Vice President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday disclosed that some individuals once warned President Bola Tinubu against wearing traditional Borno outfits he gave him during the 2023 election campaign, alleging the garments were spiritually manipulated to harm him.
Shettima said the incident occurred barely three months after Tinubu assumed office as President, adding that the President dismissed the allegation and deliberately continued wearing the attire to disprove the claims.
The Vice President made the revelation while speaking at the public presentation of former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon’s autobiography, My Life of Duty and Allegiance, in Abuja, where he represented Tinubu.
According to Shettima, the incident reflected the growing culture of suspicion in Nigeria’s political space, which he contrasted with what he described as the era of trust during Gowon’s administration.
He recalled how the Sultan of Sokoto’s family regularly sent gallons of fura to Gowon at Dodan Barracks in Lagos without fear or suspicion, noting that such trust had gradually disappeared from public life.
“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 said.
Narrating his personal experience, the Vice President explained that during the 2023 presidential campaign, he sourced Borno traditional attire and caps for Tinubu to wear while consulting northern stakeholders.
He said the President embraced the outfits during campaign outings across the North and received positive reactions from supporters and aides.
However, Shettima said the situation changed after the election victory when some individuals from Borno reportedly approached Tinubu with claims that the clothing had been used to spiritually influence him.
“When I returned from China after representing him at the Belt and Road Initiative Conference, he told me, ‘Your people came to me and said I should stop wearing those dresses because I had been charmed and that I was going to die so you would become President,’” Shettima recounted.
According to him, Tinubu immediately dismissed the allegation, insisting the claim was illogical because the outfits were given to him before he emerged as the APC presidential candidate and before Shettima became his running mate.
Shettima added that Tinubu intentionally wore the outfits continuously for one week to demonstrate that he was not influenced by superstition or political propaganda.
“For one week, to prove to them that he is not fetish, he wore those dresses. These are some of the gimmicks taking place in power circles nowadays,” he said.
The Vice President also praised Gowon for promoting national unity through initiatives such as the National Youth Service Corps and the Economic Community of West African States.
He urged Nigerians to reject division, suspicion and violence, while calling for greater national cohesion and mutual trust among citizens.
The event was attended by former President Goodluck Jonathan, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the Sultan of Sokoto Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, and several retired military officers and political leaders.
