of United States Department of Justice documents relating to allegations of heroin trafficking investigations and the forfeiture of $460,000 involving Tinubu had been brought to the attention of President Trump through Washington-based lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York.

Although Ibe did not present evidence that Trump had personally received or acted on the documents, the lobbying firm had earlier confirmed that it was distributing court filings, Department of Justice records, affidavits and judicial decisions relating to Tinubu’s civil forfeiture case to officials in the Trump administration and members of the US Congress under a lobbying agreement linked to Atiku.

Tinubu’s civil forfeiture records became a major issue after the 2023 presidential election when Atiku and Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi argued before the Presidential Election Petition Court that the proceedings should have disqualified him from contesting the election. However, the tribunal ruled that the forfeiture proceedings were civil in nature and not a criminal conviction.