The current travails of Dr. Isah Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, is a clear demonstration of the utter insensitivity and callousness of some displeased merchants of propaganda and disunity who have relied on conspiracy to orchestrate evil machinations against the nation, gloomily acting a designed script aimed at tarnishing the hard-earned reputation and image of the internationally acclaimed scholar and administrator.
This smear campaign in both social and conventional media has the signature of a well planned, ill conceived, well-targeted, but out of sorts hoop-la whose very form and intent reeks of jingoism, political insouciance and good old bitterness, is to say the least, very unfortunate. This campaign of calumny against the person of Dr. Pantami, a fine and unblemished nobleman adorned with so many caps through sheer dedication is unfortunately, a sad reminder of how efficient and effective patriots are forced out of service to this nation by unscrupulous elements who do not mean well for our country.
Looking at the drama from the beginning, one would have thought it was an ordinary goof by the Daily Independent newspaper which erroneously published a story that Pantami’s name was in the United States terrorists list. However, the vehemence with which some bitter individuals relied on that falsehood to initiate the call for the minister’s resignation meant the publication could not simply have been dismissed as a costly mistake committed by a tabloid notorious for leading with falsehood first, then verifying and apologising later. The implications of that false publication is that, it adds a large chunk of fodder to the pile of unethical practices which over the years, have led to the wearing away of whatever trust the newspaper used to command amongst its readers, but more than that, this falsehood could also have catapulted it into a serious and hopeless legal quagmire.
As obviously predicted, Nigerians who virtually don’t have any primordial idiosyncrasies and prejudice have not only condemned the unprofessional conduct of the newspaper, but called Pantami to take legal action in view of the severity of the allegation and its implications on his well-chronicled reputation.
Ordinarily, for a professionally established newspaper of a status of Daily Independent, ethics should be the most veritable undergird of its operation and for any story that directly involves a third party, all efforts must be put in place to ensure balance, objectivity and truthfulness. In fact, laws of defamation and libel ought to spice every journalist’s practical mood, especially since the profession involves lots of investigation and outcomes that could make or mar people. Unfortunately, while Daily Independent was trying to handle the situation, another lethargic and ethical dreaded online tabloid, NewsWireNGR – republished the story without recourse to its legal and ethical consequences. However, when the minister threatened legal actions, the two not only retract but apologized for their unprofessional conducts.
Let it be known that United States isn’t like Nigeria where politics is played with almost everything, security inclusive. The US wouldn’t have someone on its terrorists list and it will take this stretch for the Nigerian public to know, especially a person of Pantami’s status who’s a member of the Federal Executive Council.
Also, for those who have keenly followed his enviable progress, Pantami’s long haul in search of change is indeed worthy of emulation. From youthful fiery cleric, to the shores of the United Kingdom, then to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the man opened himself to the possibilities of a world far beyond his hitherto remote views on the things that truly matter not just to him and Nigerians, but to the true aspirations of anyone in search of progress and growth in the service of God and county.
In fact, no person on US terrorists’ list can successfully traverse the shores of United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia unchallenged. As we all know, fabrications are always incoherent and disjointed no matter the disguise and pigmentation. This one is a cogent case in point. But, for the actors behind the scene, this is just the beginning, as they appear hell bent on exasperating Pantami to the point where he is left no choice but to resign his appointment. Unknown to them, however, this is an impossibility because Nigerians whom Pantami is serving are comfortable with him and no amount of blackmail and mischief will make him panic or derail from doing his best for the betterment of Nigeria.
How on earth would someone accuse Pantami of being the brain behind the death of the former Kaduna state governor, Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa who died on a plane crash alongside former chief of army staff, General Andrew Aziza.
In an effort to make people believe their mendacities, an invented communiqué in which Pantami was alleged to have presided over a meeting purportedly held by the Jamatul Nasril Islam (JNI) where Yakowa’s death was allegedly plotted was made to go viral. This is the height of all fabrications and should be investigated by security agencies. The fabrication and its implications are too weighty to be wished away.
Let me unequivocally state this, Pantami was never in the JNI talk more of presiding over their meeting and Sani Yaya Jingir is a nonmember of the group and will never represent the JNI as alleged in the phony document by mischief-makers.
The agenda is now very clear, because the faces of those behind the #EndSars protest which metamorphosed into #BuhariMustGo are the same faces calling for Pantami’s resignation. Therefore, the motives of those accusing and calling Pantami to resign is unambiguously clear. The target isn’t Pantami but President Buhari himself. It’s therefore high time for the government and relevant security agencies clamped down on the enemies of our nation and their sponsors.
Dr Kamaluddeen writes from Ibadan, Oyo state.
