Vice President Kashim Shettima has stressed the importance of traditional institutions in promoting national unity and stability, saying Nigeria’s development depends on leaders who place justice, peace and service above personal interests.
Shettima spoke on Monday in Lafia during the 70th birthday and valedictory celebration of the Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Bage Muhammad I.
The Vice President described the monarch as a leader whose life exemplifies integrity, scholarship and dedication to public service.
According to him, the Emir’s transition from the judiciary to traditional leadership demonstrates the value of principled and disciplined leadership.
He noted that, before ascending the throne, the royal father built a distinguished career in the legal profession, serving as a Justice of the Supreme Court and earning national respect.
Shettima said the Emir brought the same values of fairness and justice that defined his judicial career into traditional leadership, helping to promote peace and development in the emirate.
He also commended the monarch’s leadership as Chairman of the Nasarawa State Council of Chiefs, noting that it has strengthened harmony among the state’s diverse ethnic and religious communities.
“Traditional authority, when exercised with wisdom, remains one of the strongest instruments of national cohesion,” he said.
