In this article, we’ll be discussing who Kashim Shettima is, right from his childhood days up to this moment as the All Progressives Congress vice presidential nominee in the 2023 Presidential election, running alongside Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Keep on reading to learn about his age, background, professional and political careers, net worth and more.
Below is Kashim Shettima Biography: age, background, net worth and more:
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Early Life of Kashim Shettima
Kashim Shettima Mustapha was born on September 2, 1966, in Maiduguri, to the Kanuri family of Shettima Mustapha Kuttayibe. Shettima’s hometown is Nimeri Korongoso in Borno State.
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Age of Kashim Shettima
As of January 5, 2023, the age of Kashim Shettima is 56 years and 125 days, being that he was born on September 2, 1966.
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Education History of Kashim Shettima
In 1972, at the age of 6, Shettima was enrolled in Lamisula Primary School in Maiduguri to begin his primary school education. He remained in Lamisula Primary School until 1978 when he sat and passed his First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC) examination. After completing his primary school education, Shettima enrolled in the Government Community Secondary School which was located in Biu, in the southern part of Borno State. He was a student of the Government Community Secondary School for two years, leaving in 1980, to join the Government Science Secondary School in Potiskum (in present-day Yobe State). He remained in the Government Science Secondary School till he completed his secondary school education in 1983.
Upon completion of his secondary school education, Shettima applied for and was granted admission to study Agricultural Economics at the University of Maiduguri. In 1989, Shettima obtained a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics.
After graduating from the university, from 1989 to 1990, he had his one-year mandatory membership of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) at the now-defunct Nigerian Agricultural Corporation Bank, Calabar, Cross Rivers State. Upon completion of his NYSC, he got into the University of Ibadan to study Agricultural Economics at the master’s level. In 1991, Shettima obtained a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics.
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Career History of Kashim Shettima
The first job Shettima got after graduating from the University of Ibadan with a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics, was a lecturing appointment at the University of Maiduguri. He was a lecturer with the Department of Agricultural Economics from 1991 until 1993.
In 1993, after he left his lecturing job, he moved into the banking sector, working with the now-defunct Commercial Bank of Africa, Ikeja, Lagos State, as an agricultural economist. At the Commercial Bank of Africa, he held the position of Head of the Accounts unit, from 1993 to 1997.
In 1997, he left the Commercial Bank of Africa and joined the African International Bank as a deputy manager. By 2001, he rose the ranks to become manager of the Kaduna branch of the African International Bank Limited. That same year, in 2001, Shettima left African International Bank Limited.
After leaving African International Bank Limited, he joined Zenith Bank in 2001. He was appointed deputy manager of Zenith Bank’s main branch in Maiduguri, Borno State. Shettima’s growth in Zenith Bank continued that by 2007, he was General Manager at the Zenith Bank’s office, in Maiduguri, Borno State. Before attaining the General Manager position, Shettima served as Senior Manager/Branch Head, Assistant General Manager/Zonal Head (North-East), and Deputy General Manager/Zonal Head (North-East). In mid-2007, Shettima left the banking sector to join politics, following his appointment as part of Governor Ali Modu Sheriff’s cabinet.
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Political Career of Kashim Shettima
Shettima’s political career began in 2007 when Governor Ali Modu Sheriff appointed him to be part of his cabinet as Commissioner for the Borno State Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. In 2008, he was later appointed to the position of Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs. By 2009, he was the Commissioner of the Borno State Ministry of Education. Before the administration of Governor Ali Modu Sheriff came to an end in 2011, Shettima was appointed Commissioner in the Ministries of Agricultural and Natural Resources and later Health.
Towards the end of Governor Ali Modu Sheriff’s administration, Shettima was selected to be the gubernatorial flagbearer of the now-defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in the party’s February 2011 second primaries. The initial flagbearer of the party who was selected in the January ANPP primaries, Engineer Fannami Gubio, was shot dead by gunmen, hence the reason for the second primaries in February 2011.
On April 26, 2011, in gubernatorial elections, Kashim Shettima recorded 531,147 votes, surpassing the 450,140 votes of the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate Muhammed Goni, to emerge as the governor-elect of Borno State. He was sworn in as governor on May 29, 2011. As Governor of Borno State, his administration was dominated by the deadly Boko Haram insurgency.
In 2015, as the flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Shettima was reelected for the second term in the 2015 gubernatorial elections. Later on, the 19 governors of the northern states unambiguously chose Shettima to be the Chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum. As Chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum, Shettima was instrumental in promoting northern unity and reviving the ailing industries in the northern states.
Kashim Shettima’s reign as Governor of Borno State earned him several awards and recognitions, such as the 2014 Governor of the Year award by Leadership; the 2015 Governor of the Year award by the Nigerian Union of Journalists; the 2015 Governor of the Year award by Newswatch Times; the 2015 Governor of the Year award by Vanguard Newspaper; the 2016 Governor of the Year by Tell Magazine; the 2017 Zik Prize award for Leadership; the 2017 Kaduna NUJ Award for Courage and Exceptional Leadership; and the 2017 FCT NUJ Merit Award for Exceptional Leadership.
On May 29, 2019, Kashim Shettima’s tenure as governor of Borno State was complete. In the 2019 general elections, he was elected to represent the Borno Central Senatorial District in the upper chamber of the Nigerian Bicameral Legislature. Although he was renominated for Senate in the 2023 elections, he withdrew when Bola Ahmed Tinubu chose him to be his running mate for the 2023 Presidential Election, under the umbrella of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
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Personal Life
Shettima is married to Nana Shettima and they have two daughters and a son. The girls are Fatima Kashim Shettima and Amira Kashim Shettima, while Armir Kashim Shettima is the son of Shettima.
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Net Worth of Kashim Shettima
The estimated net worth of Kashim Shettima is $12 million, however, this figure is not verified.