Vice President Kashim Shettima has appealed to friends, supporters, associates and admirers not to spend money on gifts, advertisements or other material celebrations to mark his 60th birthday, urging them instead to channel such resources towards charitable causes and people in need.
Shettima, who turns 60 tomorrow, Wednesday, September 2, made the appeal in a statement titled, “What I Ask For at Sixty.”
The Vice President said he had consistently discouraged well-wishers from spending money on birthday gifts or undertaking expensive ventures in his honour, adding that he was even more resolute about the request as he marked the milestone age.
“Please do not spend a kobo on a gift for me, nor undertake any venture of material consequence in my honour,” Shettima said.
He urged those wishing to celebrate him to direct whatever resources they had intended to spend on his birthday towards “a charity, cause or person of their choice anywhere in our country.”
According to him, attaining the age of 60 calls for reflection, gratitude and a greater commitment to giving rather than accumulating material possessions.
“Sixty is an age at which our people expect a man to have exchanged impulse for reflection, vanity for gratitude, and the desire to accumulate for the wisdom to give,” he said.
“It is an age that asks fewer questions about what one has gathered and far more searching questions about what one has contributed.”
Shettima said acts of kindness, regardless of their size, could make a significant difference in the lives of people facing difficult circumstances.
“A nation is ennobled by the care it extends to those who need the strength of others,” he said, noting that generosity was not measured solely by the value of what was given.
“Sometimes the smallest kindness arrives at precisely the moment another person needs to be reminded that humanity has not forgotten them.”
The Vice President also reflected on the role played by family members, friends, teachers, colleagues, supporters and even strangers in helping individuals attain meaningful milestones in life.
He said such acts of kindness should be repaid by extending support to others who might never be in a position to reciprocate.
“Every hand that lifts another somewhere in Nigeria tomorrow will be a candle lit for me,” Shettima said.
In place of gifts, advertisements and celebrations, the Vice President asked Nigerians to offer prayers for him and the country.
“What I ask for, in place of advertisements, gifts and celebrations, is prayer. Pray for me, and pray for Nigeria,” he said.
He specifically called for prayers for peace across Nigerian communities, prosperity for the people, wisdom for leaders and the fulfilment of the country’s immense potential.
Shettima described Nigeria as a nation blessed with industrious and enterprising people, a strong tradition of generosity and a youthful population with enormous talent, imagination and ambition.
He also said the country’s diversity and ability to build fellowship across differences remained among the enduring strengths of the Nigerian people.
The Vice President thanked Nigerians for the loyalty, friendship, affection and prayers extended to him over the years, while wishing them long life, good health and fulfilment.
He added that one of life’s greatest joys was “being useful to someone who may never be able to repay you.”
