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Shettima: Not A Religious Or Ethnic Checkbox: A Response To Farooq Kperogi.
By: Inuwa Bwala
inuwabwala3@gmail.com
I have known Professor Farook Kperogi way back in Kaduna in the 1990s before he jetted out. He was my neighbour in Ungwan Dosa.
I knew him on the pages of Weekly Trust newspaper, where he worked, as a fine professional, with a knack for exclussive reports with analytical capabilty.
I follow his weekly columns in Tribune newspaper and on the social media.
I know him to be courageous and admits his faults whenever he goofs on certain issues.
Prof. Kperogi’s emotional cartography on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the choice of Kashim Shettima, may sound brillant, but it risks reducing Vice President Kashim Shettima to a demographic checkbox: that falls short of the man’s true worth and the reason he was chosen.
If Kperogi must know, Kashim Shettima was not picked in 2023 because he is Muslim. Rather, he was picked because he is a proven politician with a record of service under fire. Three attributes stand out from his public career, which should have been a better compass for an analyst, who wants to reflect truth and not a form an opinion just to impress. Kashim Shettima is a crisis-tested leader, who as governor of Borno from 2011-2019, governed at the height of Boko Haram insurgency. Maiduguri was under virtual siege, yet he stayed in the state, slept in Government House, and kept institutions running.
He is on record to have rebuilt schools destroyed by insurgents, re-opened markets, and set up a Victims Support Fund when the federal center was still finding its feet.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu: long before he was chosen as the candidate for the 2023 Presidential election was in Maiduguri as Shettima’s guest, and he is conversant with the feats achieved. That is not “symbolism”, that was executive courage. Tinubu needed someone who understood post-conflict governance, and Shettima had receipts in conflict management, to show.
*I stand to challenge anybody, who can question Kashim Shettima’s deep understanding of Nigeria’s political dynamics, using his equally deep legislative and executive experiences, having served as governor and Senator.
Even before he became the governor, of Borno State, Shettima was Commissioner for Finance, later Commissioner for Local Government & Chieftaincy Affairs in Borno.
He was Senator for Borno Central before he was picked as Tinubu’s running mate.
Few Vice Presidential picks in Nigeria’s history came in with both executive and legislative experiences, from a conflict zone as Borno.
That combination matters for a Vice President whose constitutional role is to liase with the Senate and deputize the President on policy. He knows how the National Assembly works, and he knows how to manage a state budget in a war like situation.
Could Farook doubt Shettima’s pragmatic, people-centered politics, which have often been on display, since he assumed office, as Vice President? I doubt.
Those who worked with him in Borno, including my humble self, often describe Shettima as a leader who is accessible, data-driven, and always calm under pressure. He has built rapport across ethnic and religious lines, and sees governance more about service delivery, not slogans.
While he was the governor, Kashim Shettima introduced what has become a revolution in irrigation farming, livestock development, and youth skills training, even while fighting insurgency on the sidelines. That pragmatism is why he has been useful in Tinubu’s government coordinating political alliances, standing inn for the President at important national and international meets, advising on food security, humanitarian response, and economic council work.
To frame Shettima as just the “northern Muslim emotional compact” misses the political calculation Tinubu made. He picked a running mate who had already governed through Nigeria’s worst security crisis, managed budgets under stress, and understood the North beyond Abuja conferences. That’s political capital, not religious arithmetic.
Religion will always be part of Nigeria’s conversation. But leaders should be judged first by competence and record. Shettima’s dues are paid in Borno’s classrooms, hospitals, and resettled communities, not just in identity maps.
If 2027 is about continuity and results, then the case for Shettima rests on that record of service. Not on theology.
inuwabwala3@gmail.com
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Kwara: Security Team Kills Two Bandits, Rescues Two Kidnap Victims
Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
A security team, comprising operatives of DSS and forest guards, has rescued two victims of abduction in a forest between Oba Isin/Owa Onire area of isin and Ifelodun Local Government Areas of Kwara State.
The rescued victims are 16-year-old Fatima Azeez and Ibrahim Azeez who is five-year old.
The team also eliminated two armed bandits, while others escaped with severe injuries as the security forces stormed their hideouts, according to a report by DSS and local authorities.
The security team also recovered several items from the kidnappers, including one Ak-47 rifle; one single barrel; one fully loaded magazine with nine empty; mini-solar panel; and food items.
The rescue operation is connected to the multi-agency counterterrorism and anti-kidnapping efforts of the government.
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Kwara: Police Launch Investigations Into Killing Of Farmer On Farmland
Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
The Kwara State Police Command has commenced full-scale investigations into the killing of a farmer, Mr Azeez Garba, whose body was discovered on his farmland along the Owa-Onire axis, the boundary between Isanlu-Isin and Owu-Isin in Isin Local Government Area of the State.
The Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, described the murder as “cruel, senseless and unacceptable,” and directed the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) to intensify efforts to identify and arrest those behind the attack.
According to the police, preliminary investigations showed that the deceased left home for his farm in the morning but did not return, prompting his family members and local vigilantes to organise a search.
The search party reportedly found his motorcycle parked on the farmland before discovering his lifeless body a short distance away. Police said the victim had sustained deep machete cuts.
Reacting to the incident, CP Adekimi ordered investigators to deploy all available intelligence and investigative resources to unravel the circumstances surrounding the killing.
“The killing is cruel, senseless and unacceptable,” the commissioner of Police said, assuring residents that the command would leave no stone unturned in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Although no suspect had been arrested as of Monday, the command said all available leads were being diligently pursued.
The police also assured the bereaved family, the people of Isin Local Government Area and the general public that investigators were working tirelessly to track down everyone connected with the crime.
“The Kwara State Police Command remains unwavering in its commitment to safeguarding lives and property across the state and will not relent until every person responsible for this reprehensible act is brought before the law,” the statement added.
The statement was signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, on behalf of the Commissioner of Police.
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Kwara: Joint Security Team Arrests Alleged Cultist, Recovers Firearm
Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
A coordinated security operation involving the Kwara State Police Command, other security agencies and the Kwara State Polytechnic Security Unit has led to the arrest of a suspected cultist, Agboola Olamilekan, with a locally fabricated pistol recovered from him in Ilorin.
The operation, carried out as part of ongoing efforts to combat cultism and violent crimes across the state, was described by the police as another breakthrough in intelligence-driven policing aimed at dismantling criminal networks and reducing the circulation of illegal firearms.
Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, in a statement issued on Wednesday on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, said the suspect was apprehended during the joint operation while in possession of the firearm.
According to the statement, the operation is part of the Command’s sustained strategy to disrupt cult-related activities and deny criminal elements the opportunity to operate within the state.
Commenting on the development, the Commissioner of Police, CP Ojo Adekimi, reaffirmed the Command’s determination to intensify the fight against cultism and other violent crimes.
“Every successful operation represents another step towards dismantling criminal networks and enhancing public safety across the state through proactive and intelligence-led policing,” the commissioner said.
The police disclosed that investigations are ongoing to identify and arrest other suspected members of the criminal network linked to the suspect.
The Command added that it remains committed to advancing the policing vision of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, through intelligence-led policing, strategic collaboration with relevant stakeholders and sustained operations aimed at ensuring that those responsible for threatening the peace and security of Kwara State are brought to justice.
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