Nigerian President Bola Tinubu suffered an unfortunate spill on Thursday during official Democracy Day celebrations marking 25 years of civilian rule in Africa’s most populous nation.
The 72-year-old president slipped and fell while climbing into a vehicle that was supposed to transport him around Eagle Square in the capital of Abuja for the ceremonial event.
Footage captured by witnesses showed Tinubu losing his footing on the vehicle’s steps before hitting the ground.
An aide quickly rushed to help the president up, dismissing it as just a “mild misstep.”
Tinubu was able to compose himself and continue participating in the ceremony’s remaining portions, presidential spokesperson Dada Olusegun assured Nigerians on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
“He immediately went on with the ceremonial rounds. No issues,” Olusegun wrote.
However, the highly-visible fall instantly reignited concerns about Tinubu’s age and health status that persisted throughout his campaign last year. His closest challenger, Atiku Abubakar, said he hoped all was well with the president following the “unfortunate incident.”
While some prominent voices like activist Shehu Sani shrugged it off as a common human mishap that could happen to anyone, videos of the elderly leader’s tumble made the rounds and left many Nigerians feeling unsettled.
“Whether it is President Biden or President Tinubu, I usually feel hurt when a human gets hurt in the place of service,” one Facebook commenter, Charles Awuzie, wrote. “I wish the president well.”
As Tinubu, who turns 73 next year, settles into the presidency he secured through a tightly-contested election in February, his ability to convincingly demonstrate his fitness for office will remain under scrutiny. For now, his team maintains he emerged unscathed from Thursday’s fall and was able to fulfill his ceremonial duties without further issue.