Author: VP - Kashim Shettima

BEING the speech of His Excellency, Senator Kashim Shettima, GCON, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, at the Dr. Kayode Fayemi Commemorative Symposium and Launch of the Amandla Policy and Leadership Institute, with the theme “Renewing the Pan-African Ideal for the Changing Times: The Policy and Leadership Challenges and Opportunities,” at the Congress Hall, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria, on Thursday, February 6, 2025. Protocols The world has never suffered from a scarcity of ideas. Nations and civilisations have risen on the strength of visionaries, and they have also crumbled under the weight of ideas left in the…

THERE couldn’t have been a more poignant last chapter to a man’s life than my final text exchange with him. He reached out on December 31, 2023, to draw my attention to a Qur’an recital competition in Damaturu, Yobe State, stating that it transpired without deserving prizes. In his typical fashion, he outlined interventions that could align with the noble ambitions of the reciters and organisers. What he didn’t say this time around, while preferring the cloak he wore to redirect our concerns away from his health and towards others, was that he was on the brink of existence. He…