Pantami As Alqaeeda Eye

By Bayo Ogunmupe “We have a problem and it’s a problem of human beings. Too many Nigerian children with bad upbringing now in their 50s. These children are now governors and leaders of many strong institutions we have built. But because of children without character, we are now here. “We put gas pipelines in place from our shared treasury, some stupid children go and burst it, and blame the police for not watching. We decided to fight corruption, these stupid children continued supporting the corrupt. We build roads to ensure easy movement for all, some of these stupid children dug holes in them so they can cause the rest to stumble. We decided it’s time to block leakages in government spending, the stupid children realized it means no more Italian shoes, so they raised hell. “To all who gave birth to children they cannot raise well, remember you are a culprit in the Nigerian madness. The almajiri and these stupid children were born and raised probably improperly. How else do you explain the inhumanity and disregard for social good they display?”----Former Emir of Kano, Mohammed Lamido Sanusi. The quotation above, is a pithy rendering of the Nigerian reality. This application of normative logic as an epistemological system of analytical reasoning and cognition will be upheld by historical omissions following hereunder. Considering the Biblical verse that “By their fruits, you shall know them,” the unsavory behavior of some of our state governors. Which was why for the past few weeks Nigeria had been subjected to unprecedented drama of syndicated strike actions by the staff two arms of government: the legislature and the judiciary. In a brazen violation of the Constitution, governors had hijacked their statutory finances in the manner of buccaneers. As Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria, the staff of state houses of assembly embarked on a warning strike on March 23, 2021 to enforce the implementation of fiscal autonomy for state assemblies. Also under the aegis of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria, the staff of the Courts in Nigeria went on strike from the 6th of this month. The association was pressing for the same financial autonomy from governors. Even up to the moment I am writing both associations have vowed to continue the strike until demands are met. Thus, these strike actions are a wake up call to address the cankerworm of impunity comprising the breach of the autonomy of the legislature and the judiciary as specified by the Constitution. Confirming the correctness of Emir Sanusi’s normative analysis of the Nigerian political environment, a pressure group, Concerned Nigerians Group, has dragged the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Dr Isa Pantami, to the Director-General, Department of State Security, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, for examination and prosecution. In the Group’s petition signed by its convener, Deji Adeyanju, it stated,”we write to bring to your notice, numerous publications showing Isa Pantami supported the major terrorist groups –Al Queda and the Taliban; describing Osama Bin Laden as a hero and a better muslim than himself.” The minister has been under fire since visual and video clips of his teachings for decades surfaced showing his alleged sympathies with terrorist groups. Pantami’s dark past as an apostle of terror and violence was confirmed by his sermons at several worship centres in the 2000s. If his 2004 speech where he expressed support for the Taliban and the Al Qaeda where he claimed “jihad is an obligation for every believer,” isn’t enough to sack him as a minister in a secular Nigeria, his 2006 speech where he mourned the death of the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Al-Zarqawi saying “May God have mercy on Ahmad Fadeel Al Khalayleh,” is beyond pardon. Indeed, in reacting to the backlash to his terrorist sympathies, Pantami claimed that his pro-terror views were made in the context of youthful exuberance. According to him, “Some of the comments I made some years ago …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.” However, there is no iota of evidence to support the claim that he has repented. In a newspaper interview, a Polytechnic lecturer claimed his son Sunday Achi was murdered while a 400 level student at Abubakar Tafawa balewa University, Bauchi. This, he claimed was as a result of the preaching of Pantami who was the Imam of the University mosque at the time. Sunday Achi was the leader of ECWA student Ministries then. That revelation contradicted Pantami’s repentance claim. “The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances,”--Gautama the Buddha. Therefore, it he who can see through appearances that can understand the current Nigerian reality.