Shettima talks about ‘charming Tinubu with clothes’

Vice President Kashim Shettima has revealed that some people from Borno State once claimed that President Bola Tinubu was “fascinated” by the traditional clothes gifted to him during the 2023 election campaign, warning him to stop wearing them.

Shettima said the claim was so serious that those who made it suggested the clothes could have mystical implications and even cause harm, but President Tinubu completely rejected the accusation.

The Vice President made the revelation on Tuesday in Abuja while representing President Tinubu at the public launch of My Life of Duty and Allegiance, the autobiography of former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon.

He used the incident to highlight what he described as a growing distrust in Nigerian society, contrasting it with what he called stronger bonds of trust in previous eras of leadership.

Shettima recalled that during the 2023 presidential campaign, he purchased traditional Borno clothes and caps for Tinubu, which the president often wore while campaigning in northern Nigeria.

According to him, the clothes were initially well received, but after the elections they became a subject of suspicion.

He said after returning from a foreign engagement in China, Tinubu informed him that some visitors to Borno had warned him to stop wearing the robes, claiming they were linked to spiritual harm.

Shettima quoted the president as dismissing the claim and deliberately continuing to wear the clothes for about a week to prove that there was nothing mystical about them.

He said the episode reflected growing suspicion in political and public life, which he said should be discouraged.

The Vice President also praised former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, describing him as a statesman whose legacy of unity and institution building remains relevant to Nigeria’s current challenges.

He highlighted Gowon’s role in establishing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and supporting the creation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Shettima said Nigeria needs to rebuild trust and unity among its citizens, drawing lessons from the era of Gowon’s leadership.