Vice President Kashim Shettima has disclosed 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 outfits gifted to him by Shettima during the election campaign, claiming the garments were spiritually manipulated and could lead to his death.
According to Shettima, Tinubu dismissed the allegation and, in defiance, intentionally wore the outfits continuously for one week to prove he was not influenced by superstition.
The Vice President spoke on Tuesday in Abuja while representing Tinubu at the public presentation of former Head of State Yakubu Gowon’s autobiography, My Life of Duty and Allegiance.
Using the experience to highlight what he described as growing distrust in Nigerian society, Shettima contrasted the incident with stories from Gowon’s era, when relationships across ethnic and religious divides were built more on confidence than suspicion.
He referenced remarks earlier made by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, who recalled how his family regularly sent gallons of fura to Gowon at Dodan Barracks in Lagos during his time as military ruler.
According to Shettima, Gowon accepted the gesture freely without fear or doubt, unlike the atmosphere of mistrust he believes now exists in the country.
The VP said, “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.
“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 went on to recount how, during the build-up to the 2023 presidential election, he arranged traditional Borno attire and a cap for Tinubu as the then-presidential aspirant toured northern states seeking support ahead of the primaries.
He explained that Tinubu’s aides later informed him the clothing fitted perfectly and that the President continued wearing the outfits throughout the campaign season.
The Vice President said the controversy surfaced only months after the election victory.
Recalling the incident, Shettima explained that he had travelled to Beijing in October 2023 to represent Tinubu at the 3rd Belt and Road Initiative Forum held between October 16 and 18.
According to him, shortly after returning from the trip, Tinubu summoned him and relayed what some visitors from Borno had allegedly told him regarding the clothes.
He narrated, “When I came back from China, where I had represented him at the Belt and Road Initiative Conference, he said: ‘Sit down.
Your people came to me and said I should stop wearing those dresses you gave me. They said I must have been charmed, and that I am going to die and he will become the president.’”
Shettima said Tinubu rejected the claims because they made no logical sense.
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According to Shettima, he responded,
“Their story did not add up, because when you gave me those dresses, I was an aspirant. I wasn’t even the candidate. Neither were you the vice-presidential candidate.”
He added that Tinubu deliberately continued wearing the outfits for an entire week to counter the allegations.
“For one week, to prove to them that he is not fetish, he wore those dresses.
“These are some of the gimmicks that are taking place in power circles in Nigeria nowadays.”
During his speech, Shettima praised Gowon’s leadership style, saying the former military ruler symbolised unity and national reconciliation rather than division and mistrust.
He highlighted Gowon’s role in establishing the National Youth Service Corps as a post-war reconciliation initiative, as well as his contributions to the formation of Economic Community of West African States.
The Vice President also called on Nigerians to resist forces promoting division and violence, especially in Plateau State, where he appealed for an end to recurring bloodshed.
Referring to Gowon as “the last man standing” among Nigeria’s post-independence military leaders, Shettima described the autobiography as “a bottom of memory at a time when our country needs a discipline of remembrance.”
He said, “There are people who are remembered before they leave office.
“There are others whose memory endures because office became, in their hands, an instrument of national meaning. General Gowon belongs to the second company.”
In concluding his remarks, Shettima quoted civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. while urging Nigerians to embrace unity.
“Let us learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools,” he stated.
The event attracted several prominent figures, including former President Goodluck Jonathan, who chaired the occasion; Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume; Senate President Godswill Akpabio, represented by Senator Ireti Kingibe; the President of the Court of Appeal, Monica Dongban-Mensem; and several retired military officers, including the son of former military Head of State Sani Abacha.