For President Bola Tinubu, the celebration of the 2024 anniversary of June 12 couldn’t have begun on a more awkward note. Having addressed the nation earlier in the morning, the president headed for the Eagle Square in Abuja to take the symbolic salute as the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. He came dressed in resplendent flowing agbada. As he made to step into the topless ceremonial parade van that would take him round the Square, he stumbled and tumbled on the floor of the car. His aides rushed to him and helped him up – apparently unhurt.
The Presidency quickly issued a clarification of what happened. Dada Olusegun, Tinubu’s special adviser on social media, explained on his X handle: “Mr President missed his step while climbing into the truck at June 12 Democracy Day celebration and tripped. It was a mild misstep. He immediately went on with the ceremonial rounds. No issues.” During a dinner later that evening in the Presidential Villa, Tinubu joked about the accident, calling it “dobale” in Yoruba, meaning to prostrate. He said he, as a traditional Yoruba man, prostrated as a mark of respect for those that gave their lives for democracy. But as president, he said he would not fall.
Some Nigerians were bluntly unsympathetic and mischievous in their social media comments. However, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, the two front running politicians Tinubu beat in the 2023 presidential election, were more charitable, saying what happened to Tinubu could have happened to about anybody. No big deal, they said and wished the president well. “I was saddened to learn of President Tinubu’s fall ….I wish him well. We achieve nothing by gloating about an accident that could well happen to anyone of us,” Obi wrote on X. “We are human beings, and while we profoundly disagree on how to move Nigeria forward, we must remember our common human frailty.” His tone was markedly different from his pre-election acerbity, painting the would-be as sickly and not mentally balanced.
Now that the ‘newsness’ and drama of the “fall” have worn thin, let’s see what takeaways are in Tinubu’s broadcast. One, our democracy today was paid for with blood. We are enjoying a meal others paid for with their lives. Two, democracy isn’t just about elections. “It’s a way of life,” he said. “Democracy is a way of life that encompasses a broad outlook of which elections are but a part. As such, a nation can have elections without being democratic. But a nation cannot be truly democratic without holding elections.” According to Tinubu, Nigeria has “established a tradition of holding transparent, open and fair elections”, which “gives credence to our democratic standing”. What more, “that we have experienced peaceful transitions of government confirms our democratic temperament.” The question now is whether we want to move forward with democracy or stagnate in the present.
To Tinubu, the choice is obvious. It is democracy all the way because “true democracy shines its light into the daily lives of the people who live under its nurturing wings. It affords us the freedom and liberty to think as we want, live where we want and pursue whatever legitimate endeavour that suits us.” He recognizes that there are people “who will try to exploit current challenges to undermine, if not destroy, this democracy for which so much as already been given. This is the great battle of our day and the major reason we specially celebrate this day as Democracy Day.” I see this as a monologue that will hardly resonate with the majority of the citizenry. Fair, transparent and peaceful elections? Then why are losers so called head for the courts to challenge election outcomes? Democracy speaks to people’s daily lives? Not in this country and now. Most Nigerians, under democracy, have seen their purchasing power erode faster than under the military. There are whisperings at street corners and in buses of discontent and a desire for life of yesteryears. Not that they don’t like democracy but the leaders who turned its head upside down and made life excruciatingly miserable. They see islands of scandalous wealth in a sea of extreme poverty. Dialogue between these opposites is impossible.
