Tinubu reportedly dozed off on Friday during a meeting of presidential candidates and party leaders with the National Peace Committee (NPC) in Abuja.
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, is in the news again for falling asleep in a setting where he should be awake, but he did not nod off intentionally, at least that is my guess.
I do not know if Tinubu has the condition of narcolepsy or if he is a narcoleptic; narcolepsy is a neurological condition with a frequency of up to 1 per 1,000 that is characterized by irresistible bouts of sleep.
A person with narcolepsy will become drowsy or fall asleep at inappropriate times and places. Also, sleepiness is known to be a side effect of some medications, as it causes tiredness or drowsiness. I do not know if Tinubu is suffering from what is called “daytime fatigue,” “aging,” or “low energy.”
Those who find themselves falling asleep anywhere and then waking up to continue activities and movements could remain sleepy or drowsy, possibly hurting themselves, which can lead to injury and disability.
Sleeping in inappropriate settings can make one feel embarrassed and ashamed: actually, it’s a stressful feeling. Sleep-related issues have even been linked to memory problems as well as expressive errors and gaffes.
In September of this year, Tinubu was seen on live TV dozing off during a meeting with the Emir of Gombe, Abubakar Shehu-Abubakar.
Then this past Friday, Tinubu reportedly dozed off during a meeting of presidential candidates and party leaders with the National Peace Committee (NPC) in Abuja, Nigeria. In a live video of the meeting, Tinubu’s eyes appeared closed for a few seconds; in the image, he has his eyes closed and his head tilted to one side as though he had fallen asleep before he woke himself, but seconds later they shut again for a few seconds.
The blame should partially go to Tinubu’s closest men and women, especially his aides. Since he is known to fall asleep in public, there should be an alert hand to wake up him carefully or gently, no matter how many times he is knocked off, allowing him to participate in the meeting fully or partially and actively and not allowing others, such as the APC national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, to reportedly speak for him.
The world can see sitting very close to Tinubu is Kashim Shettima, his running mate, who next time should apply the following methods to keep the presidential candidate awake gently use sensory input like touching him gently with a smile, singing quietly to his ears, and using other measures such as talking and gentle stimulation like gently moving his arms and legs.
Many world leaders have been known to fall asleep in public meetings. About two years ago, Joe Biden, President of the United States of America, fell asleep at the climate meeting, and an aide had to hurry over to wake him up. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has nodded off in similar situations.
This is a very busy time for all presidential candidates, resulting in insufficient quality sleep and fatigue from campaign pressure.
In the coming days and weeks, as election day approaches, these politicians will have to get by on a few hours’ sleep and try to function with such little rest, and it may get worse for people like Tinubu in terms of keeping up with grueling schedules.
I recommend Tinubu try to get quick and quiet sleep in any private setting, regardless of the underlying cause or reason that makes people like Tinubu sleepy, whether it is from being chronically tired or fatigued or a sign of a health issue. We must refrain from publicly laughing at such things because one never knows what causes public and unconscious sleeping.
Tinubu, with his now-famous sleepy eyes, must always have an aide or staff member standing nearby with watching eyes, ready to rush over and wake him up when he nods off.
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