Vice President Kashim Shettima on Friday took a swipe at Nigerians who took to the media to make a frenzy of President Bola Tinubu’s misstep during the democracy day celebration on June 12.
Recall that President Tinubu had a misstep as he climbed onto the back of a military parade vehicle at Eagles Square, during the commemoration.
Specifically, President Tinubu tripped clumsily and fell as he attempted to climb onto the military Landrover meant to convey him to inspect a guard of honour mounted by officers and soldiers of the Guards Brigade led by their commander.The incident became a hot topic, with the opposition repeatedly questioning his stamina for office.
But, during the anniversary dinner held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, President Tinubu clarified the circumstances relating to the incident at the Eagle Square.Expressing dismay over the negative portrayal of President Tinubu during his remarks at a PEBEC Town Hall Meeting held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Shettima veered off from his prepared speech and berated those who made a caricature of the President.
He said: “When the Presidents stumbled in the June 12 celebration. It is not only disheartening and disenchanting, but stultifying and heartbreaking that some of our countrymen were celebrating. But I dare to put it to you that the hallmark of true leadership is not the ability to lift a bag of cement, but the capacity to come up with robust ideas to solve a nation’s problems.Vice President Shettima noted that “one of the greatest presidents of the United States was FDR (Franklin D. Roosevelt). FDR, with all his health challenges, was able to shepherd the American economy during the Great Depression and the Second World War, and because of the quality of his ideas, America became a superpower.
He also alluded to the accident that confined Mua Kibaki to a wheelchair, saying that the unfavourable incident did not confine his (Kibaki’s) abilities to come up with robust solutions that made Kenya to record double digit growth during his stewardship.He said, “We’re not asking you not to question the eligibility of your president’s condition. But there is this mischievous fixation on the President’s health status.
“We are not preparing for the Olympics but an institution that builds on the superiority of ideas.“So, this is a man that we need to all rally around. We need to support.
“Yes, our economy is going through turbulence, but is it confined to Nigeria alone? Let’s talk about the global picture. Is any economy immuned from the challenges of the times?
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