Kashim Shettima and His Rare Sense of Humour.
By AbdurRaheem Sa’ad Dembo
I have noticed the high sense of humour in Vice President Kashim Shettima since when he was a Senator at the Red Chamber. He used his Facebook page to share jokes regularly between Fulani and Kanuri. Of particular interest in this piece is Kashim Shettima’s latest joke between Fulani and Kanuri subsequent to the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday, 6th September, 2023.
It is no news anymore that the outcome was in favour of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima of the APC as the Tribunal upheld the victory of the duo while knocking out that of the PDP and Labour party. Thus the event was seeing bringing out another level of jokes from the Vice President.
Shettima’s sense of humour “no get part two” honestly. Here is what he said about Atiku “Atiku Abubakar is an elderstatesman that I hold in very high esteem. Anybody who knows the socio-cultural interactions between the Fulanis and the Kanuris in the North will know that I have the liberty to hold all the insults in him and…. We are not going to retire him to Dubai or Morocco, I will retire him to Ponbia, I will buy him goats, broilers and layers so he can spend his days rearing goats and broilers but he is an elderstatesman”
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This joke further athenticates the social interaction between Fulanis and Kanuris in the North. In Ilorin it is the same situation where we share the jokes with the DanBornos also known as the Kannikes. But the height of this Kashim Shettima’s own is hyper interesting. Even if you don’t want to laugh, you would be forced to. The Vice President later said on a serious note to show the world it was mere jokes not to disaparage former Vice President Atiku.
Here is how he said it:
“On a more serious note,
he is an elderstatesman, the nation needs him; experience is not something that you can buy in the marketplace. We will tap into his wealth of experience and exposure to catapult the nation to a higher pedestal. Politics is over, governance is now imperative.
“For all those that I might have offended with my utterances, politics is a game of nouns not emotions.”
One of the interesting things I love in the jokes between Fulani and Kanuri is that no ill-feelings are attached to them, they are just jokes to brighten the moment whenever we meet; whether on our ways on streets, market, office or social gathering.
It is a channel through which we exchange love. Though being a Fulani I do not know the history of how the jokes came into being but I believe it is not about hate but love that is embedded in the spirit of peaceful co-existence.
Hence, as leaders we should promote love and unity; the Kashim Shettima’s example is a laudable one. The unique aspect of the social interaction between Fulanis and the Kanuris is that both parties involved are relating without bad blood.
I am pretty sure that even the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar will just be laughing as Shettima’s hits him on air with jokes.
