The president is a proper Yoruba boy

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu says he is a proper Yoruba boy. Why? In the course of celebrating Nigeria’s “Democracy Day,” he bowed for democracy! This is hilarious! He changed the narrative entirely. He had slipped while boarding the military van which was to take him around the venue of the parade organised to commemorate the event. That occurrence in Nigeria’s foremost open air events venue, Eagle Square, was not a big deal to him. He is at home with the reality that he is human and certain things are beyond our control as mortals. If humans had that control, life would have been boring. There would be nothing to be happy about and nothing to grieve about.

The President slipped. He wasn’t the first leader at that level to slip in public. Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, even Tinubu’s predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari among others, slipped in the line of duty. Tinubu certainly won’t be the last. How he took the whole episode amused me. His interpretation of it was different and reminds me of the truism, “It’s not unusual to get knocked down in life. But it’s a sin not to get up.” The President stood up, dusted his babanriga and waved to the crowd. The ceremony continued as planned. I can relate this to what we are experiencing as a country. Many have argued that the myriad of challenges in the country result from the failure of successive governments. Trading blames was usually the order of the day while forgetting to address the issues at hand. Upon assuming office, the president was clear about his position. He stated that he inherited assets and liabilities. He elected not to trade blames.

Some years back, I read a book, Who Moved My Cheese?, written by Spencer Johnson. The book is a simple parable that reveals profound truths about change. It highlights the dangers of complacency and the importance of embracing change. Who Moved My Cheese? is a parable about change in a maze where four characters look for “Cheese”—A metaphor for what we want in life. The four imaginary characters depicted in the story—the mice: “Sniff” and “Scurry,” and the Little people: “Hem” and “Haw”—are intended to represent the simple and the complex sections of ourselves.

The mice, Sniff and Scurry, use the simple trial-and-error method of finding Cheese. The two Little people, Hem and Haw, rely on their complex brains to develop more sophisticated strategies for finding Cheese. However, due to Hem and Haw’s beliefs, their emotions often take over and cloud how they look at things, making life in the maze overly complicated and challenging. Please permit me to reproduce extracts of the book. “One morning, both mice and the Little people locate their favourite type of Cheese at the end of one of the corridors in Cheese Station C. The mice head over to feast every morning after that, waking early each morning and following the same route, establishing a routine in the process. Hem and Haw also race to Cheese Station C every morning. However, over time, the two Little people arrive later, confident that the Cheese will always be there.”

“One morning, the mice arrive at Cheese Station C and notice no cheese. They aren’t surprised. Since Sniff and Scurry noticed the supply of Cheese dwindling daily, the mice are prepared for the inevitable and know what to do. To the mice, the problem and the answer are both simple. The situation at Cheese Station C has changed. So, Sniff and Scurry decided to change. Before long, they scurry off, searching for New Cheese in the maze. Meanwhile, Hem and Haw, who have yet to notice the small changes taking place each day, arrive at Cheese Station C. Both refuse to accept that the Cheese is gone. The two rant about the injustice of the situation and question how such a situation could have even arisen. Haw suggests a search for New Cheese, but Hem rejects his proposal.” “While Hem and Haw evaluate the decision, Sniff and Scurry go further into the maze and discover “Cheese Station N,” along with the biggest store of Cheese the mice have ever seen. Meanwhile, Hem and Haw grow frustrated and blame each other for their situation. Inspired by the mice, Haw again proposes a search for new Cheese. However, Hem is comforted by his routine and rejects the idea once more.”

“After living in denial for some time, the Little people go without Cheese, growing weaker from hunger each day. Finally, one day, Haw laughs at himself, realizing that he and Haw keep doing the same things repeatedly and wonder why things don’t improve. Knowing that he can finally laugh at himself, let go and move on, Haw enters the maze. However, not before chiselling “If You Do Not Change, You Can Become Extinct” on the wall of Cheese Station C for his friend to consider.” The analogy in Who Moved My Cheese could be seen in the incident at Eagle Square. The President had a choice to remain on the floor after slipping or standing up. But he stood up, and life continued. He laughed at himself, too, realizing that some things are not as complicated as we think.

The President later said he is a “proper Yoruba boy,” and in the Yoruba culture, you bow before your elders. So, the slip meant that he bowed for democracy. If this is not sublime, I don’t know what else to call it. This also explains some of the recent tough decisions the President has taken. The fact remains that he is not in denial like Hem, one of the little people. He acted like Sniff and Scurry, who went further into the maze and discovered Cheese Station N, which had better quality and quantity of Cheese. The President has highlighted the need to make tough decisions in our quest for sustainable growth and development. We have been doing the same thing repeatedly, expecting different results. But, today, we have a president who is doing things differently, like Sniff and Scurry. After they ran out of cheese in Cheese Station C, they went further into the maze and found Cheese Station N.

Not many can relate to some of the decisions of the President. They constitute the Hem and Haw among us. They rant about the injustice of the situation and question how such a situation could have even arisen. They do not think about the way forward and how to make progress. This is our reality. But thank God we have a president who thinks like Sniff and Scurry. This much he has demonstrated so far. And guess what? Nigeria will get to “Cheese Station N,” where our hopes and aspirations will translate into tangible realities. Hem and Haw’s beliefs are synonymous with our thinking most of the time. Our emotions often take over and cloud how we look at things, making life overly complicated and challenging.

That slip at the Eagle Square and how the President managed it indicates his strategic thought process. To those who have made a mountain out of it, it was a fall. But to the President, it was a “bow” for democracy as a proper Yoruba boy on Democracy Day. I think we should all join the President in bowing for democracy. Despite the hiccups and challenges, isn’t it instructive that civilian rule has coursed for a quarter of a century now? It wouldn’t be out of place to courtesy to our democracy. As comical as the President made it look, it is the reality. Happy Democracy Day, Nigeria.

Ocheja, a military historian and doctoral researcher, is an alumnus of the Nigerian Defence Academy.