The 2023 general election in Nigeria has no doubt gone into the records as a memorable one. From pre-campaign, primaries, campaigns, online wars, conspiracies, election and post-election, it was drama all through. Sometimes it was intense; sometimes it was tragic and sometimes sheer comedy.
One of the recurring elements in the whole build-up was the ‘errors’ made by the contestants, speech errors especially; it appeared no one was spared. Was it Atiku of the PDP asking voters in Kogi to vote for the ruling APC, or Peter Obi getting his numbers wrong when reeling out statistics as he often did, or was it Tinubu who helped content creators unknowingly in their skits? One thing it showed was that after all, these great men are still humans and can make mistake like anyone else.
Even the chairman of PDP at the time, Iyorcha Ayu, also made a monumental error when he said ‘PDP has brought us shame’ more than once. Imagine the number one man of the party ridiculing his own party. It was quite a hilarious show for the audience and an embarrassing one for the PDP.
Despite the errors in the run-up to the election, yet it is most surprising that President Tinubu today speaks without flaws, even making great extemporaneous speeches within and outside the borders of Nigeria.
Now that the errors seem to have been cast into the abyss, the question is; why did Tinubu make lots of mistakes before the election? Did he take Mario Cuomo’s quote very personal – ‘we campaign in poetry and govern in prose’. Even if he did, he would have made his poetry accessible like others, but he spoke esoterically, like Shakespeare.
A number of reasons have been put out by both pro-Tinubu and anti-Tinubu voices regarding the gaffes. Some say most of the errors attached to Tinubu were not real but the schemes of enemies and political opponents. One analyst opined that Tinubu must have been overwhelmed mentally and physically by the tough demands of the campaigns; the debates, speeches, travels and sheer anxiety, hence the gaffes.
In all these, President Tnubu today reminds one of Wole Soyinka’s play “The Lion and The Jewel ”.
The Lion and The Jewel is the story of a young beautiful girl named Sidi. She was being wooed by the young educated Lakunle and the village head Baroka, also known as the Bale of Ilujinle. Lakunle tried at different times to convince Sidi to marry him, while at the same time Baroka was in his palace strategizing on how to make Sidi his new wife though he already had many wives and children, aged 62.
One time Baroka hinted his first wife, Sadiku, that he had become weak and sterile, implying he couldn’t perform conjugual functions anymore. But this was actually not true, he knew the story would get to Sidi and therefore she would not see any danger in being around him.
Fortune smiled on him as his plan worked out perfectly, because Sidi on hearing of his malady went to his palace to see for herself and there he won her over.
The Lion and The Jewel story has quite a number of metaphors with the 2023 general elections in Nigeria. Could the media, both conventional and unconventional be referred to as Sadiku who carried the tale of the Bale’s weakness? Could Sidi the Jewel be seen as the Nigerian state or voters who were so coveted by the aspirants? And then Lakunle and Baroka; the Bale of Ilujinle, be seen as the aspirants. Did the president get sympathy from voters as a result of the perceived weakness?
Whichever way, now that the Lion has the Jewel, time will tell how he refines her
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