A parallel between Nigerias Vice President Shettima and the fiasco, former Nigerian ''STATE GOVERNOR'', Alhaji Sabo Bakin Zuwo who once referred to his states natural minerals as Fanta, Coca-Cola, and Sprite 🤢 "soda in Nigeria is called minerals"

 

Why did Nigeria’s vice president, Kashim Shettima, stoop to quoting outdated, easily sourced population data in a diplomatic exchange with the British Leader of the Tory Party Mrs Badenoch?

Instead of highlighting 

[ Like any normal mentally balanced diplomatic representative or speaker of a civilized and non brutal regime ]

his government, his culture or his direct input/ contribution to any other extraordinary non cosmetic or sports related achievements of local Nigerians or their influential diaspora contributions, he clung to a misguided rubbish that painted a bleak picture.

Nigeria’s jappa, yappa, wet dreaming population if given the chance to emigrate or change nationality Nigeria or at least W/S/E Nigeria will be left with 3 old people, people who based on actual migration records are destined to serve the Western world as enablers, cleaners, cab drivers, and dishwashers. 

This wasn’t just a misstep; it was a global embarrassment, made even worse by the fact that the data he referenced is so rudimentary it could be found by a British primary school student with a quick search.

What was more perplexing was his failure to provide anything beyond this bleak, one-dimensional perspective. 

Why didn’t he proudly cite the contributions of Nigerians that Nigeria or even Billionaire Nigerians, several of his peers have sponsored, financed, created around the world—scientists, entrepreneurs, creatives, and professionals who are making legitimate waves in industries from technology to finance? 

Why didn’t he challenge with data instead or same ole primitive smelly mouth stuff that's not sourced in reality, this wild bully, why did he not show how Nigerians have enriched global society and economies as a result of Nigerians initiation or input? 

Instead the suspected savage killer picks a story that suggests his nation’s youth are being primed for the very lowest rungs of Western labor.

The intellectual and diplomatic disparity between Shettima and Mrs Badenoch could not have been more apparent, it's of chasm gap, Badenochs credentials—her  accomplishments as a leader and politician—were effortlessly conveyed in her statements. 

Shettima, however, was left grasping at straws, as his response crumbled under the weight of its mediocrity. His comments were almost childlike, a far cry from the sharp, decisive leadership Nigeria desperately needs on the world stage.

But this isn’t a one-off incident, is it?

One can’t help but draw a parallel between Shettima’s comments and a similar fiasco that came decades earlier from a former Nigerian governor, Alhaji Aliyu Sabo Bakin Zuwo. 

Bakin Zuwo once infamously referred to soft drinks like Fanta, Coca-Cola, and Sprite as "minerals" during a national discussion on the allocation of revenue. His utterance was not just a linguistic mistake; it was an embarrassing display of ignorance that suggested he believed the production of sugary beverages could somehow equate to the mining of actual minerals like gold, oil, or gas.

It’s almost as though Shettima’s approach to governance and diplomacy is inherited from this same era of infantile blunders. Bakin Zuwo, in his bid to elevate Kano’s economic standing, relied on the production of sodas—referred to as "minerals"—to make his case for increased revenue, while Shettima, in his attempt to defend Nigeria’s potential, resorts to braggadocio regarding his nation’s population , based on data, a Jappa, yappa future workforce for the Western world’s most menial jobs. 

Both have made a mockery of their country’s intellectual capacity, presenting it on the global stage as something primitive and backward.

But what’s worse—what's truly gut-wrenching—is that this doesn’t seem to be an isolated case of poor judgment. The Nigerian leadership, time and again, fails to elevate the conversation on global platforms. 

Shettima might have well been salivating over his quick Google search as he delivered this lackluster response, unable to grasp the intellectual weight of his office. 

The fact that this man is in the second-highest position of the country, representing over 200 million Nigerians to the world, should send chills down the spine of any self-respecting Nigerian.

I struggle to understand how a man of such questionable intellectual and diplomatic prowess can rise to such heights. The question is, how did Shettima—someone so clearly unprepared for this level of discourse—end up as Nigeria’s vice president? 

What are his qualifications, and how does he manage to deceive an entire nation into thinking he’s fit for this role?

 Is he on drugs, or simply intoxicated by the power of his office?

Perhaps, more troubling than his intellectual deficiencies is the question of his actual qualifications. What are his real achievements? When you look at his past, what stands out? Are we simply tolerating an ineffective leader because of his political position, or have we resigned ourselves to the mediocrity of what passes for governance in Nigeria?

To add insult to injury, Shettima’s statement not only undermines the efforts of Nigerians who have made significant strides across various industries, but it repeats a cycle of inferiority that the country has struggled to escape from for decades. 

The Nigerian people deserve better, far better, than a vice president who parrots the most simplistic and demeaning stories about their future.

I am not just an observer of  politics; I am a genetic relative to its people, and I can barely comprehend how a man like Shettima could ascend to such a high office.

 His words reflect an absence of critical thought, a lack of respect for his country’s actual achievements, and actual ignorance of the complex, potentially vibrant nation he represents. 

If this is the face of Nigerian leadership, then we truly are doomed to be treated like the world’s footstools. But how much longer will the Nigerians accept this lunacy? How much longer will they stand by while their leaders play on the world stage as intellectual children?