The Chicago State University (CSU) has said President Bola Tinubu applied to the institution as a male and not as a female.
The University Registrar, Caleb Westberg, made this known on Tuesday during an oral deposition to support the academic records of President Bola Tinubu given to the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.
On the controversy over whether the student the school admitted in 1977 from South West College was a man or woman, Westberg disclosed that the institution issued a letter of admission to the Nigerian President as a male.
The Registrar also denied claims that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (CSU) contacted CSU to confirm if Tinubu attended the institution.
He said: “President Tinubu applied to the university as a male, and a letter of admission was issued to a male. My statement that Mr. Bola Tinubu graduated from CSU was based on the transcripts in our possession. I have never met Bola Tinubu. I have never seen him. He did not visit our campus. He does not donate money to the school.
“In the US, Diplomas are considered merely ceremonial documents. In some other countries, it may be considered more. In the US, more reliance is placed on transcripts and not on Diplomas.
“I did not rely on information from public records to come to the conclusion that President Bola Tinubu is the person who attended CSU. I am not aware that the FBI contacted CSU on whether Bola Tinubu attended CSU.
“Between 1979 and when I assumed duties, CSU must have had at least 6 Registrars. I never spoke to Ms. Davies. Some policies have changed over the years. When there is a replacement Diploma, it is done by outside vendors. I don’t know who created Exhibit # 6.
“The institution decided that my name should not be typed on the ‘To whom it may concern’ letter because of the sheer volume of requests I was getting.
“Before CSU, I was at UC, Berkeley and UC, Irving. I’m sure people make mistakes in data entry from time to time. Before this lawsuit, I didn’t know anyone called Bola. It was possible that someone assumed Bola to be a female and therefore marked the SouthWest Transcript as such.”
The CSU registrar also confirmed that one Olajide Adeniji was President Tinubu’s classmate at the institution because they ran a closely- contested race for the leadership of the Accounting Student Union.
“I am familiar with the affidavit filed by OLAJIDE Adeniji. I don’t recall his gender. I don’t know if Atiku Abubakar is male or female, but I heard is a male. I can’t tell by his name.
“I checked the record and confirmed that OLAJIDE Adeniji and Bola Tinubu were at CSU at the same time. The person said he ran in a closely- contested race against Bola Tinubu for the leadership of the Accounting Student Union.
“I see that he said the same person he ran against is now the president of Nigeria. The Bola Tinubu who attended Southwest College took Accounting courses. The Bola Tinubu who attended CSU also took Accounting courses. I see the address indicated for Bola Tinubu. It’s not far from CSU.
“I looked at the whole record in making the determination that Bola Tinubu, who is the President of Nigeria today, is the same person who attended CSU.
“The entries ’1952’ and ‘1954’ could have been made in error. The person who attended Southwest College is the person who attended CSU. The courses taken by Bola Tinubu at Southwest and CSU are consistent.
“Right after the entry ‘F’, the SSN entered indicated in the Southwest transcript is the same as the one that was indicated in CSU records. That is one of the indications that we use to identify students. A Social Security is a unique identifier.
“I recognize Southwest College as a feeder school for CSU. Bola Tinubu graduated with Honours. It’s a GPA distinction. It is awarded to high-performing students. Accounting is a rigorous Major. He graduated with Honours. Yes, certain students are more motivated than others.
“The students who are more motivated go on to accomplish greater things in life. I’ve seen that. As far as I know, he’s the president of Nigeria.
“There were materials in Mr. Tinubu’s records that show that he was a male. I see the application to CSU. Mr Tinubu identified himself as a male. His letter of admission identified him as a male. It says: ‘Dear Mr Tinubu’”
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