Vice President Kashim Shettima has opened up about a bizarre plot to drive a wedge between him and President Bola Tinubu within months of their inauguration.
Shettima made the revelation at the launch of former Head of State Yakubu Gowon's autobiography in Abuja on Tuesday. He did not name the individuals involved but said they hailed from Borno State.
According to him, these persons approached Tinubu with an outlandish claim. They alleged that Shettima was planning to assassinate the president and seize power.
The vice president explained the genesis of the misunderstanding. Before the 2023 presidential primaries, when Tinubu was consulting across northern Nigeria, Shettima sourced traditional Borno clothing and caps for him.
His intention was simple. He wanted Tinubu to wear the attire at campaign rallies to connect better with northern voters.
The strategy worked. Tinubu's aides confirmed the garments fit him well, and the president wore them repeatedly throughout the campaign season.
But trouble brewed months into their administration. Shettima said the troublemakers warned Tinubu against the clothing items he had gifted him, claiming they were laced with charms.
In their twisted narrative, the outfits would supposedly cause Tinubu's death. Then Shettima would automatically become president, they claimed.
Tinubu eventually called Shettima to discuss the allegation. This happened in October 2023, shortly after Shettima returned from China, where he represented Nigeria at the Belt and Road Initiative Conference.
"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 recounted.
Rather than entertain the conspiracy theory, Tinubu dismissed it outright. He then took a bold decision to prove the claims were baseless.
For an entire week, Tinubu publicly wore the traditional outfits. His message was unmistakable—he rejected the suspicion and refused to be manipulated by rumour-mongers.
Tinubu explained his reasoning to Shettima directly. "Their story did not add up because, when you gave me those dresses, I was an aspirant.
I wasn't even the candidate, and neither were you the vice-presidential candidate," he noted.
Shettima used the incident to highlight a broader national problem. He said such scheming has become commonplace in Nigeria's power corridors.
Drawing on Gowon's life, Shettima reflected on an era when trust was paramount. The Sultan of Sokoto once told him that his family regularly sent fura to Gowon at Dodan Barracks without fear or hesitation.
That trust, Shettima lamented, has vanished from modern Nigeria. Suspicion now poisons relationships across the country.
He called on Nigerians to remember their shared identity and destiny. Division and mistrust, he warned, serve no one.
Shettima's public statement comes amid persistent speculation about his relationship with Tinubu. Some observers have speculated he could be dropped as running mate before the 2027 election.
