{"id":34614,"date":"2024-06-12T13:13:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T13:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=34614"},"modified":"2024-06-12T14:38:01","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T14:38:01","slug":"president-tinubu-fell-so-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2024\/06\/12\/president-tinubu-fell-so-what\/","title":{"rendered":"President Tinubu fell; so what?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The uproar that greeted the slip of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on June 12, 2024, as the nation marked its Democracy Day, goes a long way to describe a people yet to find truce to setting their priorities right.<\/p>\n

In the wake of lingering economic woes and the attendant anguish that has been the lot of majority of Nigerians, one would expect that, rather than looking for trivialities that add nothing to our present precarious situation, a citizen clamoring for leeway to stardom should rather roll up sleeves in readiness to team up with government to salvage Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Yes, things are rough and our leaders seems to have been at a cross road as to proffering a foolproof way out of the present economic quagmire, but it is an Hobson’s choice that we keep hope alive, believing that we shall breakthrough at last.<\/p>\n

Back to the presidential slide, it is on record that prominent leaders across the globe have fell down at public glare, hence President Tinubu’s fall should not be a surprise, since he is also human. As human, there are bound to be occasions like that and life goes on.<\/p>\n

So, President Bola Tinubu who stumbled and fell as he climbed into the back of a parade vehicle at Eagle Square on Wednesday, now making headlines around the world is no news. He is far from the only world leader or political icon, who has taken a highly visible fall.<\/p>\n

From Chinese leader Xi Jinping (whose 2019 slip commentators dubbed the \u201cgreat fall of China\u201d) to Gerald Ford (whose fall while disembarking Air Force One in 1975 was the subject of late-night comedy skits) and other politicians around the world, trips and tumbles are fodder for laughs, cringes \u2014 and hot takes.<\/p>\n

Though when the mighty fall, we just can\u2019t look away.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt breaks the image of infallibility of powerful figures,\u201d Bart Cammaerts, a professor of politics and communication at the London School of Economics, told The Washington Post. Projecting the right image is serious business for politicians.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe Biden of USA<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Biden\u2019s case, his critics immediately used it as an opportunity to highlight the oldest U.S. president\u2019s age and question his fitness for office. But there is also something captivating about politicians appearing more human. \u201cThink of slapstick comedy, breaking the seriousness and ceremonial aspect of the event,\u201d Cammaerts said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith people in power, there is so much effort to control the public image \u2014 body language, speech, facial expressions \u2014 that seeing all those things fall away all at once, in a total loss of control, is particularly gripping,\u201d said Dan Stevens, professor of political behavior in the United States and Britain at Exeter University.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Here are other memorable political falls or trips.<\/p>\n

1. Hillary Clinton \u2014 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

A media frenzy ensued when Hillary Clinton, as Democratic presidential nominee, buckled and stumbled in 2016 after becoming sick during a 9\/11 memorial service in New York.While Clinton was diagnosed with pneumonia, and her doctor said she became overheated and dehydrated at the event, the incident became a hot button in a highly charged campaign \u2014when her rival, Bonald Trump had repeatedly questioned her \u201cstamina\u201d for office and accused her of being \u201cexhausted,\u201d The Post reported at the time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

2. Donald Trump \u2014 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trump, as president, looked unsteady on his feet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2020. His slow, unsteady walk while descending a ramp led his critics to use the hashtag #TrumpIsNotWell. As The Post reported at the time, Trump is \u201cexceptionally attuned\u201d to his public image and keen on being seen as strong \u2014 and his critics were quick to compare the incident with videos of his rival Biden jogging. Trump tweeted that the ramp was \u201cvery long & steep, had no handrail and, most importantly, was very slippery\u201d and insisted that the \u201clast thing I was going to do is \u2018fall\u2019 for the Fake News to have fun with.”He also made headlines in the United Kingdom when he clutched the hand of Prime Minister Theresa May in 2017 during her visit to the White House. Trump appeared to grab her hand as he walked down a ramp, before patting it and letting go. The incident came as a \u201csurprise\u201d to May, her advisers later reportedly said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

3. Gerald Ford \u2014 1975<\/p>\n

Stumbles, especially from older politicians, are often framed as part of a narrative about fitness for office, Stevens said, also citing the example of Bob Dole who at age 73 ran against Bill Clinton in 1996 and fell off a stage at a campaign event.Exactly 48 years ago to the day of Biden\u2019s June 1 tumble, President Gerald Ford was also captured falling down by the media. The embarrassing incident occurred overseas as he was disembarking Air Force One in the rainy Austrian city of Salzburg.<\/p>\n

Accompanied by his wife, Ford, 61, walked tentatively down the wet plane steps before seeming to lose his balance and skidding down the remaining stairs, ending up in a heap on the tarmac as officials clambered to get him back on his feet. He apparently later quipped: \u201cThank you for your gracious welcome to Salzburg, and I am sorry I tumbled in.\u201dThe incident was caught on camera and beamed globally. It was also used in late-night comedy shows at the time portrahing the president as bumbling and clumsy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

4. Xi Jinping \u2014 2019<\/p>\n

China\u2019s leader Xi Jinping caused a commotion when he nearly slipped off a stage in Russia during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2019. On a crowded platform, surrounded by U.N. Secretary General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres and other world leaders, Xi appeared to get close to the crowd, bending and waving before almost falling toward them.He swiftly regained his footing, although he looked a little sheepish, before coolly walking away and waving. Commentators labeled it the \u201cgreat fall of China\u201d and mused about the implications for his image in a country that goes to extreme lengths to portray Xi as a strong leader and avoids any public criticism.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Robert Mugabe \u2014 2015<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe\u2019s late leader, Robert Mugabe, went flying down red-carpeted steps in the capital Harare in 2015.An immediate government denial followed, and some members of the press were forced to delete their photographs by security officials. \u201cNobody has shown any evidence of the president having fallen down because that did not happen,\u201d Information Minister Jonathan Moyo told the state-owned Zimbabwe Herald, labeling speculators \u201cmalcontents.\u201d He then blamed poor carpeting. \u201cTo be honest with you, even Jesus, let alone you, would have also tripped in that kind of situation,\u201d he added.The authoritarian leader appeared to struggle with the stairs and then miss one, falling down as he headed for his car. His critics pointed to his age – 90 – and saw it as another reason for him to walk away after more than three decades in power in the southern African country<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

6. Vladimir Putin \u2014 2019<\/p>\n

But in 2019 the world saw him floored during another pursuit: playing ice hockey at Sochi\u2019s Bolshoy Ice Dome. After winning the game, Putin glides around the rink in a victory lap clapping and waving at fans. The Russian leader then slammed into the floor l before being helped up and skating off.Russia\u2019s President Vladimir Putin is known for carefully curating his image, releasing photographs of him bare-chested riding a horse or swimming in a freezing Siberian lake or practicing judo in apparent displays of his strength and manliness.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

7. Boris Johnson \u2014 2015<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the current era of promotional politics, a politician\u2019s \u2018brand\u2019 \u2014 or public persona \u2014 is as critical for gaining public acceptance as their policies,\u201d said Lee Edwards, professor of strategic communication and public engagement at LSE.Another male leader said to care about his image \u2014 Britain\u2019s former prime minister Boris Johnson \u2014 also makes the epic falls list. Johnson, often appearing with his hair uncombed and shirts untucked, has been perceived by some British media as a curated image of his nonchalant approach to government.In 2015, the then-mayor of London made tabloid headlines when heslipped during a charity tug-of-war game at a World War I commemoration event with Britain\u2019s armed forces. Clenching his teeth and grimacing, Johnson pulled hard in the game taking place along the River Thames. He was heard exclaiming \u201coh bugger,\u201d before ultimately losing his footing and falling on the muddy grass before regaining his composure.<\/p>\n

All public appearances are therefore scrutinized and \u201cwhere weaknesses emerge, they are highly visible and up for discussion,\u201d she said. Memes and social media commentary \u201cperpetuate the story, along with the embarrassment, for much longer than used to be the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

8. Helle Thorning-Schmidt \u2014 2015<\/p>\n

Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt fell down steps in Paris in 2015, landing her on her hands and knees. She was exiting France\u2019s Elysee Palace wearing high heel shoes before she wobbled and her ankles appeared to give way, causing her to tumble and let out a scream. She quickly dusted herself off and proceeded to take questions from nearby reporters<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

9. Margaret Thatcher \u2014 1982<\/p>\n

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher fell down after politically fraught meetings in Beijing in 1982, in which she was negotiating the future of the British colonial territory of Hong Kong.As she left the Great Hall of the People, she stumbled down the steps \u2014 a moment captured on camera. At the time, her fall was perceived by many in Hong Kong as a sign that negotiations were not going well for the British \u2014 some described it as an embarrassing or ominous moment in the negotiations, or a moment that symbolised how Britain\u2019s power was waning at a time when China was adopting an increasingly bullish position on Hong Kong<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The uproar that greeted the slip of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on June 12, 2024, as the nation marked its Democracy Day, goes a long way to describe a people yet to find truce to setting their priorities right. In the wake of lingering economic woes and the attendant anguish that has been the lot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34614"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34637,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34614\/revisions\/34637"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}