Former Minister of National Planning and Director-General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, on Thursday said Vice President Kashim Shettima inherited Borno State as governor at a time when the Boko Haram insurgency was ravaging communities and disrupting social and economic life.
He disclosed this in a tribute issued in Abuja to celebrate the 60th birthday of the Vice President, describing Shettima’s journey through banking, public administration, executive leadership, the legislature and the Vice Presidency as one defined by preparation and service.
Shettima, who was born in Maiduguri on September 2, 1966, clocked 60 on Wednesday.
In the tribute, Sulaiman reflected on the Vice President’s rise from the banking sector to public service, his eight-year tenure as governor of Borno State, his time in the Senate and his emergence as Nigeria’s Vice President in 2023.
He said, “There are birthdays that are marked with celebration, and there are birthdays that invite reflection. The 60th birthday of Vice President Kashim Shettima belongs to both. It becomes a moment to contemplate a remarkable journey. Kashim Shettima’s is a story of preparation meeting providence.”
However, Sulaiman emphasised that Shettima assumed office as governor at the height of the Boko Haram insurgency, when the security crisis had devastated several communities and placed enormous pressure on the state.
He said the former governor pursued reconstruction and investment in key sectors despite the security challenges confronting the state.
“Then came the governorship in 2011. Shettima inherited a Borno State facing one of the gravest security crises in its history. The Boko Haram insurgency was tearing through communities and disrupting the foundations of social life.
“Yet, rather than allowing the circumstances to define the destiny of the state, his administration pursued reconstruction, education, healthcare, agriculture, and human capital development. In the face of devastation, he chose the audacity of reconstruction.
“Schools were built. Healthcare facilities were developed. Agriculture received attention. That decision to continue investing in the future in the middle of crisis remains one of the most compelling aspects of his years in Borno,” he stated.
In the last two decades, Borno was among the states worst hit by the Boko Haram insurgency, with thousands of residents killed and many others displaced from communities across the North-East during the height of the crisis.
However, after completing two terms as governor, Shettima was elected senator representing Borno Central in 2019.
He was later selected by President Bola Tinubu as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election, with the All Progressives Congress ticket going on to win the poll.
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