Vice President Kashim Shettima has revealed that some people from his home state of Borno once accused him of attempting to spiritually manipulate, and ultimately assassinate President Bola Tinubu through traditional outfits he gifted him during the 2023 election campaign.
Shettima said the allegation emerged barely three months after Tinubu assumed office, when certain individuals reportedly visited the President and warned him against wearing the Borno-style clothes and caps the Vice President had presented to him.
The Vice President made the disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja during the public presentation of former Head of State Yakubu Gowon’s autobiography, My Life of Duty and Allegiance.
Representing President Tinubu at the event, Shettima cited the incident as an example of the deepening culture of suspicion within Nigeria’s political landscape.
“During the APC presidential primaries, we travelled extensively across Northern Nigeria,” Shettima said. “We in Borno pride ourselves on being among the best-dressed Northerners, so I sourced some traditional materials and caps for him to blend in with the northern crowd.
“They suited him perfectly, and even his aides requested more.”
According to Shettima, the situation took an unexpected turn shortly after the administration was inaugurated.
“Barely three months after he was sworn in, some people from Borno went to him and said, ‘Please stop wearing those Shettima clothes. He must have charmed them. You are going to die, and he will become President,’” he recounted.
The Vice President further disclosed that Tinubu later informed him of the allegation after his return from China, where he had represented Nigeria at the Belt and Road Initiative Forum.
“When I returned from China, the President asked me to sit down and told me what they had said,” Shettima stated. “But he dismissed the claim immediately. He said their story made no sense because when I gave him those clothes, he was merely an aspirant — not yet the party’s candidate — and neither of us knew we would eventually emerge as President and Vice President.”
To demonstrate his rejection of the allegation, Shettima said Tinubu deliberately continued wearing the outfits for an entire week.
“For one week, he kept wearing those clothes,” the Vice President said. “These are some of the unhealthy dynamics that exist within power circles in Nigeria today. Suspicion has crept into our relationships, and it should not be so. We are fundamentally one people bound by a common destiny.”
Shettima contrasted the episode with an earlier account shared by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, who narrated how his family regularly sent gallons of fura to Gowon during his years as Head of State.
According to Shettima, Gowon accepted the gesture without suspicion, reflecting a level of trust and national cohesion that appears to be diminishing in contemporary Nigeria.
The Vice President also paid tribute to Gowon, describing him as a statesman whose legacy continues to shape Nigeria’s unity and nation-building efforts.
He specifically highlighted the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme as one of Gowon’s enduring contributions to national integration.
