Shettima Honors Tinubu’s Mother at Annual Grand Prayer Session, Praising Her Leadership Legacy

Vice President Kashim Shettima praised late Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji for her enduring influence on Nigeria

He urged collective effort to overcome current challenges

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

At the Annual Grand Prayer Session held at the National Mosque in Abuja, Vice President Kashim Shettima delivered a tribute to the mother of President Bola Tinubu, the late Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji. He described her as a woman whose love extended beyond her family and whose values continue to shape Nigeria’s moral compass.

Shettima noted that the leadership exemplified by the revered Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, who passed away on 15 June 2013 at the age of 96, was evident in the lives she uplifted and the institutions she strengthened, rather than in public proclamations.

Speaking on behalf of the President, the Vice President said the late matriarch of the Tinubu family “ran her race, finished her course, and left behind a legacy that will instruct generations yet unborn.”

He highlighted the “like mother, like son” dynamic between President Tinubu and his late mother, stating that she instilled in him the values that continue to serve Nigeria today.

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

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

Shettima extolled Alhaja Mogaji’s leadership qualities, noting that she belonged to the rare class of Nigerians who understood that “commerce is a service to humanity and that the marketplace is a meeting point of human need and human dignity.”

He recalled that the President’s late mother devoted most of her life to the welfare of traders, the protection of ordinary women who built their livelihoods stall by stall, and the organization of a community that the powerful had too often overlooked.

“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,” he said.

Alhaja Mogaji earned her people’s affection because “she served before she sought to be served,” feeding the hungry, mediating disputes, and standing “between the weak and those who would exploit them.”

Shettima prayed for the President’s late mother, asking God to “make her legacy an enduring source of good for this nation she loved.” He offered the following prayer: “O Allah, forgive our mother, have mercy upon her, and grant her a place among the righteous. Expand her grave and fill it with light, admit her into the gardens of Paradise, and reward her abundantly for every soul she served and every good she did. Comfort her son, our President, and all her family, and grant them patience, strength, and peace.”

The Vice President also expressed confidence that Nigeria will overcome its current security and economic challenges through fervent prayers, unity, and the collective commitment of its citizens.

He assured that President Tinubu remains fully committed to addressing the nation’s pressing issues, noting that the administration is implementing policies and programmes aimed at strengthening security, stimulating economic growth, and improving the welfare of Nigerians.

Earlier, the Convener of the prayer session and Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Alhaji Ibrahim Kabir Masari, described the late Abibatu Mogaji as a woman whose life was dedicated to the service of others.

Masari disclosed that more than 250 hand‑pump boreholes have been constructed across nine states in Northern Nigeria in her memory, providing access to clean water for thousands of residents.

He also announced plans to establish the Abibatu Mogaji Islamic Centre in Abuja to promote Islamic scholarship, leadership development, science, and technology education.

Additionally, a modern Juma’at Mosque, complete with residential quarters for the Imam and supporting staff, will be built in Rigasa, Kaduna State, in honour of the late Abibatu Mogaji.

Prominent Islamic scholars from across the country offered special prayers for the repose of the soul of the late Chief Abibatu Mogaji, while also praying for peace, security, unity, and economic prosperity in Nigeria.

Among dignitaries who attended the event were the Governors of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum; Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni; Jigawa State, Umar Namadi; former Governors Usman Sa’idu Nasamu Dakingari and Tanko Al‑Makura. Other attendees included the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, represented by Yahaya Abubakar; Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Muttaqha Rabe Darma; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; and Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out‑of‑School Children, Dr. Mohammed Sani Idris, among other top government officials and traditional leaders.