Nigeria's Vice President Honors President's Mother, Citing Her Leadership Legacy

Vice President Kashim Shettima paid tribute to the late Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, mother of President Bola Tinubu, during the Annual Grand Prayer Session held at the National Mosque in Abuja. Shettima, representing the President, lauded Mogaji as a woman whose influence extended beyond her family, significantly shaping Nigeria's moral and leadership ethos.

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It should surprise no one, then, that the son she raised carries the same fire into the highest office in our land. President Tinubu, learned at her side that public life is a trust and that leadership is owed first to the ordinary and the unheard.

Shettima remarked that Alhaja Mogaji, who passed away in 2013 at the age of 96, left a lasting legacy through her actions and the institutions she strengthened, rather than through mere pronouncements. He drew a parallel between the late matriarch and her son, President Tinubu, suggesting that her values were instrumental in shaping him into the leader he is today. "A mother shaped a leader, and through that leader her values now serve the whole of Nigeria," Shettima stated.

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The instinct to fight for democracy when it was dangerous to do so, the willingness to stand for the common good when comfort counselled silence, the conviction that the citizen deserves a government that works for them, all of this was first kindled in a home where service was the daily example.

The Vice President highlighted Mogaji's understanding that "commerce is a service to humanity and that the marketplace is a meeting point of human need and human dignity." He recalled her lifelong dedication to the welfare of traders, particularly women building livelihoods stall by stall, and her efforts to organize communities often overlooked by the powerful. She transformed individual efforts into collective strength, teaching market women the significance of their work and the weight of their voices.

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A mother shaped a leader, and through that leader her values now serve the whole of Nigeria.

Shettima further elaborated that Alhaja Mogaji earned the affection of her people by prioritizing service over personal gain. She provided for the hungry, mediated disputes, and protected the weak from exploitation. Her life exemplified a commitment to public service, demonstrating that leadership is a trust owed first to the ordinary and unheard citizens. The values she instilled in President Tinubu, such as the importance of fighting for democracy and standing for the common good, continue to guide his leadership in Nigeria.

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She turned scattered effort into collective strength, and she taught a generation of market women that their work mattered, that their voices carried weight, and that their toil deserved respect.