Shettima Inherited Borno Facing Gravest Insecurity – Sulaiman

The director-general of National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof Abubakar Sulaiman, has said Vice President Kashim Shettima as Borno State governor, inherited a state facing one of the gravest security crisis in its history but changed the ugly story.

According to the former minister of National Planning, Boko Haram insurgency was tearing through communities and disrupting the foundations of social life of the state as at 2011 when Shettima assumed office.

Sulaiman, in a tribute to the vice president who clocked 60 on Wednesday, said rather than allowing the circumstances to define the destiny of the state, his administration pursued reconstruction, education, healthcare, agriculture, and human capital development.

The NILDS boss said, in the face of devastation, Shettima chose the audacity of reconstruction as schools were built, healthcare facilities developed and agriculture received attention while human capital became a major plank of governance.

“His (Shettima’s) administration also established Borno State University, which has since evolved into Kashim Ibrahim University. 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. A university is not merely a collection of buildings; it is an investment in generations yet unborn.

“After eight years as governor, Shettima moved to the Senate in 2019, where he continued to enlarge his national political profile. Four years later, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu nominated him as his running mate. On May 29, 2023, the journey from Maiduguri reached Aso Rock. Kashim Shettima became Vice President of Nigeria. Since then, he has assumed a particularly consequential role in the administration.

“As chairman of the National Economic Council, he has been at the centre of conversations involving economic coordination between the Federal Government and the states, with particular attention to investment, food security, agriculture, human capital and economic diversification,” Sulaiman stated.

He noted that in 2026, Shettima has continued to champion the ambition of building a $1 trillion Nigerian economy while advocating greater investment and diversification beyond dependence on crude oil.

Sulaiman also said the Vice President has spoken forcefully about Nigeria’s participation in the emerging artificial intelligence economy and the importance of developing the country’s own capacity for innovation and technological production.

“From rebuilding a state battered by insurgency to participating in the economic transformation of Africa’s most populous nation, the scale has changed, but the underlying principle remains the same: build for tomorrow. That may well be the most enduring thread in the Shettima story. There is also the question of character.

“Politics is often a theatre of shifting alliances and competing interests. Yet Shettima has built a reputation for forthrightness, intellectual confidence, political sagacity, and loyalty. President Tinubu, in his birthday tribute, described him as a patriot whose life has been defined by service, commitment, and sacrifice while commending his courage, diligence, compassion, wisdom, and loyalty.

“Those qualities are particularly important in the Vice Presidency, an office that demands proximity without rivalry, influence without unnecessary spectacle, and loyalty without surrendering intellectual independence. Shettima has occupied that difficult space with a visible sense of responsibility.

“Interestingly, as he attained 60, the Vice President asked friends and well-wishers not to spend money on elaborate celebrations, gifts, or birthday advertisements for him. Instead, he encouraged them to direct such resources towards charity and worthy causes while asking Nigerians to pray for the country.”