Something disturbing has been going on in the internet space. News reporters and newspapers are carrying it, do you want to guess?
“ We are all happy whenever unbelievers are being killed; but the Sharia does not allow us to kill them without a reason”.
Who made this statement?
If you’re currently following the news, you won’t need to take a wild guess. It is a statement made by the current Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami sometime ago, which just resurfaced.
Are your eyeballs round as saucers on seeing this? I can understand. How can a government official who has pledged to be loyal, faithful and honest to his country be caught saying this? This must be the question going on in the minds of most Nigerians.
You want more of the seemingly ‘immature’ statements? Check The People’s Gazette
Why did I term his statements immature? Don’t look at me! He said so himself few days ago while renouncing the controversial statements he earlier made a decade ago showing that he had a soft spot for terrorist sects like Al Qaeda and Taliban.
“Some of the comments I made some years ago that are generating controversies now were based on my understanding of religious issues at the time, and I have changed several positions taken in the past based on new evidence and maturity”, he said.
“I was young when I made some of the comments; I was in university, some of the comments were made when I was a teenager. I started preaching when I was 13, many scholars and individuals did not understand some of international events and therefore took some positions based on their understanding, some have come to change their positions later.” He went further to say…
Now, he is on the spotlight as many Nigerians are demanding for his resignation. He further tried to redress the injury caused by saying:
“For 15 years, I have moved round the country while educating people about the dangers of terrorism. I have traveled to Katsina, Gombe, Borno, Kano states and Difa in Niger Republic to preach against terrorism.
“I have engaged those with Boko Haram ideologies in different places. I have been writing pamphlets in Hausa, English and Arabic. I have managed to bring back several young persons who have derailed from the right path”.
But this doesn’t seem to faze the nation as Nigerians are on him like a pack of dogs, almost tearing at his flesh on all sides.
But yesterday Thursday 22nd April 2021, it was reported that the Nigerian Government is standing by him. This was confirmed in the statement made by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, who made the Presidency’s position known.
“The Minister has, rightly, apologised for what he said in the early 2000s. The views were absolutely unacceptable then, and would be equally unacceptable today, were he to repeat them. But he will not repeat them – for he has publicly and permanently condemned his earlier utterances as wrong.
“In the 2000s, the Minister was a man in his twenties; next year he will be 50. Time has passed, and people and their opinions – often rightly – change.
“But all discerning Nigerians know this manufactured dispute is nothing to do with the Minister’s prior words, but solely concern his actions in the present.
“The administration stands behind Minister Pantami and all Nigerian citizens to ensure they receive fair treatment, fair prices, and fair protection in ICT services.”
The above statement may mean that the minister isn’t resigning anytime soon.
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