President Bola Ahmed Tinubu clarified the reason for his fall during the Democracy Day parade at Eagles Square in Abuja.
On Wednesday, Tinubu slipped while boarding a parade vehicle at the 2024 Democracy Day event. The incident occurred shortly after his arrival when he momentarily lost his footing as he was about to step into the vehicle. Despite the stumble, the President quickly regained his balance and continued with the event, which sparked various reactions from Nigerians both on and off social media.
During a dinner at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday night, Tinubu explained that he did not actually fall but was performing a traditional greeting in honor of Democracy Day.
He remarked, “Earlier this morning, I had a swagger and it’s on social media.” Tinubu humorously suggested that observers might have mistaken his misstep for either the popular ‘Buga’ dance move or ‘Idobale,’ the traditional Yoruba way of prostrating to greet elders.
“They were confused whether I was doing Buga or babanriga,” Tinubu said.
“But it’s a day to celebrate democracy while doing ‘dobale’ for the day. I am a traditional Yoruba boy, I did my dobale,” he added light-heartedly. This disclosure left many guests laughing. However, Tinubu’s fall elicited mixed reactions from Nigerians with several people suggesting that the fall was so heavy to be a minor slip.
