Bola Ahmed Tinubu: From Drug Lord To Presidential Candidate


From Gary, Indiana to Abuja, Nigeria via a stopover in Chicago. Here is how the bagman for a 1990's Chicago drug ring has become a frontrunner for Nigeria's most powerful office. And then some.

David Hundeyin
Jul 13
286
154

“The 1990s were a crazy time.”

- John Kelly, White House chief of staff 2017 - 2019

On October 11, 1990, federal agents from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) knocked on the front door of 460, Taft Place in the city of Gary, Indiana. Once a booming steel town with a population approaching 180,000 in 1960, Gary was one of number of cities and towns across the US suffering from severe population loss, among other adverse effects of overseas competition on their mainstay industries. From having over 30,000 employees at its peak in 1970, the city’s main employer U.S. Steel Gary Works retained just 6,000 employees in 1990.

In these circumstances, this city and its 77 percent African-American population were witnessing explosive growth in one of the few industries guaranteed to boom in response to such difficult circumstances. 42 year-old Lee Andrew Edwards was one of the entrepreneurs who had found a place in the heroin trade, and by all accounts he had done well for himself. With the proceeds from his illegal business, he had bought 2 residential homes including 460, Taft Place, an apartment building, a liquor store and a new car - all paid for with cash.



https://westafricaweekly.substack.com/p/bola-ahmed-tinubu-from-drug-lord