Turkey shrugs off Tinubu stumble, calls Nigerian outrage “Silly”

The uproar in Nigeria over President Bola Tinubu’s brief loss of balance during his official visit to Türkiye has been waved aside by Turkish officials, who reportedly found the entire episode trivial.

Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, made this known on Wednesday while reacting to a post on X by Oguntoye Opeyemi, also known as Equityoyo, who criticised the way Nigerian media handled the incident.

According to Dabiri-Erewa, officials in Ankara were taken aback when they learnt that the moment had generated controversy back home.

“Exactly. On ground here in Ankara, their officials were shocked to learn that it was an issue in Nigerian media/blogs,” she wrote.

She further revealed that a Turkish official dismissed the reaction as exaggerated and ill-intentioned, describing the fixation on the incident as “silly and mischievous,” while noting that the President’s visit was being warmly received across Türkiye.

“One of them described it as ‘silly and mischievous,’ and reiterated how their country was excited about the incredible success of the visit by @officialABAT, which is all over their media here,” Dabiri-Erewa added.

In his own contribution, Opeyemi pointed out that Turkish mainstream media outlets paid no attention to the episode, underscoring its insignificance in the host country.

“Not a single Turkish TV station reported the President’s accidental slip because it’s a non-issue. But Naija TV and national newspapers,” he wrote.

President Tinubu had briefly stumbled on Tuesday during a ceremonial march-past held in his honour at the parade ground in Ankara. The moment occurred as he joined the guard of honour but did not interrupt the programme.

Footage of the incident, initially shared by Turkish digital outlet Nefes Gazetesi and later circulated on X, showed Tinubu walking beside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan before momentarily losing his footing. He was promptly steadied by security personnel, after which proceedings continued normally.