Turkish Officials Call Tinubu Stumble Controversy ‘Silly’ – Abike Dabiri

The controversy stirred in Nigeria over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s brief stumble during his state visit to Türkiye has been dismissed by Turkish officials as “silly” and “mischievous,” according to the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri‑Erewa.

Dabiri‑Erewa shared observations on 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday in response to a post by user Oguntoye Opeyemi (Equityoyo), who noted the disparity between Nigerian and Turkish media reactions to the incident.

Commenting from Ankara, Dabiri‑Erewa said Turkish officials were taken aback that the President’s brief misstep, which occurred on Tuesday during a ceremonial welcome, had become a major talking point in Nigerian blogs and news outlets.

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

She quoted one Turkish official describing the fuss as silly and mischievous, adding that the visit was instead being widely celebrated in official and local media 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 said.

Opeyemi’s post, which Dabiri‑Erewa responded to, pointed out that not a single Turkish TV station carried the story of the stumble because it was considered a non‑event locally.

“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.

Naijaonpoint recalls that President Tinubu briefly lost his balance on Tuesday while participating in a ceremonial march‑past arranged to welcome him in Ankara.

The incident occurred as he inspected a guard of honour alongside Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, drawing momentary attention before the programme continued uninterrupted.

A video shared by Turkish digital news platform Nefes Gazetesi later circulated widely on 𝕏 showed Tinubu walking beside President Erdoğan before briefly stumbling and being swiftly assisted by security operatives.

Despite the clip going viral in Nigeria, the Presidency has consistently downplayed the event, stressing that it was a minor slip unrelated to the President’s health or the significance of the diplomatic engagement.