Garlands For Kashim Shettima @59

By Inuwa Bwala

He does not encourage people to celebrate his birthday anniversaries with too much fanfare, but like the proverbial gold fish, he has nowhere to hide.

It is not surprising therefore that, the media space is awash with tributes and goodwill messages as he clocks 59.

There is nothing one may write about Kashim shettima, that is new. People have portrayed him in different lights, depending upon their dispositions.Some have portrayed him as a hero, while others have villified.

One fact about him, which nobody can take away, remains his ability to spin his audience with such intellectual candour that make people cheer him on in his public presentations.

Give him any subject to speak on, and he will speak on it with so much authority, such that one wonders what his field of specialisation is.

Very often, people who listen to Kashim Shettima, Nigerias 15 Vice President speak at public functions, mistake him for a motivational speaker.

He has been often described as a wordsmith, spinnjng the Enlish language so well that leaves even the English man in awe.
With such a man as the face of any government, his principal can go to sleep with both eyes closed.

In whatever way people present him, good or bad: Kashim Shettima always maintains a dignified response, very often in silence.
He is always passionate about peaceful relationships and shows tolerance for any form of misendeamour.

Amidst spurious brandings and mindless allegations, Shettima always extends hands of fellowship to his traducers. Some people may wonder, what manner of man is Kashim Shettima.

I have often maintained that, trying to say everything about Shettima is like the futility of attempting to label an elephant from a particular standpoint.

He is so large that one needs to go round to get a near adequate description of him.
When we talk about Kashim Shettima’s intellectual dexterity and political sagacity, people say we are hero- worshipping him, but two years as Vice President of Nigeria, may have showed the world, the stuff, he is made of. Again, when we speak about his generousity and benevolence, they accuse us of being psychopaths but his interaction with people has vindicated us.

Very often, whenever we preach about his liberalism and statesmanship, they think we are being local, but everybody seems to be agreeing with us today that Kashim Shettima is many more virtues woven together.
Before coming on the national stage, many people fismissed him as a greenhorn, but his outings have no doubt bern presidential since then.

His combination with Bola Ahmed Tinubu has proven bookmakers wrong, and contrary to the initial scepticism, the country seems to be getting back on track after years of backdliding.

The obvious poser on the lips of many Nigerians is where this golden boy has been hiding.

My fair knowledge of the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, whom I regards as a friend, a compatriot and my boss, gives me a window into the answer to this curious poser, about this emergent stateman.

one may tend to agree that Dhettima is not only a master strategist, a shrewd contriver, and a go-getter.

I always recall how he was able to balance the national mood, at the inception of this government and advised his boss appropriately on the strategic calculations in the emergence of Godswill Akpabio as Senate President and Benjamin Kalu as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, the face of a perceived skewed firection.

So also the emergence of Lieutanant General Christopher Musa as the Chief of Defence Stafg.

One could also see the hands of Shettima in resolving many conflicts across the country, as he traverses the width and breadth of Nigeria, building bridges of friendship on behalf of his boss.

Certain strategic policies and decisions of the administration, which attracted the admiration of Nigerians, have the imprimatur of the Vice President. This explains why he is visible in most international strategic meets to represent the country. Except for those who never see anything good in any leader and are bound to look for faults even in the best, there seems to be a national consensus that has proved Shettimas critics wrong .

No matter what might be his foibles or Achilles heels, anyone who achieves what Kashim Shettima has achieved in life today, or reached the height he has attained, and also contributed in reshaping our national outlook as he has done, deserves to be celebrated.
At 59, Shettima has indeed left indelible marks in the political sands of Nigeria.
Happy birthday, Mr Vice President.

Garlands For Kashim Shettima @59