We must live above divisive politics – Shettima
Vice President-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima has enjoined Nigerians to eschew divisive politics as it offers nations nothing but retrogression.
Shettima spoke on Monday when he received the All Progressives Congress’ Professionals Forum, led by former Governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda at his Asokoro office in Abuja.
Quoting Martin Luther King’s, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy”, Shettima thanked the group for its support and sacrifice, just as he assured the delegation of his principal, Bola Ahmed Tinubu being a man of ideas who will hit the ground running immediately on assuming office.
“The world is a knowledge-driven world. We have moved from the agricultural age to the industrial age and now we are in the post-industrial, knowledge-driven age, and hence the readiness of my Principal to deliver the goods Nigerians expect of him as soon as possible,”, the VP-elect stated.
Shettima also stated the need to embrace one another as brothers and sisters as against divisive politics, saying it was made to look like a tough election, based on how divisive some went about it.
He cited how the Nigerian candidate won in the most northern of states, and the most Christian of states with 90% population of Christians (Benue), saying what bound Nigerians together, superseded what divided them.
“The task before us is to transform this nation into a just and fair society where everyone will have a sense of belonging. We should learn to accommodate and embrace each other.
“It is a dawn of a new era to celebrate the progress of this nation,” Shettima added.
In his remarks earlier, the Chairman of the forum, Mal. Isa Yuguda congratulated the Vice President-elect and his Principal, saying his delegation, consisting of ‘rocket scientists to bricklayers’, had come to congratulate them. He thanked Shettima for always honoring invitations by the forum in relation to its various activities.
“We thank you for always honoring our invitations, and we are in prayers with you, and appreciate you, as you are always close to us, having your aides Ahmed Ningi and Ameen Amshi as active members. We thank you for all the support and encouragement,” Yuguda stated.
He proposed a retreat by the forum for National Assembly members and key stakeholders in government geared at setting an agenda for the incoming administration, as well as redefining APC’s ideological blueprint for all political office holders in the party.
He stressed that this will go a long way in shaping its programmes and policies and also recreate synergy between the party, National Assembly, and the Executive.
He further explained that the retreat will aim to create service delivery consciousness in the mind of policy makers and implementers in the forthcoming administration especially with the complementary roles of development partners.
The delegation included former Governor of Adamawa State, Mr. Bala James Ngilari, former Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Nkem Okeke, Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole.
Also in attendance was Mutawalle Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, Chairman, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) Board.
