Nigeria’s President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been named amongst United States TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023.
This development is coming barely two months after the controversial presidential election held on February 25, with Tinubu emerging the winner of the polls.
Times magazine, on Thursday, published its annual list of most influential people on earth, with Tinubu’s name in it, together with other world influential people such as: the King of the United Kingdom, King Charles III; US President Joe Biden; US Senator Mitch McConnell; Argentine footballer, Lionel Messi; Twitter CEO, Elon Musk; US actor, Michael B. Jordan; US singer, Beyonce; US actress, Angela Bassett, amongst others.
Tinubu had a special profile created for him on the publication’s website with the criteria explained and details about him.
It read, “Winning an election in Africa’s most populous country is no easy feat. But Nigeria’s newly elected President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has had nearly two decades to prepare.
“Called Jagaban, or ‘leader of the warriors’, by his supporters, the now 71-year-old ran in a presidential election for the first time this March.
“His campaign slogan, ‘It’s my turn’, was a nod to his role as a longtime political power broker. Tinubu helped restore the country’s democracy in 1999 after fighting military rule and then served two consecutive terms as governor of Lagos.
“But Tinubu’s win with the ruling All Progressives Congress party came in a fraught election and by a slim margin over Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.
“It was the first time Nigerian voters contended with a third-party candidate, and many discontented young Nigerians yearning for change pinned their hopes on Obi. Marred by allegations of intimidation and vote rigging, the outcome of the ballot is being challenged in court.
“Tinubu now faces a litany of crises in a fractured nation, including deep-rooted corruption, religious insurgencies, and shortages of cash, fuel, and power in a crumbling economy.
“But the President-elect seems aware of his inheritance: ‘[Nigeria] is one country and we must build it together,’ he said in his acceptance speech.”
Dr. Dimie Ogoina, was also on the famous globally recognized list, for his contribution to science and medicine.
Ogoina made the list for sounding the alarm on a new presentation of Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) that he was seeing in Nigeria, which later became relevant to the global community.
The Times magazine detailed his profile writing, “In 2017, when Dr. Dimie Ogoina sounded the alarm on a new presentation of Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) that he was seeing in his home country of Nigeria, the world wasn’t ready to listen. Recognizing the importance and potential implications for global spread, he persisted, documenting the potential for sexual transmission of Mpox and publishing the data in high-impact scientific journals. As the global Mpox outbreak unfolded in 2022, Dimie’s insights became critically important to developing better strategies to prevent and control outbreaks.
“Dimie is also a passionate champion for global health equity. He has often made the point that Mpox is not a new disease and that had the world paid attention sooner, we could have avoided a global outbreak. It is this drive that has led Dimie to make significant contributions to the field through his advocacy, leadership, and research.”
