Senator Kashim Shettima, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a man of many explicit quotes. When I see him on TV during campaigns and other engagements, I sometimes refer to him as the Barack Obama of Nigeria. He speaks with so much ease.
The former Governor of Borno State is not an accidental leader, as he has demonstrated in every capacity that he is capable of the job. As Governor, he made little noise while quietly advancing Borno state. He was accused of funding Boko Haram, but he was unconcerned because he believed it was all politically motivated.
If President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had not chosen His Excellency as the All Progressive Congress Vice-Presidential candidate, I might not have seen the monumental intelligence embedded in the Kanuri man. This realisation occurred not only to me but to the vast majority of Nigerians who are members or supporters of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
More importantly, Mallam Saliu Mustapha, the senator-elect for Kwara Central senatorial district and Turaki of Ilorin, greeted Senator Kashim Shettima on his birthday on September 2, 2022, and described him as follows: “Senator Kashim Shettima requires no introduction nationally. “Our quintessential incoming Vice President, regarded as the northern star-boy, has won admiration for his vibrant personality and force of credibility.”
“[…] He is a refined intellectual, a relentless achiever, and an eloquent speaker.
Given his understanding of economic and national issues, as well as his educational background as an agricultural economist, he is the ideal copilot for guiding, managing, and safeguarding our national heritage.”
Interestingly, I had been one of his consistent Facebook followers long before his election to Vice President, where he regularly shares supremacy jokes between Fulani and Kanuri. Such jokes have existed since time immemorial, but Kashim Shettima’s style added flavour and originality to them. In fact, I frequently commented on his posts that the Fulanis are the Kanuris masters.
Such jokes can also be found in Ilorin. Our Ilorin Kannikes are Ilorin Kanuris from Borno state. We make up jokes whenever we see each other. Similarly, during my youth service at Yobe Broadcasting Corporation (YBC), Damaturu, Yobe State, jokes were always shared among the Kanuris and Fulanis on the corporation’s staff, especially in the news room.
That’s by the way. After closely watching him on TV, I realised that Kashim Shettima is one of those great men who usually express gratitude to anyone who has helped them in the past. Indeed, one of the characteristics of great men is gratitude. In recent years, he has consistently referred to Jim Ovia as his banking industry mentor. So, in my opinion, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made the correct choice in naming him Vice President.
With the type of Vice President, he has chosen, our President can sleep soundly. Because Asiwaju is a political tactician and strategist, it is not surprising that President Tinubu chose him. Indeed, former President Muhammadu Buhari referred to Tinubu as a political strategist at one point.
I imagine he reads a lot, so he doesn’t need anyone to tutor him on Shettima’s eloquence. In fact, I recently saw a photograph he took in his library that suggests the recipe for his intellectual acumen. Reading broadens your horizon and thus equips you with the ability to contribute in any situation, whether verbal, technical, socio-political, cultural, or economic.
According to a German Poet, Heinrich Heine “True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and nothing but what is necessary” Kashim Shettima knows when, where and how to talk, in view of this, let me share of his quotes that captivated me like a new beautiful bride: “Osinbajo is a good and nice man, but nice men don’t make good leaders. Nice men should be selling ice cream.”
Although this did not go unchallenged by the former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in his light response that Shettima was a shareholder in Yemi Osinbajo’s ice cream company, Shettima’s words and the timing were suggestive of his intellectual versatility; politically in this wise.
In August 2022 when Shettima represented APC flag bearer Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the 62nd NBA conference at Eko hotel in Lagos, here is what he said to calm the hostile crowd: “When I was told that it was a hostile crowd-I am a banker, trained by one of the best bankers in the world. I am Jim Ovia boy- I deliberately wore sneakers to snub at them.”
Following this event, some young Nigerians and opposition public commentators mocked him, but Shettima remained unfazed.
“Before 1999, Lagos State has only one Ambulance and Lagos was earning 700 million naira every month but Tinubu increased it to 5 billion naira,” Mr Shettima said. Here, Shettima was attempting to describe Asiwaju as a visionary, and that with him as president, Nigeria will make steady progress.
During the commissioning of Dangote refinery by former President Muhammadu Buhari in Lagos., he said “Dangote Refinery is a game-changer for the Nigerian economy and it will show that Africa is not only known for crisis.
“Politics is about perception. As we begin the formation of a new administration, I deliberately picked an Igbo man, a Catholic, to be my Chief Security Officer,” he stated. “For the purpose of inclusivity and togetherness, again I deliberately picked a Northern Christian to be my ADC. So, the so-called founder of Boko Haram is going to be protected by a Christian. He asserted this during a lecture in Abuja that will culminate the swearing-in of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. In the same event, he referred to himself as a child of necessity.
Another aspect of Shettima’s coherent disposition is his support for subsidy removal. He urged the Governors to support Mr. President’s decision to eliminate subsidies because the oil cabals are dangerous. In his words “The oil scam cabal is a very very powerful cabal that are dangerously loaded and they will go out of their way to undermine this great initiative by Mr President.
I will urge our colleagues and our Governors to rally around the president and ensure that all machinations unleashed on the polity in the coming weeks are called to a halt. Some will undoubtedly object to this decision, but even now, when oil is selling for N740 per litre in Togo, Cameroon is forced to close its refineries due to the cheap oil coming in from Nigeria. There is a need for us to unite behind Mr President’s magnificent decision because it is critical to the growth of our economy. Our economy is in very bad shape, we either get rid of oil subsidy or oil subsidy get rid of our nation.
Earlier on 30th May 2023 at his office, he said: “The president has already made a pronouncement yesterday on the issue of fuel subsidy. The truth of the matter is, we either get rid of fuel subsidy or fuel subsidy get rid of the Nigerian Nation. In 2022 we spent 10 billion dollars subsidizing the ostentatious lifestyles of the upper cross of the society because you and I benefit 90 per cent from fuel subsidy, the poor 40 per cent benefit little from fuel subsidy”
Senator Kashim Shettima, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, referred to the fuel subsidy and multiple exchange rates as “two elephants.”
Finally, through his consistent demeanour during campaigns, the Kanuri man has demonstrated the necessary prerequisites for identifying a conscious leader. He would undoubtedly be a valuable asset to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
May Nigeria prosper under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima.
