RismadarVoice Reporters, May 20, 2026
Vice President Kashim Shettima has revealed that some individuals from Borno State once warned President Bola Tinubu against wearing traditional outfits he was gifted during the 2023 election campaign, alleging that the garments had been spiritually manipulated to cause his death.
Shettima disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking at the public presentation of the autobiography of former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, titled My Life of Duty and Allegiance, held in Abuja.
According to the Vice President, the incident occurred barely three months after Tinubu assumed office in 2023.
Recalling the episode, Shettima explained that during the presidential campaign season, he sourced traditional Borno attire and a cap for Tinubu to wear while canvassing support across northern Nigeria.
He said the President embraced the outfits throughout the campaign after receiving positive feedback from aides about how well they suited him.
However, matters took a different turn after the election victory.
Shettima recounted that after returning from Beijing, China, where he represented Tinubu at the 3rd Belt and Road Initiative Forum in October 2023, the President summoned him over allegations reportedly made by some visitors from Borno.
“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 you will become the president,’” Shettima narrated.
The Vice President said Tinubu dismissed the allegation, arguing that the claims were illogical because the outfits were given long before both men emerged as presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
According to Shettima, Tinubu told him: “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 the President deliberately continued wearing the outfits for an entire week to publicly reject the allegations.
“For one week, to prove to them that he is not a fetish, he wore those dresses. These are some of the gimmicks taking place in power circles in Nigeria nowadays,” Shettima said.
The Vice President used the anecdote to lament what he described as growing suspicion and distrust in Nigerian public life.
Drawing comparisons with Nigeria’s past, Shettima referenced an account by Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, who reportedly narrated how his family regularly sent gallons of fura to Gowon during his time at Dodan Barracks in Lagos without any fear or suspicion.
“Shettima said the gesture reflected an era of trust and unity that has gradually faded in the country’s political and social environment.”
He also praised Gowon’s legacy, citing the establishment of the National Youth Service Corps and his role in the formation of the Economic Community of West African States as examples of efforts aimed at fostering national reconciliation and regional integration.
The Vice President further called on Nigerians to resist divisive tendencies and embrace unity, warning that suspicion and ethnic mistrust continue to threaten national cohesion.
Quoting civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., Shettima concluded his remarks by urging Nigerians to live together peacefully.
“Let us learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools,” he said.
