It was a dramatic scene at the unveiling of the chairperson candidate of the African Union Commission (AUC) Raila Odinga when an aide of Kenyan President, William Ruto placed a spaceboard for Nigerian former president Olusegun Obasanjo to mount and present his speech.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that Ruto had invited Obasanjo to the podium to address the stakeholders at the event that took place on Tuesday in Nairobi, Kenya.
As the former Nigerian leader approached the podium, the Kenyan president, in the video that surfaced on social media, could be seen signalling someone in the direction of the podium.
A protocol officer, within seconds is seen carrying a space board and putting it at the feet of the podium pulpit for Obasanjo to mount for his height to reach the microphone stand.
However, when Obasanjo arrived at the podium, he removed the space board and humorously remarked, “I am not as short as you think I am,’’ which elicited a wave of laughter from the audience.
Addressing the audience, Obasanjo said Odinga, who was the prime minister of Kenya between 2008 and 2013, is not only a candidate for Kenya but for the entire East African community.
He stressed that Africa urgently needs Odinga’s leadership in this critical moment of escalating wars and conflicts in the world.
“We need a person at this critical stage of our development in Africa. The present situation of the world where we have a fractured world, a world riddled with conflicts and wars,” Obasanjo said.
Watch video below;
Obasanjo. What a man 😃
At an event in Kenya… pic.twitter.com/u3ysl2C7YG
— Morris Monye (@Morris_Monye) August 27, 2024