Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, has publicly apologised to Nigeria’s Vice-President, Kashim Shettima, over a previous social media post in which he described the country’s number two citizen as “spineless.”
The apology was made on Sunday via Bashir’s verified X (formerly Twitter) account. He admitted that the remark was inappropriate and did not reflect his true opinion of the Vice-President.
“I want to use this medium to personally apologize to the Vice-President of Nigeria, His Excellency Sir Kashim Shettima, for my old post referring to his person as spineless. He is someone I greatly admire & respect,” Bashir wrote. He further described the comment as a lapse in judgment, calling it “a reckless tweet.”
Bashir is known for his controversial social media activity, having previously referred to President Bola Tinubu as “Escobar” in a post, a nickname derived from long-standing allegations connecting Tinubu to a 1990s U.S. drug investigation. Although Tinubu was never convicted, critics have used the forfeiture of $460,000 to the U.S. government to draw parallels with the notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.
In other posts, Bashir has sparked outrage for comments related to Southern Kaduna. In March 2025, he suggested that violence in the region would continue if residents attacked Fulani herdsmen, using the Hausa slang term “sheghe” (meaning suffering or trouble). Many condemned the remark, accusing him of justifying violence against communities already affected by deadly attacks in the area.
Despite his history of provocative statements, Bashir’s latest apology signals an attempt to publicly make amends for his earlier offensive comment directed at the Vice-President.
