It’s Official! Tinubu inaugurated as Nigeria’s 16th President as Buhari departs for Daura
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former Governor of Lagos state, took the oath of office as Nigeria’s 16th president, on Monday, May 29, 2023, assuming leadership of a country battling rising unemployment, insecurity and economic hardship.
With his hand on a Quran, Tinubu was flanked by his wife Remi and children, and the family of former President Muhammadu Buhari as he recited the oath administered by Chief Justice of Nigeria Olukayode Arowoola at 10:37 a.m.
It’s his first political office since 2007 when he left office as the governor of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital and the fourth richest African city with N26.59 trillion GDP, according to a 2021 report by the Lagos Bureau of Statistics (LBS).
Vice President Kashim Shettima, a former Governor of Borno State and Senator, was sworn in a few minutes earlier at 10:29 am, bringing an end to Prof Yemi Osinbajo’s eight years as Nigeria’s Vice President.
The oath taking which signified the official inauguration of the new President and Vice President was followed by other rituals of transfer of power from Buhari to Tinubu, which includes the lowering and hoisting of the defense flags, the taking of first salute and inspection of guards of honour by the new president.
Immediately after receiving the lowered defense flag, Buhari departed the Eagle Square for the Nnamdi Azikwe Airport to board a waiting flight to Katsina state where he will thereafter head to Daura, his hometown.
Tinubu’s inauguration comes amidst protests by supporters of presidential candidates of the major opposition parties – the Labour Party and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who claimed the election that produced the former Senator as President was largely incredible and marred by irregularities.
Tinubu will have to hit the ground running to turn around the fortune of the country in dire economic situation, insecurity and unemployment crises that has forced many young citizens of the world’s most populous black nation out of the country in search of greener pastures in Europe and America.
A report by the Africa Polling Institute (API) says 73% of Nigerians were looking to emigrate with their families in 2021 – a 41% increase compared to 2019 results. With the mass migration, Nigeria now battles an unprecedented talent drought. In Canada, 19,000 Nigerians were admitted through express entry between 2018 and 2020 while data from the UK home office reveal that the number of Nigerians granted work permits in the UK increased from 3,918 in 2019 to 15,772 in 2022 – a 303% increase.
