2022 was an eventful year in Nigeria’s political space with activities ranging from primary elections at presidential, governorship and National Assembly levels, Continuous Voters Registration exercises, pre-campaign rallies, campaigns and a few presidential debates.
SaharaReporters recalls that each of these events came with a mixture of tension and entertainment, emanating from both political position contenders and their supporters at the low and high echelons.
Whereas political attacks and killings by members and supporters of various political parties heightened the boiling point of insecurity in the country within the year, some presidential candidates intermittently entertained Nigerians with their political gaffes.
Prominent among these candidates who made gaffes that trended and are still trending include the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peopels Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and former governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi.
Among many gaffes made by the top political office contenders, here are top 10 that trended across the country.
1: “Bala Blu, Blu, Bulalaba”
The APC presidential candidate and former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu on Thursday November 17, 2022, while addressing his supporters in Imo State struggled to pronounce a word believed to be “hullabaloo” and ended up saying “Bala Blu, Blu, Bulaba.”
2: “Vote for A…PDP”
The former Vice President and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, while speaking at a political rally in Jos, Plateau State capital, wanted to ask his supporters to vote for PDP but goofed and said, vote for A… I mean PDP.
Atiku who spoke in Hausa Language said, “For God’s sake and for the value of this place, ensure that you vote for A… I mean PDP this time around.”
3: “Nasarawa is big…it is a great country”
The former governor of Anambra State and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Thursday October 13, 2022, referred to Nasarawa State as a big country.
4: “God bless PD…APC”
While Atiku and Obi goofed, the APC presidential candidate, Tinubu, has made most notable gaffes in his political engagements in 2022.
On November 15, 2022, during his official flag off of his campaign in Jos, Plateau State capital, Tinubu goofed as he inadvertently prayed God’s blessing for the opposition PDP before he quickly corrected himself.
While trying to pray for his party, Tinubu mistakenly said, “God bless PD…APC.”
5: El Rufai turned a rotten situation into a bad one
On October 15, 2022, Tinubu goofed again at the seventh Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit (KADInvest) when he claimed that the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai turned a rotten situation into a bad one.
Tinubu said, “Some people need to understand idioms. when I said he turned a rotten situation into a bad one, it is an achievement.”
6: Calling APV instead of PVC
In another instance, Tinubu on Saturday November 26, 2022, while addressing his supporters in Lagos State, charged them to make sure that they collect their “APV”, meanwhile, he meant to say PVC which stands for Permanent Voters Card.
7: “Prevent Church rat from eating poisoned holy communion”
On October 17, 2022, Tinubu during a meeting with Area stakeholders in Kaduna State goofed while responding to a question on Nigeria’s adherence to global climate change advice.
He said climate change “is a question of how do you prevent a church rat from eating a poisoned holy communion?”
8: Tweeting on WhatsApp
Tinubu made another gaffe in April 2022 when he said that social media users could tweet on Whatsapp.
“Do you know how many of you are tweeting on WhatsApp right now?”
Meanwhile, tweeting is only done on Twitter which is a microblogging social media platform while Whatsapp is just a free instant messaging app.
9: Calling Delta State “Niger Delta State”
In another instance, Tinubu on November 25, 2022, during his campaign in Oporoza, Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta State, said that the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege would be the next governor of “Niger Delta” while he meant “Delta State.”
10: Calling Plateau State Governor Solomon Dalong instead of Solomon Lalong
Tinubu at the campaign rally in Jos, Plateau state capital, when referring to the party’s presidential council Director-General and state governor, Solomon Lalong, called him Solomon Dalong.
Meanwhile, Solomon Dalong is a former Minister of Youth and Sports Development from Plateau state while Solomon Lalong is the incumbent state governor and APC Presidential Campaign Council Director-General.
Tinubu, having made most gaffes, has had several questions and concerns raised about his mental health and his ability to rule Nigeria if voted into power in the 2023 general elections.
SaharaReporter
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