The outrage that has trailed Bosun Tijani’s ministerial nomination over his old tweets is misdirected. If anything, Nigerians need to be just as angry as those tweets.
On 02 August 2023, President Bola Tinubu nominated Olatunbosun ‘Bosun’ Tijani, the CEO of tech startup support organization, Co-Creation Hub (CcHub), as a federal minister along with Adegboyega Oyetola, Atiku Bagudu, Bello Matawelle, Ibrahim Gaidam and Simon Lalong. Shortly after Tijani’s nomination, several people online went to work conducting ‘background checks’ on all nominees. In their ‘research’, they unearthed tweets Tijani had made in the past where he criticized Tinubu, former president, Muhammadu Buhari, and Nigeria’s government.
HOLD UP, WHO IS BOSUN TIJANI?
Tijani has been an integral part of the expansion of Nigeria’s tech ecosystem. He holds a Bsc. in Economics and a Diploma in Computer Science from the University of Jos and an MSc. in Information Systems and Management from the UK’s Warwick Business School. In March 2023, Tijani completed a PhD in Innovation and Economic Development at the University of Leicester. He co-founded CcHub in 2010, and as CEO has led the expansion of CcHub across Nigeria, Kenya, and Namibia. With a billion-naira growth fund, CcHub has supported over 95 early-stage businesses across multiple sectors including education and healthcare...