President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and The King’s College tie

On January 5, 2025, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR was conferred with the second highest honour in Nigeria. He became an honorary old boy of King’s College, Lagos. In order to commemorate the occasion, he was presented with the college tie which he is entitled to wear. It is indeed a rare honour. Some of the previous recipients are:

H.E. General Yakubu Gowon (Rtd) GCFR

H.E. Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR

H.E. Alhaji Sa’as Abubakar III, CFR

Brigadier General Mobolaji Johnson (Rtd)

Otunba T.O.S. Benson CFR

Ambassador Michael Omolewa OON

Chief Tayo Akpata CON

Mr Odien Ajumogobia

Dr Igwe Aja-Nwachukwu

Alhaji Nuuman Barau Dambatta, OON, MNI

Mr Sylvester Onoja OON

Professor Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka CFR

Emeritus Professor Oladipo Akinkugbe CFR

Dr (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Mrs Edna Soyanwo.

The ceremony was presided over by none other than Alhaji Femi Okunnu S.A.N., former president and current elder statesman within the King’s College Old Boys Association.

The venue was the residence of President Tinubu, Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos. It was at the end of Ramadan. Incidentally, the Muslim Ramadan coincided with the Christian Lent – with the emphasis on fasting, sacrifice and penitence. The same coincidence is again on the horizon this year. We shall come to that anon.

“President Tinubu rose to the occasion and promptly declared, “Since this request is from my uncle, Alhaji Okunnu SAN, I cannot refuse it. I hereby grant the request. The college will be handed over to its old boys.””

In the meantime, let us pause to recall another coincidence at the epochal event – Alhaji Okunnu delivered a formal request by the old boys of King’s College regarding the handing over of King’s College to the old boys of King’s College – lock, stock and barrel.

President Tinubu rose to the occasion and promptly declared, “Since this request is from my uncle, Alhaji Okunnu SAN, I cannot refuse it. I hereby grant the request. The college will be handed over to its old boys.”

There were no ambiguities. It was a presidential order.

What was most remarkable was that President Tinubu did not ask for anything in exchange. Magnanimous.

However, that is not the real story. The Ministry of Education has interjected with its own interpretation of the presidential order. Its officials have come up with “concession” as the pivot and anchor.

Alhaji Okunnu remains adamant – there were no ambiguities.

I was a witness.

Perhaps we should reflect on the recent encounter of an old boy of King’s College (Hyde-Johnson’s House) with officials of LASTMA (Lagos State Traffic Management Authority). He was in trouble for a traffic violation. According to LASTMA, the camera captured his failure to stop at the traffic lights on Alfred Rewane Road (formerly Kingsway Road), Ikoyi, at 5.58 pm on Sunday, 8th February 2026. Matters deteriorated rapidly when he refused to move his car so that traffic could flow. A lady who was in the car immediately behind him came out of her car and pleaded with the KCOB (King’s College Old Boy) to “settle” with the LASTMA official. He bluntly refused. The lady recognised the King’s College tie he was wearing. She was infuriated:

“Why are you so arrogant and stubborn?”

Matters deteriorated even more rapidly. There was a direct confrontation between the lady and the KCOB. The result was a scuffle. A policewoman from the nearby police barracks emerged. She promptly took the side of the lady and declared, “KCOB, you are under arrest for traffic violation, disorderly conduct and assaulting a lady.”

He was stunned. He remonstrated:

“I swear on my honour as a KCOB (Harman’s House) that I have not committed any offence. I stopped at the traffic lights. It was the LASTMA official who was harassing me. This lady joined the fray. I did not ever touch her.”

To cut a long story short, the KCOB was dragged to the police station on Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island. Straightaway, he was thrown behind the counter. The more he protested that he was a KCOB, the more he was tormented and mocked. He ended up spending the night in the police cell amongst hardened criminals, drug pushers, fraudsters, armed robbers, money doublers, fake magicians, soothsayers, looters of public funds, perverts, etc.

The heat in the overcrowded cell was unbearable. He was totally incommunicado. His telephones had been seized by the police.

The following day, his family turned up at the police station. It was too late. He had been whisked off to a court at Okesuna (next to Lagos Government School). The female magistrate barely listened to the charges before declaring:

“No bail. Four months in jail. This should serve as a warning to all those KCOB’s who think that they are a special breed and believe they own the country.”

The magistrate went further to add that she was well aware that, going by the prescribed penalties, she could have imposed a lenient fine or community service – especially in the case of a first-time offender. She gleefully declared that there was no way any KCOB could qualify as a first-time offender!!