Politics
Kashim Shettima: Of Sahara Reporters, The Lies And Satanic Theories of Reverend Kallamu Dikwa
Kashim Shettima: Of Sahara Reporters, The Lies And Satanic Theories of Reverend Kallamu Dikwa
By: James Bwala
…And they shall know the truth and the truth shall set them free. I believe Reverend Kallamu Musa Ali Dikwa, Director General of the Centre for Justice on Religious and Ethnicity In Nigeria knows this scripture from the Book of John 8:32 as quoted in the beginning of this piece of writing. Indeed he has raised a weighty issue that many Christians would sit up to read from his lines of argument. But is Reverend Kallamu Musa saying the fact, especially about the former Borno state governor and APC Vice Presidential Candidate, Kashim Shettima?
I know that few people are magnifying the issues of religion in the ongoing campaign in the build up for 2023. However, the few still are rediculing themselves for choosing to attack the former Borno state governor over his choice as the running mate for the APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I have told many people before and I am saying it again that no Borno state governor in history has favour the Christians than Kashim Shettima and he is still doing more. There are alot of Nigerians, who are very powerful and standing in the corridors of power. For many years they dictates what happen in the country and call the shots. They have caged many Presidents because their second in commands are weak however, now they are seeing a different ball game coming.
Kashim Shettima is both intelligent and powerful figure they cannot tow with. His coming as Nigeria’s Vice President will deflect the power of the courtiers in the centre. So, much focus was on him and the many reasons for the attacks. But if they failed to impress their pay masters for attacking Shettima in the past, how sure are they that if they continue to attack him, they will not end up praising him? Reverend Kallamu Musa was the next parrot available to use but he was never armed with facts. Again, they have failed and Sahara Reporters has failed to do the digging and fetched the facts from the statement they published. They have failed to ask to know when did Christian Religious Knowledge was stopped in public schools in Borno state. If they do, they would have known that it was far beyond the administration of Kashim Shettima, which lasted between 2011 and 2019.
I will take Reverend Kallamu Musa’s issue raised on the teachings of CRK in both primary and secondary school in Borno state.
As a journalist in Borno state, many who reads my bylines on the pages of the Nigerian Tribune Newspapers knows that I wrote with brave fingers and standing for the truth of what I know. It was on that premise that the late Bishop of Maiduguri, Emmanuel Kana Mani appointed me as the Diocese Director of Press Affairs even though I was coming from another Church. He (late) Emmanuel Kana Mani also gave me the award and honour as the defender of faith. When I write I do so as a journalist and nothing more. My pen to this day is neither Christian or Muslim but I stand for Justice where I stand. I read the publication by the Sahara Reporters with the title: “Former Borno Governor, Shettima Will Show He’s Anti-Christian At National Level If Voted In As Nigerian Vice President.” A statement to which it alleged in that report.
For a fact I know that Senator Kashim Shettima was not the governor of Borno state when the stoppage of teachings of Christian Religious Knowledge was hatched, planned and executed in Borno. Kashim Shettima was still a Banker seeking accounts to raise his cabals during the 1999 and 2003 reigns of late Borno state governor, Mala Abdulsalam Kachallah. So, I don’t know how this relates to his (Shettima’s) administration, which came between 2011 and 2019. I had the opportunity to sit in a group to chat with those who pushed for the removal of CRK in the school curriculum. And I understand what happened and how they force the government of late Mala Kachallah to succumb. This is certainly not about government policy but the inroad to Islamic fundamentalism in the buildup to Boko Haram insurgency in the state. It happened during the administration of late Kachallah and I got to know this during the Modu Sheriff administration where one Malam Buni, a former foot soldiers in the rank of the Yusufia Movement began the discussion on how they fought the Late Mala Kachallah’s government to stop the teachings of Christian Religious Knowledge in government schools in Borno state. That was the period between 2003 and 2011. Kashim Shettima was not the governor of Borno state at that time.
All those who had lived in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital between 1999 and 2003 are aware of the spiritual movement by a section of the Islamic group that later metamorphosis into what is now known as BOKO HARAM. Before then, those who could recalled would agree with me that, these group of people forces the government to remove the Eagle status infront of the Maiduguri Government House. They force the removal of the status of a Horse and it’s rider at the biggest roundabout which leads routes to Post Office Area, GRA and Kashim Ibrahim way. They force the government to remove the status of the Fish at Baga road roundabout leading also to Galadima side.
They also force the removal of the status of Camels on the Custom House roundabout to mention few base on the knowledge of the believe that on the last day Allah will ask them to breath on these status life or face his wrath. These were some of their reasons. When all these was happening, the APC Vice Presidential Candidate Senator Kashim Shettima was still a Banker. So, where did Reverend
Kallamu Musa Ali Dikwa, Director General of the Centre for Justice on Religious and Ethnicity In Nigeria missed out on his analysis to say in his statement that Kashim Shettima was the governor of Borno state when these attrocities were happening?
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On February 18,2006 there was a coordinated attacks on Christians and Churches in Borno state, which gave birth to a reprisal attack on Hausas and Northeners in Anambra state in southeast Nigeria. Fifty-Seven Churches were bunrt down and Christians bleeds. Kashim Shettima was not the governor of Borno state at that time. These are facts and those who keeps history have the dates. Indeed, the Boko Haram conflict NOT it’s establishment started in 2008 and snowball into a major riot in 2009. Majority of the people in Borno state especially Muslims never believed a time would come when they had to flee their homes in mass Exodus because many were relaxed, they never saw the conflict as a flood that would wash away their homes and livelihoods until it happened.
Kashim Shettima took the leadership of Borno state at the time the conflict was at the height of bleeding from everyside. The period between 2011 and 2019 when he leads Borno state, it was full of stories of laughter and pain for every citizen of Borno state who remains at the home front or those who had fled to hibernate or relocated completely. Several time, governor Kashim Shettima appeared frustrated with much that is bleeding inside. There was bashing from all sides that at a point he had to be restrained because he got to a point that he told the media that if he opens his mouth to speak, heads would roll. It goes to show that the pressure was too high on him in the occasion of what transpired and the government at the centre is not will to give a listening ears but are looking for a scarecrow to blame on the politics of human-hodding, the result of which has ended the Jonathan’s administration in the wave of the Buhari emergence.
To blame Kashim Shettima on the abduction of the Chibok School Girls was dramatic given the number of soldiers and other security agencies in the state at that time. The rights of the Federal government to assert it’s powers to prevent such unfortunate occurance that give birth to many other conflict that engulf not only the northeast but the entire northern region, the southeast and some part of the southwest and south-south of Nigerian states was not because the governors were too powerful that they could stop the federal might. So was the case with Borno state during the April 14, 2014 episode.
Reverend Kallamu Musa Ali Dikwa, Director General of the Centre for Justice on Religious and Ethnicity In Nigeria probably knew nothing or very little of what has transpired between 1999 and 2023 Or between 2023 and 2011 to have been running and chasing goose in trying to link Kashim Shettima with happenings around that time in Borno state. Kashim Shettima came at the time of trouble, as a governor he tries to heal the wound by reconstructing Churches hitherto bunrt down by Boko Haram in many villages across Borno state. He should approach the former CAN Chairman, Reverend Titus Pona and the likes Bishop Naga to speak about what the government did or did not do for Christians in the state. He should approach other clargy-men who were there to speak on what the government do on behalf of the Christian communities at that time. They have books and records.
The struggle to stop the teachings of CRK dates back to military era but it could not be achieved. According to Malam Buni, they got the final order to completely implement their plans when democracy returns in 1999 with the coming of the late Mala Kachallah’s government. For peace to reign, he (late Mala Kachallah) reluctantly agreed to their request and they move out as of the Biblical Saul with the zeal to do as they please. Malam Buni is still alive. I recently saw him in Abuja. This has no place in history to do with Kashim Shettima as governor of Borno state as Reverend Kallamu Dikwa would want people to believe from his theories of falsehood.
While politics must come to play, in society like ours, it should be played with the decency of facts especially from so called religious people who are throwing bad theories as historical facts. Reverend Kallamu Dikwa should go back and search the books. On other issues I shall remind him of facts tested by fire. Kashim Shettima would have barbicue the Christians in Borno where he had all the powers as a governor if he has an Anti-Christian policy. But Reverend Kallamu Dikwa should know that religion is bigger than any government especially in a country like Nigeria.
Kashim Shettima: Of Sahara Reporters, The Lies And Satanic Theories of Reverend Kallamu Dikwa
Fubara Declares Support for Tinubu, Chinda, Says Rivers Political War Is Over
By: Michael Mike
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has announced his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second-term ambition and the governorship aspiration of Hon. Kingsley Ogundu Chinda, saying political differences in the state have been resolved and that the time for confrontation is over.
Fubara made the declaration on Wednesday during the groundbreaking ceremony of the Riven Medical Industries Project in Port Harcourt, where he said previously opposing political camps in Rivers had reached an understanding to work together for peace and development.
The governor said he had aligned with the “Rainbow Coalition,” a political movement associated with former Rivers State Governor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and urged his supporters across the state to support candidates under the platform ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“We have made peace in the state and I am supporting our Rainbow Coalition. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is our president, and is the one we are supporting. OK Chinda is the governorship candidate that I am supporting and anybody who believes in me will support him and every other candidate that is under the Rainbow Coalition,” Fubara said.
He added that he had returned to the political family, insisting that Rivers State must move beyond past disagreements.
“I’ve gone back to our family. So, please, whoever you are, give your total support to the Rainbow Coalition. We need to move forward. The time of war is over. It is time for peace and this peace is taking us to another level,” he said.
Fubara urged his supporters not to claim allegiance to him alone but to support the broader political arrangement, stressing that he was committed to unity and stability in the state.
“I’m not party to anything that will bring any form of disunity in this state. I’ve done what I need to do and we are moving forward,” he stated.
The governor also used the occasion to highlight the significance of the Riven Medical Industries Project, describing it as a major step towards industrialisation, healthcare development, and economic expansion in Rivers State.
However, he warned investors against abandoning commitments after receiving government support, recalling past experiences where agreements with investors resulted in disputes and legal battles.
According to him, the state government approved the project because of confidence in the investors’ ability to revive the facility, create employment opportunities, and contribute to economic growth.
He tasked the investors to adhere strictly to project timelines, particularly ensuring the completion of the first phase within three months, while appealing to host communities and the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area leadership to provide an enabling environment for the project.
The Riven Medical Industries Project is a Public-Private Partnership between the Rivers State Government and Enbay Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, aimed at transforming the former Integrated Medical Industries (IMI) into a pharmaceutical manufacturing hub.
When completed, the facility is expected to produce pharmaceutical formulations, gelatine capsules, intravenous infusions, and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), boosting local drug production capacity and reducing Nigeria’s reliance on imported medicines.
The project is also projected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, promote technology transfer, attract investment, and strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare supply chain.
The development comes as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections, with alliances and realignments expected to shape contests across states.
Fubara Declares Support for Tinubu, Chinda, Says Rivers Political War Is Over
Remain neutral during elections, Senate aspirant Bembella urges Nasarawa North elders
By: Bodunrin Kayode
The People’s Democratic Party PDP candidate for the Nasarawa North Senatorial zone, Madaki Bembella has appealed to the consciences of the elders in the zone to be neutral towards the up coming general election in the country.
Bembella, who is also the Waziri of Mada kingdom said it was in the interest of known elders to speak the truth at all times and maintaining their dignity when it comes to Mada kingdom and beyond adding that it is only then that the elders can easily be imitated by the younger ones.
The Mada chieftain in an exclusive interview with this reporter recently called on the elders to always speak in one voice regretting that there are some elders who should be sitting on their respected seats in line with their traditions with neutrality to guide the younger generation but sadly are still fixated at contesting for partisan politics.
“In my opinion, they should not be involved in politics again. They should rather sit down and direct the younger ones but the same people have relegated that position living a big gap sometimes with no one credible enough to fill.
“To my surprise also, elders are still participating in politics while some are still taking sides on sensitive issues where they are supposed to be neutral.” Said Bembella.
Bembella who is a household name in the Mada kingdom of Akwanga said that both the elders and younger generation should trust him in the elections because he has been tested in his service to humanity and has a shiny pedigree to show for it.
Why residents should trust him as their their next senator
On why residents of the zone should trust him with the office, he went on: “they should trust me by reason of my pedigree and also my track record as I contribute to humanity.
“We have good testimony of what we have been able to do both here in the headquarters of the zone and around the other areas.
” I have lived with people around here for the past 30 years and have not been found wanting. I have been tested to serve where I retired and gave a good account of myself.
“I have always had interests in politics especially the PDP since 1999. But I have used it to support politicians and party activities, it started around 2013 till date.
“That was when we started supporting individuals who have stakes in elections. But for full participation, I would say that started in 2024.and it will continue by God’s grace till I get to the Senate.”
As a traditional chieftain, he is also the Waziri of the Mada kingdom which is an influential position to hold in any kingdom and he actually plans to utilize his influence in the kingdom to account regularly on his achievements which he feels will bring the constituency up to speed with his actions.
On his message to the 35 electoral wards in the zone, he noted that he will work towards creating an assembly of the people in the three council areas of Wamba, Akwanga and Nasarawa Eggon so that the quality of representation will increase.
Akwanga he noted was supposed to have about 14 electoral wards but it has been brought down to eleven which the contestants have to contend with.
To the young people of the zone, Bembella advised them not to mortgage their future for pittance that desperate politicians share on elections day.
He urged them to avoid vote buying and progress beyond the anti partisan politicians who come with such freebies to compromise their lives and the entire electoral system.
Bembella is a fellow of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria who has paid his dues in his service to humanity.
Remain neutral during elections, Senate aspirant Bembella urges Nasarawa North elders
2027 VP Certificate of Return: The Triumphant Shettima
By: Dr James Bwala
The formal presentation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) vice-presidential nomination certificate to Vice President Kashim Shettima by President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja marks a historic moment in Nigeria’s political landscape. This event is not merely ceremonial; it signifies the consolidation of a strategic political partnership and underscores the indispensable role of the vice presidency in national governance and electoral calculations. The critics who have underestimated the political significance of the vice-presidential office, relegating it to a position of symbolic presence confined to social functions, must now reconsider their stance. Vice President Kashim Shettima emerges not only as a formidable political figure but also as a master in governance, diplomacy, and relationship building, making him the ideal running mate for the 2027 presidential election.
The fallacy that Shettima serves only as a figurehead or mere attendee at weddings and funerals fails to appreciate the sophisticated political dynamics underlying such social engagements. In the complex web of Nigerian politics, public appearances at community events are far from trivial. They represent critical opportunities for leaders like Shettima to forge bonds, nurture trust, and demonstrate empathy with various constituencies. This aspect of grassroots engagement is very important for political sustainability and electoral success, especially in a nation as ethnically and regionally diverse as Nigeria.
READ ALSO: https://newsng.ng/kashim-shettima-the-imperative-of-agricultural-revitalization-and-the-case-for-the-niger-deltas-agrarian-future/
Vice President Shettima’s approach over the past three years under President Tinubu’s administration exemplifies a transformative model of vice-presidential leadership. Unlike his predecessors, who often remained distant or disengaged from the public beyond official duties, Shettima has established himself as the most sociable and accessible vice president in Nigeria’s recent history. His consistent presence across the six geopolitical zones—attending significant social, religious, and cultural events—reflects a profound understanding of Nigeria’s sociopolitical fabric. This strategy has enabled him to cultivate a broad base of support that transcends ethnic and regional divides, an asset invaluable to any national campaign.
The ability to emotionally connect with people through shared experiences at weddings, funerals, and other communal gatherings creates a lasting impact that goes beyond superficial visibility. It stirs a deeper level of connection, fostering loyalty and goodwill towards the leadership. Shettima’s sensitivity to these moments has rendered him not just a political figurehead but a trusted representative of the people, fulfilling the crucial role of bridging government and citizenry. Such engagement is fundamental to democratic governance and a testament to his political acumen.
READ ALSO: https://newsng.ng/kashim-shettima-the-imperative-of-agricultural-revitalization-and-the-case-for-the-niger-deltas-agrarian-future/
The lessons gleaned from Shettima’s network-building efforts reveal a nuanced grasp of power and influence unique for effective leadership. Politics, especially in a federal system like Nigeria’s, requires more than policy expertise; it demands strategic alliances and interpersonal relationships. Shettima’s success in cultivating friendships and collaborations among diverse political actors has strengthened both his profile and the APC’s reach. This extensive networking capacity reinforces his suitability as a vice-presidential candidate who can unite various factions and present a cohesive front in the 2027 elections.
The significance of Shettima’s receipt of the certificate of return extends beyond personal triumph; it symbolises the resilience of democratic processes within the APC and the broader Nigerian polity. Despite detractors and so-called “wishy-washers” who sought to undermine his candidature, the vice president’s nomination confirms the party’s confidence in his leadership qualities and electoral appeal. It sends a clear message that the vice-presidency is a vital component of executive power and electoral strategy—a partnership essential for steering Nigeria towards stability and progress.
READ ALSO: https://newsng.ng/kashim-shettima-the-imperative-of-agricultural-revitalization-and-the-case-for-the-niger-deltas-agrarian-future/
In addition, Shettima’s persona as the “people’s vice president” and “Jagoran Arewa” (Leader of the North) impact deeply with the northern electorate and beyond. His background and proven track record furnish him with the legitimacy and moral authority to address regional concerns while maintaining national unity. This dual appeal is critical in a country where ethnic and regional identities profoundly shape political allegiances. His ability to balance these identities within the framework of national integration positions him as a unifying figure capable of advancing inclusive governance.
Critics who diminish the vice-presidential role overlook the institutional and constitutional responsibilities that the office entails. The vice president is not merely a standby official but an active participant in policymaking, governance, and representation. Shettima’s tenure has demonstrated commitment to these responsibilities, often spearheading initiatives and representing the presidency on critical domestic and international platforms. This proactive stance challenges outdated perceptions and elevates the office’s relevance in contemporary Nigerian politics.
READ ALSO: https://newsng.ng/kashim-shettima-the-imperative-of-agricultural-revitalization-and-the-case-for-the-niger-deltas-agrarian-future/
Vice President Kashim Shettima’s presentation of the APC vice-presidential nomination certificate is a landmark achievement that validates his political stature and strategic importance. His journey from perceived marginalisation to political prominence showcases the power of relationship-building, empathy, and visionary leadership.
As Nigeria approaches the 2027 presidential elections, Shettima stands as a testament to the evolving nature of the vice presidency—one characterised by active governance, broad-based support, and commitment to the nation’s unity and progress. The triumph of Shettima is not just a personal victory; it is a collective affirmation that strong, socially engaged leadership at all levels of government is indispensable for Nigeria’s democratic future. Congratulations to the people’s vice president and Jagoran Arewa on this well-deserved milestone.
*James Bwala, PhD, writes from Abuja.
2027 VP Certificate of Return: The Triumphant Shettima
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