By Isaac ASABOR
There is no denying the fact that since Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu clinched the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that we have severally read in the news about how he has committed mind-boggling gaffes, particularly at campaign venues. What is happening? Why are these gaffes becoming recurrent? Just freaks of slip of the tongue? Or are the gaffes significantly intended? In as much as the foregoing questions are been asked in hush-hush tones, it is germane to say that the answers may be found in an incredible Biblical story.
The Old Testament book in 1 Kings chapter 19 records a histrionic scene when the Lord God passed by as the prophet Elijah stood in the mouth of a cave. The foregoing buttressed the fact that God can speak about a situation in diverse ways, and finds relevance in this context. It is biblical to recall in this context that God has spoken to situations through great and powerful wind, but He was not in the wind. He has spoken through the wind, and through an earthquake, but was not in either of them. After the earthquake, he has spoken through a burning fire, but God was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice, the gentle voice of Father God speaking to His frightened, weary child.
It will be recalled that God used the earthquake, wind, and fire to get Elijah’s attention because He had something to say. As He remained the same, yesterday, today, and forever, he still uses situations to speak to us. Without a doubt, the foregoing begs the question: Is God using gaffes to tell Nigerians about the correctness of Tinubu’s candidacy through his many gaffes? Yes, He is. What is it? I believe God is telling us something through the gaffes.
Against the foregoing backdrop, it is expedient to say that not a few Nigerians daily grapple with the following question: “How does God speak to us?” In response to the foregoing question, it is expedient to say that God speaks to his children in six ways. In a similar vein, not a few of them are asking, “How does one hear from God?
Still, in the same vein, not a few people are heard saying things like, “God spoke to me” or “The Lord told me.” “What does that mean?” “Did they hear an audible voice like Samuel?” “How can I hear from God?”
It is not an exaggeration to say that those that are spiritually gifted primarily hear from God by regularly spending time reading the Bible and obeying what it says. The Bible is God’s message to humankind. Everything we need to know to live a Christian life is already in the Bible. As we spend time meditating on his Word, God reveals his truth to us.
Without a doubt, Nigerians have been in panic and fear because of the recurring gaffes that are happening to Tinubu each time he goes for a political campaign ahead of the much-expected 2023 Presidential election.
For instance, in the course of electioneering in Owerri, the Imo State Capital, a couple of weeks ago, Mr. Tinubu, at a meeting with private sector stakeholders, tried to justify his shunning of town hall and debates organized by media organizations during his remarks.
He, in a slurry manner, said, “A town hall, different from “balabloo-blu-bulava”, to the consternation of his listeners. It was not clear if he was struggling to pronounce “hullabaloo”.
Also at the flag-off of his campaign in Jos, Mr. Tinubu suffered an embarrassing slip, screaming “God bless PD-APC at Jos presidential rally.” It was an unintended reference to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before quickly retracing his speech to properly mention his party, the APC.
The former Lagos State governor had in October, hailed Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai’s creativity in turning the fortunes of his state from a “rotten situation into a bad one.”
Before then, the APC presidential candidate had forgotten how to pronounce the name of his party, referring to APC members as belonging to the “Action Group” party.
“And the commitment for us as members of the Action Group,” Mr. Tinubu said while addressing members of his party in a viral video seen on social media in July.
Mr. Tinubu has consistently dismissed criticisms about his frail health, claiming physical strength is not the most important in leading the most populous African nation.
Analysts say Mr. Tinubu is a candidate to beat at the election featuring co-septuagenarian and former vice president Atiku Abubakar, and former Anambra and Kano governors, Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, respectively.
Many Nigerians are however worried about handing over the country in need of a strong president to another medically unfit leader after incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari who for the umpteenth time traveled out of the country to attend to his medical needs abroad.
As if the foregoing widely reported gaffes were not dramatic enough, the presidential candidate of the ruling APC was said to have rushed off the stage at the party’s presidential rally in Minna on Wednesday, December 14, 2022, owing to poor health.
It was gathered that “Tinubu was said to have arrived at the venue of the rally in the afternoon in Minna. However, when he was ushered to the stage to speak in a monitored live telecast, the APC flag bearer could only shout the party’s name several times in a slow and incoherent manner, thus: “APC, APC, Niger! Nigeria, Nigeria! Sai Bago, Sai Bago, APC, APC!” Tinubu said on stage.
Sai Lolo, Sai lolo,” he continued, after which he busted into laughter. He kept shouting, “Sai Bago, sai jagaban”, a nickname he is known for as his voice kept diminishing.
He continued shouting, “God bless you, God bless Niger State, may God bless you,” and was led away from the podium without presenting his manifesto nor his plans for the nation ahead of the 2023 presidential election. The rally was thereafter cut short in a live beam.
The question is, could God be speaking to us, the electorates, through his copious gaffes? Without any iota of exaggeration, many political leaders throughout the country have refused to listen to the voice of the Lord and abide by His word.
Against the foregoing analytical backdrop, it is expedient to ask, “Is God speaking to Nigerians about the correctness of Tinubu’s candidacy through his many gaffes?
