ABUJA, NIGERIA — In a deeply emotional and politically significant tribute that underscored the foundational role of family values in national governance, Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima declared that the late Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, the mother of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, continues to actively serve the Federal Republic of Nigeria posthumously. According to the Vice President, her enduring service to the nation is dynamically manifested through the profound leadership qualities, deep moral values, and governance principles that she systematically instilled in her son, who now occupies the highest political office in the West African nation.
The Vice President made these remarks while representing President Tinubu at the highly revered Annual Grand Prayer Session, which was organized in honor of the late icon at the National Mosque in Abuja on Sunday, June 21, 2026. The solemn religious gathering brought together high-ranking government functionaries, traditional rulers, Islamic scholars, and thousands of well-wishers from across the federation. They all convened to celebrate the memory of the legendary former Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, a woman whose immense public influence transcended her immediate family and helped shape the country's collective moral imagination.
Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, a revered matriarch and an exceptionally powerful market leader, passed away on June 15, 2013, at the ripe age of 96. Despite her transition over a decade ago, her monumental contributions to Nigeria's socio-economic fabric, grassroots mobilization, and economic empowerment remain a vital point of reference in contemporary Nigerian history. Delivering his keynote address to the congregation, Shettima described the late matriarch as a rare institutional builder whose unique style of leadership was measured not by superficial noise or political grandstanding, but rather by the tangible lives she lifted out of poverty and the grassroots institutions she vigorously strengthened throughout her long life.
> "It should surprise absolutely no one in this country that the son she raised with so much dedication and discipline carries the exact same fire, resilience, and vision into the highest office in our land today," Vice President Shettima stated during his delivery of the presidential address at the National Mosque.
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He further emphasized the direct ideological lineage between the late mother and the current president, noting that the foundational lessons of public service were absorbed at a very young age.
> "President Bola Ahmed Tinubu learned directly at her side that public life is an absolute sacred trust and that leadership is a debt that is owed first and foremost to the ordinary, the less privileged, and the unheard citizens of our society," Shettima added.
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The Vice President explicitly highlighted a "like mother, like son" parallel, drawing attention to the striking similarities in how both personalities approached the challenges of human management and political strategy. He argued that the President's natural instincts for democratic engagement, his unyielding commitment to the service of the common good, and his historical record of standing up for the rights of ordinary citizens were all kindled in the domestic environment where Alhaja Mogaji made public service a daily, living example.
Praising her extensive decades of grassroots activism, Shettima noted that the late Iyaloja-General possessed a rare corporate genius for organization. He remarked that she possessed an extraordinary ability to turn scattered, individual efforts into a formidable, collective economic strength, particularly within the informal trading sector. Through her visionary stewardship of the market women association, she succeeded in empowering hundreds of thousands of small-scale female traders, protecting vulnerable livelihoods from arbitrary economic shocks, mediating complex communal and commercial disputes, and acting as a fearless shield for the weak against institutional oppression.
As the special prayer session drew to a close, Vice President Shettima led the congregation in offering solemn Islamic prayers for the continuous repose of her soul, asking Almighty Allah to grant her Aljannah Firdaus. He also prayed for sustained emotional comfort, divine wisdom, and physical strength for President Tinubu and the entire Mogaji-Tinubu family as they continue to navigate the heavy burdens of statecraft.
The Vice President concluded his address by asking that her historic legacy remain an enduring, inexhaustible source of good and inspiration for the nation she loved so dearly. He noted that the lessons of her life serve as a timeless blueprint for contemporary leaders who wish to build a more inclusive, empathetic, and prosperous Nigeria.
