Vice President Kashim Shettima has shared a remarkable anecdote about political suspicion in Nigeria, revealing that shortly after President Bola Tinubu assumed office in 2023, some individuals from Borno State approached the President and urged him to stop wearing traditional Borno attire gifted by Shettima.
They allegedly claimed the garments were used to charm Tinubu and could lead to his death.
Shettima made the disclosure on Tuesday while representing President Tinubu at the public presentation of former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon’s autobiography, My Life of Duty and Allegiance, in Abuja.
According to Shettima, Tinubu not only dismissed the warning but deliberately wore the outfits for an entire week as a pointed response to the baseless accusation.
The Vice President used the story to highlight the growing culture of suspicion and mistrust in Nigerian public life, contrasting it with the trust exemplified in older generations.
He referenced the Sultan of Sokoto’s account of regularly sending gallons of fura (a traditional drink) to General Gowon at Dodan Barracks without any suspicion.
“His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, had been narrating the story of the family of the Sultan sending gallons of fura every week to General Yakubu Gowon in Dodan Barracks, because of the trust and confidence General Gowon was willingly receiving it without any suspicion,” Shettima said.
“But now the game is different. Suspicion smears our relationships, and it ought not to be. We are essentially one people tied to a common destiny.”
Shettima recounted that during the 2023 presidential campaign, while Tinubu was seeking support in the North, he provided the then-aspirant with Borno traditional attire and a cap to help him connect with northern audiences.
The outfits reportedly received positive feedback, and Tinubu wore them multiple times.
The warning came after Shettima returned from representing Tinubu at the Belt and Road Initiative Forum in Beijing, China, in October 2023.
Tinubu reportedly summoned him and relayed the message from the visitors.Shettima quoted Tinubu as saying the visitors told him to stop wearing the clothes because he had been charmed and would die, allowing Shettima to become President.
Tinubu, however, pointed out the illogical nature of the claim, noting that at the time the clothes were given, neither was yet the candidate nor running mate.
“For one week, to prove to them that he is not fetish, he wore those dresses,” Shettima added, describing such tactics as common “gimmicks” in power circles.
The Vice President used the occasion to praise Gowon’s legacy of national unity, citing initiatives like the NYSC and ECOWAS, and called for Nigerians to reject divisive forces. He quoted Martin Luther King Jr., urging unity: “Let us learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
The event was attended by prominent figures including former President Goodluck Jonathan, Senate President Godswill Akpabio (represented), the Sultan of Sokoto, and several retired generals.
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