Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has revealed a dramatic chapter from his time as Governor of Borno State, disclosing how former President Goodluck Jonathan nearly removed him from office using presidential influence, just as President Tinubu is trying to do with Governor Fubara of Rivers State. Shettima made the revelation while speaking at the launch of a new book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke, titled OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block,’ in Abuja, urging public servants and political leaders to stop burying their experiences in silence and begin telling their stories for the benefit of future generations.
Recalling his personal ordeal during the height of the Boko Haram insurgency and political tension in the North-East, Shettima said he was treated like an enemy of the state simply for standing by the people of Borno.
“In the last four years of the Jonathan administration, I was demonized. I became Public Enemy Number One,” he said.
According to him, certain decisions in the Nigerian government are often taken by a very small circle — the President, the Vice President, the Senate President, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. He narrated how during one of those meetings, the presidency wanted to remove him from office as Borno Governor, but a courageous intervention stopped the plan.
“The then Speaker of the House had the boldness to tell President Jonathan to his face: ‘Your Excellency, you do not have the power to remove a sitting governor — not even a local government chairman,’” Shettima recalled.
He said that moment of truth was what put an end to the plan to oust him, but it also marked the beginning of strained relations between him and Jonathan’s inner circle.
“That was how the matter was laid to rest. But from that day, my relationship with President Jonathan and his key men was recalibrated. I became a marked man,” he added.
Shettima’s comments come at a time when many Nigerians are questioning the limits of presidential power in relation to state governors, particularly amid the current political drama in Rivers State involving Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Minister Nyesom Wike. Though Shettima did not mention President Tinubu or the Rivers crisis directly, many political watchers believe his statement was a veiled warning against federal overreach.
Beyond the political revelations, Shettima used the platform to challenge the culture of silence in Nigeria’s public service. He noted that too many people leave office with important stories locked away in their memories, leaving future generations in the dark about the decisions that shaped the nation.
“Our public service is a territory governed by silence. There is silence to preserve relationships. Silence to protect secrets too delicate to disclose. And silence because some memories are just too painful to relive,” he said.
He urged leaders to begin documenting and sharing their journeys, not for praise, but as a responsibility to the nation and to history.
“Our stories are not ours alone. They belong to the country. They belong to history. We must tell them, not because they end the conversation — but because they begin it,” he said.
Shettima praised Adoke’s courage, describing him as a man who has endured both public criticism and private pain. “He was blooded but unbowed,” he said, quoting a line from the book.
He explained that every person who has served in public office carries burdens that never make it into official documents — but these are the experiences that shape a nation’s conscience and collective wisdom.
“Life itself is a litigation with no end. There is no final adjournment in the pursuit of justice. We are all on trial — not just for what we did, but for what we dare to remember, what we dare to reveal, and what we dare to pass on,” Shettima declared.
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He reminded the audience that public service is not just a privilege but a liability in the court of public opinion — one that follows officeholders long after their tenure ends.
“As we live here today, let us remember that the duty to account for our place in history is one we must honor until our final breath,” he said in conclusion.
