Social media erupted on Wednesday after President Bola Tinubu slipped while boarding a parade vehicle during the 2024 Democracy Day celebration. Tinubu quickly regained his balance and continued without further issues. Here, Naija News highlights other world leaders who have experienced similar moments:
- Joe Biden: In March 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden tripped on the steps of Air Force One while heading to Atlanta for a meeting with Asian-American community leaders.
- Robert Mugabe: Zimbabwe’s then 90-year-old President, Robert Mugabe, fell down a staircase in February 2015 after addressing supporters at Harare International Airport.
- Gerald Ford: The former U.S. President slipped on Air Force One in 1975 while in Vienna, Austria, for talks with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
- Fidel Castro: The Cuban leader fell off the stage in Santa Clara, Cuba, in October 2004, resulting in a broken knee and arm.
- Barack Obama: In March 2015, former U.S. President Barack Obama nearly fell down the steps of Air Force One while returning to Washington D.C. from Florida.
- Mike Pence: In June 2020, then Vice President Mike Pence tripped while running up the stairs of Air Force Two.
- Tommy Tuberville: In October 2023, Senator Tommy Tuberville was mocked online after a video showed him falling down a flight of plane stairs, despite his previous criticism of Joe Biden’s public falls.
- Hillary Clinton: In 2011, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton slipped to her knees while boarding a plane to Yemen, saved from further embarrassment by an aide.
- Vladimir Putin: The Russian leader fell during a 2019 hockey game while doing a victory lap at Sochi’s Bolshoy Ice Dome.
- Boris Johnson: The former UK Prime Minister tripped and fell during a charity tug-of-war game at a World War I commemoration event in 2015.
4o