Video of Shettima rejecting national restructuring not recent

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Claim: A social media post asserted that the Nigerian Vice President, Kashim Shettima, recently addressed restructuring.

Verdict: Misleading! Findings show that the video has been online since 2017, when Kashim Shettima was the Governor of Borno State. 

Full Text

With Nigeria practising federalism for more than four decades, the subject of restructuring has long been controversial within the country. Advocates of the concept, which refers to the redistribution of authority and duties between the Federal and State governments, argue that it would limit the excessive power and funding accrued to the central government under the federal system of government.

In light of the foregoing, an X user, @Uptownoflagos posted a video of Kashim Shettima, the vice president of Nigeria, addressing the contentious issue.

In the 12-minute footage, Shettima could be heard allegedly scorning the idea of restructuring.

“Fortunately and unfortunately, the topic and issue in Nigeria is restructuring. Restructuring my foot, to hell with restructuring,” the Vice President allegedly blurted out.

As of Saturday, June 8, 2024, the post had amassed over 4,000 views, 1,277 likes, 835 reposts, 476 bookmarks, and 192 quotes.

In the comment section, some users expressed dissatisfaction with the vice president’s opinion, while a few questioned the claim’s authenticity.

“Northern Nigeria (has) single-handedly destroyed the progress of this nation,” @IGBOKWENNAMDIA1, a user on the application, commented.

@BigCrude wrote, “What else does a Fulani man understand apart from one Nigeria?”

Another user, @___Kuizin queried, “Is this an old or new video? I want to know”

“Restructuring is happening,” @Aayanfemi wrote in support of the claim. 

Given the sensitivity and widespread engagement surrounding the claim, DUBAWA opted to ascertain the video’s recency.

Verification

Using screen grabs from the video to do a Google reverse image search, DUBAWA found that the original video was uploaded on YouTube on Dec. 2, 2017. Mr Shettima was attending the book launch of the former Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi.

At the launch, Mr Shettima, Chairman of the occasion, shared his thoughts about the book ‘On a Platter of Gold-How Jonathan Won and Lost Nigeria.’ He reflected on how former president Goodluck Jonathan had risen to political stardom and afterwards suddenly lost the citizens’ vote of confidence in 2015. 

But in the 16 minutes and 42 seconds of the video clip, the former governor rebuffed the idea of restructuring. Instead, he suggested that Nigeria, like other Western countries, should prioritise infrastructure and social development over restructuring. 

Furthermore, DUBAWA conducted an advanced keyword search and found a 2017 Premium Times report in which Shettima said, “To hell with restructuring” when he was the Borno State Governor. 

Indeed, Shettima downplayed the clamour for restructuring in Nigeria, saying it is a ‘madness’ that can be stopped by good governance.  

Further research shows that credible media outlets reported the event here and here as it occurred in 2017 and in a video that surfaced online in 2022. 

Finally, we reviewed Vice President Shettima‘s recent posts on X to confirm the assertion and found no statement or post validating the claim. 

Conclusion

Our research shows that the video posted by the X user is an old video that has been online since 2017. Moreover, there is no available evidence that Vice President Shettima made any recent comments about Nigeria’s restructuring agenda.