A long-serving Nigerian senator has made it clear that he's not retiring from politics.
Senator Shekarau
Senator Ibrahim Shekarau has said he will die in politics as he has no plans of retiring.
He told reporters in Kano on Sunday: “I have no time to retire from politics until death.”
The 65-year-old was Minister of Education from 2014 to 2015. He was a two-term Governor serving from 2003-2011 and was elected Senator in 2019.
He spoke about his political future shortly after he inaugurated the Shura Consultative Assembly whose mission, he said, is to facilitate “Just and fair Leadership” at any level of government.
He said: “In fact, why I have come back to speak for the second time is to dispute this aspect. As far as I am concerned, there is no time for me to retire from politics.
“I have been saying this for the past 20 years. My politics is my religion; my religion is my politics and there is no time to retire out of religion. Because the two work towards one goal.
“Religion is about serving God and the peak of serving God is to serve humanity who are God’s creature.
“As far as Islam is concerned, any help you render to someone, you are complying with God’s directive. If I pray for you or I am kind to you, it is a sort of worship to God. And politics is all about serving the people, and to serve the people does not necessarily limit to occupying an office.
“If I am 90 years old or too old to contest and go out and campaign, I can render some advice to the people in my bed. Politics is the process of serving humanity, that is my interpretation.
“So, I pity whoever said he is going to retire. Maybe he doesn’t understand what politics is. They narrow it to occupying office, that to be in politics you have to contest to be governor, senator or any other post, so that without appointment or elective office then you are out of politics. That is a very limited and myopic understanding of politics.”
He added: “My understanding of politics is your ability to interact with people and serve humanity in whatever form. So I have no time to retire; I am in politics to death.
“I say this because there is a rumour -some mischievous people, probably my opponents, came to discourage our supporters that the Sardauna of Kano (Shekarau) will soon retire.
“Some even said I am not going to contest again. The issue of contest is a different matter we have not gotten to yet. I still have two years and occupying office is an opportunity.”