Turkish officials have dismissed the controversy generated in Nigeria over President Bola Tinubu’s brief stumble during his official visit to Türkiye, describing the attention given to the incident as “silly and mischievous,” according to Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM).
Dabiri-Erewa made this known on Wednesday while responding to a post on X by a user, Oguntoye Opeyemi (Equityoyo), who criticised Nigerian media reactions to the incident.
She said officials in Türkiye were surprised to learn that the moment had become an issue in Nigeria.
“Exactly. On ground here in Ankara, their officials were shocked to learn that it was an issue in Nigerian media/blogs,” Dabiri-Erewa wrote.
According to her, Turkish officials stressed that the focus in Türkiye was on the success of Tinubu’s visit rather than the brief incident at the reception ceremony.
She noted that one of the officials described the reaction in Nigeria as unnecessary and driven by mischief.
“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,” she added.
Opeyemi, in his original post, also pointed out that the incident received no attention in Türkiye’s mainstream media, describing it as a non-issue 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.
Tinubu had on Tuesday briefly stumbled during a ceremonial march-past organised in his honour at the parade ground in Ankara.
The incident occurred as he joined the guard of honour alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, momentarily drawing attention before the programme continued without disruption.
A short video of the moment, first shared by Turkish digital news platform Nefes Gazetesi and later circulated widely on X, showed Tinubu briefly losing his balance while walking with Erdoğan.
He was quickly steadied by security operatives.
Despite the video going viral in Nigeria and generating widespread commentary online, the Presidency has consistently downplayed the incident, insisting it had no impact on the President’s health or official engagements.
