As the administration of President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu gets set to kick-off, Kassim Shettima, vice-president elect, has called on Nigerians to be patient and realise that the beginning might not be all smooth sailing.
Tinubu and Shettima are scheduled to be sworn in as president and vice president respectively on Monday, May 29 as the tenure of incumbent president Muhammadu Buhari lapses.
Buhari’s tenure spanned two terms of four year each.
Shettima, assured that the in-coming administration would get to work quickly. He spoke on Friday at the 2023 Presidential Inauguration Public Lecture at the National Mosque, Abuja.
“The starting point might not be rosy, let me be very honest with you. The oil subsidy has become an albatross around our necks. The multiple exchange rates system is a drain on the national economy and creates a dual economic system,” he said.
“There are certain decisions that the new administration will take, but in the fullness of time, Nigerians will come not only to appreciate but also to celebrate us.
“As the Chinese will say, ‘The worst curse that a Chinese man may wish on you is for you to live in interesting times.’ And indeed, we are living in interesting times. But rest assured that in the fullness of time, Nigerians will come to pay glowing tributes to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
Describing power as the “most ephemeral” of God’s gifts to humanity, the Vice President-elect argued that a person’s pedigree does not make them who they are.
“We’re here — we’re leaders — not because of our intellect. Neither Kashim Shettima nor Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu holds any PhD degree. We are what we are not because of our physical powers. We are what we are, not because of our political sagacity. There are better politicians.
“Power, to us, will be a humbling experience. It’s an opportunity to serve God and humanity. And whether we accept it or not, we are going to spend more years of our lives outside power than in power,” he said.
Shettima hailed Tinubu as a pure-minded leader who would “do justice” to all Nigerians, irrespective of differences in political affiliations, religious persuasions, tribal or sectional backgrounds.
“We’re all united by our common heritage of poverty, destitution and insecurity. This is the time for all of us to coalesce into a single force,” he added.
