1. Political influence
It has been quite an eventful journey for Bola Tinubu who became Nigeria's new president after winning the country's crucial presidential election in February.
He had scored 8.8 million votes representing 37% of the total votes to defeat his main rivals Atiku Abubakar of PDP and Peter Obi of Labour Party.
For much of Tinubu’s political career spanning more than three decades, he has been known as a man who uses an extensive network to back candidates for office.
Tinubu was among the key political figures who formed the current governing APC party in 2013, which later swept to power in 2015 when Muhammadu Buhari defeated then-incumbent Goodluck Jonathan of the People's Democratic Party (PDP).
That was the first time in the history of Nigeria a seating president was defeated in an election.
Tinubu's support was deemed crucial in having helped outgoing leader Muhammadu Buhari win two terms in office, in 2015 and 2019.
So, when he said “it’s my turn” this year, it turned out to be so.
Tinubu is often described as a ‘godfather’ because of his political influence having served two terms as governor of Nigeria’s commercial hub, Lagos from 1999 to 2007 and his role in supporting candidates to win elections.
2. Senator on exile
Since he bowed out as Lagos governor in 2007, Tinubu has picked every subsequent winning candidate to run the state.
Prior to becoming governor, he was a Nigerian senator for Lagos West district from 1991 to 1993, before the military suspended the National Assembly and all democratic structures.
Together with other Nigerians, Tinubu formed a coalition to end the military rule that the country saw in various forms between 1984 and 1998.
He later fled the country into exile following a crackdown on pro-democracy campaigners by the military junta. He returned in 1998 when political activities began for return to civilian rule.
3. Driver-turned politician
Tinubu's supporters portray him as an effective administrator with a track record of picking competent technocrats.
A biography on his campaign website said Tinubu was born in Lagos in 1952, to a Muslim family from the Yoruba ethnic group, the majority in southwest Nigeria. Although he is a Muslim, his wife, Remi, is a Christian pastor and was a Nigerian senator.
In the 1970s, Tinubu emigrated to the United States, where he worked as a dishwasher, taxi driver and night guard to fund his studies.
He graduated from Chicago State University in 1979 with a degree in business administration.
After working for US consultancy firms, he returned to Nigeria in the 1980s and worked for the branch of the Mobil oil company as an auditor.
4. Building Lagos
As the governor of Nigeria's commercial hub Lagos from 1999 to 2007 he Tinubu was praised for growing the state’s internally generated revenues considerably.
His government had come up with several initiatives for landmark projects, like building the Eko Atlantic City - a land reclamation work to protect Lagos’ Victoria Island against the surge of the Atlantic Ocean.
Tinubu's government in Lagos is also credited with establishing the Lekki Free Trade Zone, which helped boost economic activities, and set up new businesses, including the recently commissioned oil refinery built by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.
5. 'City boy'
Tinubu is fondly called the ‘City Boy’ by some of his supporters because of his role in developing Nigeria’s largest city – Lagos - where he was born. This is also a description of his sophistication.
''Don't worry, I am from Lagos. I am a city boy,'' Tinubu himself said to his cheering supporters at an event last year.
During his election campaign, Tinubu had promised Nigerians the kind of economic prosperity he oversaw in Lagos as well as better security.
“If you vote for APC, your headache is gone,” Tinubu told supporters in the northcentral state of Benue during campaigning.
At another campaign rally in Jigawa state, he said if “you vote for me, you vote for progress, you vote for development, you vote for agricultural business, you vote for constant electricity.”
And in his inauguration speech on Monday he said: ''We shall defend the nation from terror and all forms of criminality that threaten the peace and stability of our country and our subregion.''
Now Nigeria's fifth democratically-elected president, Tinubu’s governance will be tested as he will attempt to tackle Nigeria’s multiple challenges and improve on Buhari's record.
''We shall remodel our economy to bring about growth and development through job creation, food security and an end of extreme poverty,'' the new president added.
