Senator Kashim Shettima (APC, Borno Central) has said the choice of Governor Babagana Zulum as his successor was not for personal reasons, but in the best interest of Borno State, saying Zulum was better than him in all ramifications.
Shettima disclosed this on Sunday while delivering a paper at a Public Lecture organized by a Coalition of Youths Groups in Birnin Kebbi with the theme: “Youths Development and Mentorship: The Role of Nothern Elites.”
He said he crossed a number of hurdles to eventually arrive at choosing his successor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, whom he also described as a trustworthy politician.
The former Governor advised leaders to realise that leadership was a trust from God Almighty, adding that it should be seen as a temporal session that one must account for in the hereafter.
“As leaders, we must put a sense of mentorship, train the youth to the best of our ability, bearing in mind that we cannot live forever,” he said.
Specifically on mentorship, Shettima observed that there was nothing more dangerous than to entrust power to intellectually incompetent persons.
He also lamented that majority of Youths lacked education or skills for entrepreneurship.
He stressed the need for the youth to be committed in the pursuit of education, to comfortably drive the country to the promise land.
Shettima advocated for a grassroots socio-economic empowerment to propel national growth and development of the entire country.
The former Governor of Borno State, while commending Kebbi youths for their hard work and maturity, charged them to embrace education as a key to future development.
In his speech at the occasion, Kebbi State Governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, urged youths in the country to learn to support the evolution of future leaders.
According to Bagudu: “Mentorship involves a lot of risks. it’s one thing to mentor and succeed, while it’s another one to mentor and fail.
“The youths must hear this ,as risk taking is an element of mentorship. This is imperative for them to support the process .”
Bagudu further averred that, good leaders must focus on mentoring future leaders that will be better than them and not like them.
The Kebbi Governor also noted that, this was the only way the society could thrive and get better.
He extolled Shattima for sharing his vast experience in mentoring one of Nigeria’s finest leaders, Prof. Babagana Zulum.
“He was however silent on the formidable risks he took in doing so,although he mildly alluded to that,” Bagudu, added.
