The political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections took a sharp, personal turn over the weekend as supporters of President Bola Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar traded barbs over images of the leaders appearing to sleep at public events.
The digital skirmish began after a photograph surfaced of Atiku Abubakar, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in 2023, appearing to nap during a high-level opposition summit in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Saturday. The meeting, attended by figures including Peter Obi and Rotimi Amaechi, was intended to discuss a potential coalition.
Seizing on the image, the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ajibola Basiru, took to X (formerly Twitter) to mock the former Vice President. “And the opposition leader slept at the all-important opposition summit,” Basiru posted, sparking a wave of ridicule from APC loyalists who questioned Atiku’s fitness for leadership.
However, the mockery quickly triggered a massive “counter-fire” from opposition supporters. Within hours, critics of the administration began circulating archival photos and videos of President Tinubu appearing to doze off during international summits and domestic meetings.
Social media users accused the APC of hypocrisy, with one commenter, identified as SarkinEnigma, noting, “APC boys will try to mock others but end up embarrassing themselves. We have seen many pictures of Tinubu sleeping in important meetings.”
As the “nap wars” trended, some Nigerians expressed frustration over the quality of political discourse. While some joked that the leaders were “communing with the gods,” others, like user Imam Abdulhamid, linked the triviality to the country’s economic woes, stating, “Mock someone for sleeping, but your own principal keeps falling just like our economy.”
The incident highlights the increasingly polarized nature of Nigerian digital politics as the country moves toward another election cycle.
