President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, slipped while boarding the parade vehicle at the venue of the 2024 Democracy Day celebration.
This unfortunate incident occurred on June 12, 2024, during the Democracy Day celebration at Eagle Square in Abuja.
As Tinubu attempted to climb into a parade vehicle, he missed his step and fell face-first onto the floor of the vehicle. His security team quickly rushed to assist him and helped him back to his feet. The presidency later stated that it was a “mild misstep” and that Tinubu immediately continued with the ceremonial rounds.
Prior to his election, Tinubu had also faced concerns about his health. During the campaign, he infamously said, “If you hear them saying, can I do it? I am not applying for the job of a grave digger; not race running, I am not a horse. I am not applying for bricklaying.” At one point, he spent three months in a London hospital for a knee surgery and rehabilitation.
A video of Tinubu’s dress soaked from behind, published by Peoples Gazette, also elicited criticism among Nigerians, with many suggesting that the president might be suffering from urinary incontinence. Days later, Tinubu’s estranged protégé, Rauf Aregbesola, then-minister of interior, derided him at a political rally, saying “won ti n to ara,” a Yoruba expression meaning “they’re already urinating on themselves.”
This report highlights other world leaders aside from Tinubu, who had had clumsy moments and were caught on camera while boarding vehicles or disembarking official aircraft.
1. June 1975 – United States President Ford slid down the Air Force One stairs
The then United States President Gerald Ford slid Air Force One in 1975 while visiting Vienna in Austria for talks with Egyptian President Anwar Sada.
2. October 2004- Cuba leader, Fidel Castro falls from stage
Cuban leader Fidel Castro, in 2004, fell off of the stage in Santa Clara, Cuba. Castro broke his knee and arm in the fall, sources say. The fall brought back memories of when he collapsed two years before the 2004 fall.
3. February 2015 – Zimbabwe President, Robert Mugabe, slid the Airport staircase
Zimbabwe’s 90-year-old President Robert Mugabe fell down a staircase as he walked off a podium after addressing supporters at Harare International Airport, an AFP correspondent said.
He had just returned from Ethiopia, where he took over the rotating chairmanship of the African Union.
4. March 2015 – Barack Obama recovers after near fall down steps of Air Force One
US President Barack Obama came close to falling down the steps of Air Force One. Obama was returning to Washington DC from a golfing trip in Florida when he bounded from the door of the plane only to lose his footing. He recovered and continued across the tarmac with the same spring in his step.
5. June 2020 – V.P. Mike Pence Falls Up The Steps Of Air Force Two
Vice President Mike Pence had a moment remarkably similar to President Biden’s upward slip. Pence was filmed running, then tripping, up the staircase of Air Force Two.
6. March 2021 – President Joe Biden trips three times on Air Force One stairs
President Joe Biden trips three times on Air Force One stairs while scaling the steps to Air Force One to Atlanta to meet with Asian-American community leaders on a massacre.
7. October 2023 – Senator Tommy Tuberville
Senator Tommy Tuberville, who has previously criticised President Joe Biden for falling in public view, was mocked online after a video showing him falling down a flight of plane stairs himself went viral.
Alabama Republican, who at the time was coaching the University of Cincinnati football team, appeared to lose his footing after three steps and slid the rest of the way down.
8. Yemen 2011 – Hillary Clinton
The then-Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was boarding a plane to Yemen when she slipped to her knees at the doorway and was only saved from further embarrassment when an aide gave her a helping hand.
