As Executive Governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima and Nigeria’s Vice President hopeful included Christians and non indigenes in his cabinet. He made sure to run an all inclusive government towards ensuring equity and make people have a sense of belonging. It is on record that he made an Igbo man from Anambra state his Special Adviser on Community Relations. He also made an Urhobo man from Delta State a Senior Special Assistant.
In several interviews while our Vice President hopeful was governor, he had admitted on several occasions that the Boko Haram insurgents originated from the Muslim community. But that didn’t stop him from rectifying the damage they caused particularly to the Christian community in the state.
It is on record also that he rebuilt all the Churches that Boko Haram destroyed in Southern Borno which is mostly Christian dominated. He was a governor that protected the rights of Christians in his state. He was also known to be a governor who didn’t subscribe to the indigene/settler dichotomy. Every community was equal in his eyes and attracted the same treatment. He was a governor that practiced what he preached. His government was known to be one of fairness, justice, equity, inclusivity and he was willing to provide such governance at whatever price.
Shettima’s two-term in office as governor was dominated by the deadly Boko Haram insurgency. He didn’t let this dissuade him. In fact, he solely funded 20,000 Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) fighters for 6 years in the fight against the insurgents. His contributions have been acknowledged by the military, security stakeholders, past and incumbent federal administrations as well as residents of Borno State. His funding of the Civilian JTF was crucial in the fight against Boko Haram as the group played and still plays crucial roles in intelligence gathering, easy identification and arrest of suspected insurgents and supporting the military in the war fronts.
His open defiance and commitment to curbing insurgency put his life as risk, periodically receiving death threats from insurgent groups. In 2019, it was all over the news that gunmen opened fire at the motorcade transporting him on his way from Maiduguri to the market town of Gamboru for a rally ahead of the presidential election. The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed responsibility for the attack.
The following year, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau threatened his life and some others publicly in a 56-minute video clip. Shekau threatened Shettima due to his Kanuri heritage but most importantly because of his efforts and commitment to the fight against Boko Haram during and after leaving office. The likes of Shettima and Zulum, the current governor of Borno state have consistently spoken and worked against Boko Haram, helped those displaced by the group and called on the federal government to do more in the fight against the group.
Without a shred of doubt, one can conclude that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has chosen a leader who has a very deep understanding of Nigeria and her complexities. There is hardly any tribe in Nigeria that Kashim Shettima cannot knowledgeably speak about. He knows the social, cultural, religious, economic, and political structure of virtually all the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory. He has proven to be extremely patriotic and he believes passionately in the unity of Nigeria, proving it on a number of occasions.
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not have made a better choice. The former banker, agricultural economist, governor and parliamentarian is a highly cerebral, eloquent, competent, courageous and cosmopolitan leader who has succeeded in building bridges, reputation and friendships across the country. One can say the VP pick has the capacity, acumen, wherewithal and political sagacity to effectively deputize and complement Asiwaju as Vice President.
Competency is key rather than sentiment, and this apparently was the underlying factor behind Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s choice of Kashim Shettima as his running mate.
Those championing the argument of same faith ticket keep turning a blind eye to the fact that during the 1993 Presidential elections, adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the history of elections in Nigeria, the winner – the Social Democratic Party (SDP) – fielded Muslim-Muslim candidates. They fail to see that Abiola and Kingibe were elected largely on competency rather than religious sentiments. This is the history we intend repeating in 2023 and Coalition of Northern States for Tinubu Shettima Mandate are solely with Senator Kashim Shettima, a First Class Economist and developmental guru.