Vice President Kashim Shettima has disclosed that certain political actors from Borno State once cautioned President Bola Tinubu against wearing traditional outfits gifted to him by Shettima during the 2023 electioneering period, claiming the garments were laced with charms intended to cause his death.
According to Shettima, President Tinubu completely dismissed the bizarre allegations and deliberately wore the specific outfits for a full week to demonstrate that he did not believe in such superstitious claims.
The Vice President shared this anecdote in Abuja on Tuesday while representing the President at the launch of “My Life of Duty and Allegiance”, an autobiography written by Nigeria’s former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon.
Shettima referenced the incident to emphasize what he described as a troubling culture of deep-seated suspicion and mistrust currently pervading Nigerian society.
He contrasted this modern cynicism with the historical relationship between General Gowon and the family of the late Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III.
He noted that the Sultan of Sokoto had earlier recounted how the Sultan’s family routinely sent gallons of local millet drink (fura) to Gowon at Dodan Barracks every week.
He noted that because of the absolute trust between them, the former military ruler consumed it without the slightest hesitation or fear of harm.
The Vice President remarked that the political landscape has unfortunately changed, with suspicion now undermining relationships that should otherwise be built on unity and a shared national destiny.
Reflecting on the 2023 campaign trail, Shettima explained that during the presidential primaries, he intentionally secured traditional Borno attire and caps for Tinubu to wear during his campaign tours across Northern Nigeria, which quickly became staples of his public wardrobe.
However, the undercurrent of political intrigue surfaced shortly after the administration was inaugurated. Shettima recalled that upon returning from an official assignment representing the President at the Belt and Road Initiative Forum in China in October 2023, Tinubu summoned him to share a conversation he had with some political visitors from Borno State.
Tinubu reportedly told him that the visitors urged him to stop wearing the garments Shettima had provided, claiming they were charmed so that Shettima could ascend to the presidency upon Tinubu’s demise.
In response, Shettima pointed out the logical flaw in the visitors’ theory, reminding the President that the clothes were gifted back when Tinubu was merely an aspirant, long before either of them secured their respective spots on the joint presidential ticket.
To dispel the fetish narrative, Tinubu maintained his routine of wearing the outfits for an entire week. Shettima described such maneuvers as typical of the power dynamics in contemporary Nigerian politics.
Shifting his focus to the celebrant, Shettima lauded General Gowon as an exemplary statesman whose unifying legacy stands in stark contrast to the modern divisions plaguing the country.
He praised Gowon’s monumental contributions to national integration, including the establishment of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and his pivotal role in founding the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Describing Gowon as the final surviving leader of Nigeria’s post-independence military era, the Vice President concluded that the newly released memoir serves as a vital historical repository at a time when the nation desperately needs to remember its foundational values.