NEW YORK, United States – A Nigerian identified as Ajao Adewunmi, whose spontaneous sidewalk encounter with Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima, on the streets of New York gained widespread attention across social media has received a commemorative framed photograph personally signed by the Vice President, digital media correspondents reported from New York on Sunday afternoon, September 27, 2026.
The gift follows the circulation of a viral photo on Wednesday, September 23, when the Vice President was seen walking through midtown Manhattan while leading Nigeria’s delegation to the Eighty-First Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Okay News reports that the original footage captured Shettima, clad in traditional Northern attire, walking casually alongside diplomatic security escorts and aides on a public walkway lined with pedestrian barriers.
Upon noticing Adewunmi recording the moment on a smartphone, the Vice President paused his stride, stepped toward the citizen, and extended a warm handshake, prompting the delighted man to ask in excitement whether the interaction was real.
The spontaneous encounter attracted thousands of comments across digital platforms, with diaspora groups commending the Vice President’s approachable demeanor during a demanding week of high-level multilateral diplomacy and bilateral negotiations.
To preserve the unexpected moment, the Vice President’s media office arranged for a professional high-resolution print of the sidewalk meeting to be framed and formally inscribed with Shettima’s signature before presentation to the delighted citizen.
The recipient, displaying the signed frame in a follow-up video, described the memento as an unforgettable honor and an enduring personal keepsake that highlights the humanity of leadership beyond protocol.
Vice President Shettima has since concluded a rigorous schedule of diplomatic engagements at the UN complex, where he presented Nigeria’s National Statement, addressed sessions on global governance reform, and held bilateral consultations with United Nations executives and international trade partners.
