It鈥檚 the World Cup in a few days and while Nigeria won’t be taking part, there are no hard feelings as there鈥檚 enough drama at home to keep us occupied. With things getting intense ahead of the 2023 elections, we鈥檝e seen presidential candidates buckle under pressure with twists and slips.聽
Being the troublemakers that we are, we鈥檝e compiled the top four embarrassing moments of the presidential campaigns so far.
Atiku has his 鈥渆mi lokan鈥 moment
We start with the unifier. Atiku Abubakar of the People鈥檚 Democratic Party (PDP), had his first major gaffe at an interactive session on October 14, 2022. Addressing the Arewa Joint Committee, Atiku was asked what his plans were for the North.
We should have known he was up to no good when he turned up in sneakers. He took the mic, and the words that came from his mouth were in stark contrast to his goal of unifying Nigerians.
His words: 鈥淚 think what the average northerner needs is someone who is from the North, and who also understands the other parts of Nigeria, and who has been able to build bridges across the rest of the country. This is what the northerner needs. He doesn鈥檛 need a Yoruba candidate, or an Igbo candidate. This is what the northerner needs.鈥
Nigerians had interesting reactions to this online.
BAT loves bad things
Bola Tinubu (BAT) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is no stranger to controversies. If anything, he delights in them. At a summit in Kaduna, around the same time Atiku was pulling his 鈥渆mi lokan鈥 stunt, BAT reminded us that he鈥檚 the true king of comical errors.
In what was supposed to be a compliment to Nasir El-Rufai, BAT still found a way to throw a jab at him. He said: 鈥淚鈥檓 begging Nasiru El-Rufai not to run away for (an) additional degree. Your vision, creativity and resiliency in turning a rotten situation into a bad one is necessary at this critical time.鈥
His spokesman called it a 鈥渟lip of tongue鈥. But as you鈥檒l find out soon, that would be one of several slips to come.
Obi and his unverifiable facts
Peter Obi (The Rock) of the Labour Party (LP) has no doubt captured a lot of supporters, building his Obidient army. And if there鈥檚 anything he is famous for, it is quoting statistics to back up his claims. However, not all rocks are solid, as Obi has shown us.
His most prominent gaffe came in an . On July 25, 2022, he claimed that of the 150 players playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA), almost 100 are Nigerians.聽
You know how Obi always says 鈥淕o and verify鈥? Well, fact-checkers did and they . Turns out that among the 109 international players registered for the league鈥檚 2021-2022 season, only five 鈥 and not 鈥渁lmost 100鈥 鈥 are from Nigeria.
The BAT strikes again
BAT鈥檚 most recent gaffe places him head and shoulders above the presidential pack. At a rally on November 15, 2022, in Plateau state, the BAT lost track of his own political party when he . We checked, and there鈥檚 no party by that name.聽
Naturally, we have questions.
And theories.
And a winner.
Are there any other moments you think we left out? Let us know in the comments.
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