TINUBU, AGBADA & PARADE – nothing to falling down in public
by Dr Olu Agunloye
Former Minister of Defence Navy
Former Minister of Power and Steel
Former Corps Marshal, FRSC
There is nothing to Tinubu’s fall except if he hurt himself badly. People, including presidents, brides, cheerleaders, and headmasters, trip and do fall in public places even when they are in smarter clothes. In flowing agbada, anyone is a likely candidate to trip and fall.
As a serving Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, I once fell in the Cabinet Office in Tafawa Balewa, Lagos, while going for a meeting at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and I had tripped and fallen at international airports in the past, not as an old man but a vibrant young man in the 40s and 50s.
One memorable incident was in my early days as Minister of Defence (Navy), when I was invited to a major event in Lagos by the military. I was 51 years old. The UK Ambassador to Nigeria, UK Chief of Naval Staff, senior UK Naval officers, and the counterpart equivalents from Ghana and Nigeria were to be at the occasion as well, and I was invited to represent the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I went in a Yoruba hand-embroidered agbada, which I “inherited” from Uncle Dele Ige, brother to Uncle Bola, the former Attorney-General of the Federation.
I came out strong as a proud and important Yoruba man to the event, and all was well until the ceremony moved from the quay side into one of the biggest warships in contemporary times. When we entered the warship, I tripped thrice and almost fell twice to the ground. There were several stairways as there were over six floor levels on the ship. The then Nigerian Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunday Afolayan, had to devote special attention to help me with the flowing garment. It was a watershed day for me. I quietly folded the agbada away after I got home, and from then, I changed to wearing white long-sleeved shirt and trousers or buba and soro throughout my tenure as a Minister.
As a matter of fact, the more ‘ceremonial’ and elaborate the agbada is, the clumsier and the more likely it is for one to step on it or get entangled in it. And when you fall or trip, it may be minor or serious.
President Tinubu is welcome to the club of men and women, high and low, who trip in public places. There is nothing for him to worry about except his bruises and sprains.
Abuja. 12 June 2024
