Though it is not yet certain who becomes the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) party, all eyes are on Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, add Osinbajo and a sprinkle of other APC Chieftains that have declared their intentions to contest the APC presidential ticket in the forthcoming indirect primaries.
As a top contender for the ruling party’s 2023 presidential ticket, Tinubu has travelled to virtually every nook and cranny of Nigeria to solicit support from political allies, cronies, traditional rulers and the general public. Call it consultation.
Reeling from his travels, the former Lagos State Governor made a plethora of vows caught on media which he promised to fulfil if he eventually emerges as the President of Nigeria. These are, however, not short of public gaffes that Nigerians will never forget.
See: APC Nomination Form, Indirect Primaries and What they Mean for Tinubi and Co
5 Times Tinubu Committed Blunders in Public
1. To Tackle Insecurity and Unemployment, Tinubu Promised to Recruit 50 Million Youths to the Army and Feed them with Corn & Cassava.
For committing this particular blunder in public, Tinubu was the talk of the country for weeks.
How could you promise to end youth unemployment in Nigeria by recruiting them into the army and feed them with corn and cassava?
Like, who does that?
For the records, this social gaffe was committed at a Colloquium which was held on the occasion of his 69th birthday in 2021 at Kano.
2. Mistaking Osinbajo’s Wife for Aisha Buhari
This happened in Abuja at the launch of president Buhari’s biography book launch.
While acknowledging the dignitaries present, Tinubu mistook the Vice President’s wife Dolapo Osinbajo for the First Lady, Aisha Buhari.
In his words, “Your excellency President Muhammadu Buhari, ably represented by the chief of staff; his excellency the vice president, Yemi Osinbajo; her excellency first lady, Aisha Muhammadu Buhari; your excellency wife of the president, Dolapo Osinbajo.”
3. On PVC, Tinubu Says Cards Expire?!
On one of the occasions of his political tours, Tinubu committed a big fallacy. A very big one at that, that INEC had to denounce it almost immediately.
What did he say this time? PVC card expires!—that was in January.
Refuting this claim, INEC said that the P in PVC stands for “permanent.” Therefore, to say PVCs expire is not correct.
Did he stop? Hell, no. Again, at a campaign event on April 16th 2022, Tinubu advised supporters to ensure that their voters card are revalidated so they can vote in the 2023 general elections.
4. “Tweeting on WhatsApp”
Ain’t saying that Tinubu is far from reality, but his words aren’t saying otherwise.
This social gaffe is more recent. While addressing a hurricane of youths at Onikan Stadium, Tinubu says “Nigerians like to tweet on WhatsApp.”
Whatever question pops up in your mind after seeing this faux pas is left for every one to answer.
But as far as we know, Twitter and WhatsApp are two different social media platforms with different words associated with them.
5. Pantami Disconnected Phone Numbers from National Grid
When we thought we had seen it all, Tinubu released yet another fodder for mockery— Pantami has disconnected phone numbers from the national grid.
Then we begin to wonder why someone who claims to be sound both physically and mentally could not differentiate between electricity generation and mobile phone networks.
Well, your guess is as good as mine
My Two Pennyworth
Nigeria is in a critical time and in dire need of a messiah. If Nigeria must rise from the ashes, Nigerians must rise to the occasion and elect people of sound mind and integrity into political offices in 2023.