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Pantami: Foes Envying Tech-Savvy Mallam – MURIC
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged the Minister of Communications and Digital Planning, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, to ignore calls by some people that he should resign.
MURIC made the call on Monday, 19th April 2021 in a statement issued by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
GreenWhiteGreen GWG reports that Pantami has been in the midst of a storm over his statements in support of terror groups including Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. MURIC in reacting to the uproar against Pantami said:
“A section of the Nigerian press published reports of calls being made by some people for the resignation of Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami over the fake news that the US had placed him on its watchlist. The second allegation was that the minister had made certain radical pronouncements in the past,” MURIC said.
“It is a baseless call and it should be ignored. Afterall, the US itself has denied it. Dr. Pantami has been enjoying unhindered multiple entry to the US for a very long time. Even Facebook, the US based social media giant had Pantami’s picture on Facebook’s digital board for several hours as a mark of honor and respect during one of his numerous visits to that country.
“The campaign of calumny is being pushed by forces against the Federal Government’s NIN policy, Boko Haram terrorists, bandits, criminals in general and political IDPs (Internally Displaced Politicians). No one who has the love of Nigeria at heart will support such a malicious and frivolous allegation.
“It is a well-known fact that NIN is designed to expose the true identity of criminals like Yahoo Yahoo boys, bandits and kidnappers who use the internet and telephone to extort money from foreigners and families of kidnapped victims. They live a life of Mr. Jekyll and Hyde : respected gentlemen in the day but dangerous criminals at night and on lonely alleys,” MURIC said in defence of Pantami.
“They have become jittery ever since the NIN policy was introduced by Pantami’s Ministry of Communications and Digital Policy. They are among those who stand to benefit from Pantami’s resignation. As for the political IDPs, their motive is to ensure that no project initiated by the current administration succeeds.
“On the issue of statements credited to Pantami in his younger days, we wonder how detractors would give preference to pronouncements made by a teenager and those made in the days of students’ unionism to those made after maturity and clairvoyance. It is sheer mischief to seek to use that against him.
“If they have evidence of speeches delivered 35 years ago when Pantami was a teenager, we have indubitable proof of more recent anti-terrorism speeches, particularly his public debates with the late Boko Haram leader Muhammad Yusuf where the minister made mincemeat of the arguments of Muhammad Yusuf. But our strongest evidence is the threat made by Shekau, the current leader of Boko Haram, to kill Pantami.
“Again, come to think of it. It was not as if the minister committed any official misconduct. Neither is it for abuse of office nor for corrupt enrichment. Some people just want to crucify him for daring to acquire infotech skills ostensibly reserved for a certain circle of elites. They believe that this is a field jealously reserved and guarded for the Western literati and their Nigerian cronies. Not an area for a mallam. It is just too petty the way some Nigerians think and behave. This is another big raison d’etre for the Shaykh to sit tight, continue and complete his good work, all to the chagrin of mean detractors.
“Pantami could have resigned the moment his life was threatened by the Boko Haram leader in February 2021. But he continued to weather the storm because he was determined to finish the NIN scheme which he initiated. He knows that his intiative is crucial to the defeat of insurgency and terrorism. The terrorists also know it and that was the cassu belli for the threat on Pantami’s life. They wanted him to stop the NIN scheme,” MURIC added in further defence of Pantami.
“MURIC will not stand akimbo while a dedicated Nigerian is being rubbished by rogue politicians, materialists and morally deficient people. We stand with the truth. We identify with dignity and integrity. We stand with Pantami in this crucial moment. #WestandwithPantami #Pantamimuststay #Beginnermustbefinisher
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