Dr Usman Solomon Ayegba is a lecturer at the Department of Political Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife. He speaks to DARE ADEKANMBI on the implication of President Muhammadu Buhari retaining the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, and other issues.
The call for the sack of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, over his past support for terrorist groups has yet to abate. What do you, as a scholar, make of the whole thing?
Number one, the minister owes it a duty to himself and the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to actually listen to the voice of reason and the voice of the people. Yes, his claim of repentance may be true. Apostle Paul said when he was a child, he spoke like a child. But when he became an adult, he spoke like one. But when you speak like a child, he spoke about things that are sensitive to national security. People can also verify that what he spoke about had negative impact on people’s lives. Remember one Professor Achi who granted an interview that Isa Pantami was the Imam of the mosque in ABTU when his son, Sunday Achi, who was sharing Christian pamphlets, was killed and his corpse was found in the premises of the mosque. We have also heard that he once praised Al Qaeda and Taliban which are terrorist organisations that pose a big threat to national security, but also to global peace. When he said he has repented of his past activities, he ought to have made us know this before some people began to dig up documents and voice clips showing his affinity to the terrorist groups. He waited till the bubble burst to now tell us that. He is holding a very sensitive office and like many people have expressed concern that someone who has shown empathy to terror groups should not be in charge of sensitive national data. If they play a video of our views or activities as children now that we are all adults, I believe there will be some scenes that we will not be comfortable watching.
But for Pantami, I am very sure he knew what he was saying at that time. He knew that terrorism is something that there is a global consensus against. He was aware that Al Qaeda, a global terror group led by Osama Bin Laden, led a coordinated terror attack on the World Trade Centre during which lots of lives were lost. The position Pantami holds today is at variance with the weighty comments he had made in the past. So, what he should do to save himself and the administration or to show that truly he is sorry for his past actions is to resign. Unfortunately, we don’t have public officers taking such decisions in this country. If he resigns now and shows remorse, opportunity may present itself tomorrow for him to take up a higher position in the future. But if he continues to hold on to the position, it then shows that his claim of having renounced his past deeds is trying to save his face.
Well, it may be a good attribute on the part of the president that it is not in all cases that allegations are made against people that such allegations are true. The president may be thinking he does not want to throw his minister onto a moving train. But Pantami has never denied those allegations. He said though he made the comments, he now has a changed view. So, those things levelled against him are no longer allegations because he has not denied them. So, let him step aside so that it can serve as deterrence to others who like to make careless statements. In sane climes, Pantami issue will not even get to this point before he himself would resign or he is fired. If he is not holding public office, nobody would make issues of this thing. Public office is an office of responsibility and trust. He is not like an ordinary Nigerian who will be afraid of life outside office. I learnt that he was a lecturer in a university in Saudi Arabia before his appointment. He once said what he earns as a lecturer is far more than what he earns as a minister. If he does not leave the office and if his employer is unwilling to relieve him of his appointment, the office will definitely leave him some day.
Was there no background check carried out by the DSS before his appointment? That is the normal practice for appointees of government.
That is to tell you the problem with our security system as a country. Background check is a global best practice that is carried out on any person who aspires to hold public office. Even in some private companies, it is done as well to avoid appointing the wrong person because they know the implication in getting the wrong person to hold sensitive office. Comprehensive security scrutiny involves many things. A lot of information about the nominee is revealed upon intense investigation into their background. If human beings, by nature, know that certain things about them are known to the person trying to employ them, they will conceal such. This is why background check is done discreetly.
But unfortunately in Nigeria, most of these things are taken for granted. The Pantami issue has exposed the capacity of our security agents to do thorough investigative background check on individuals. However, it is also possible that the DSS, after their investigation, made the information available to the appointing authority which probably ignored it. Without intending to indict the DSS, it is possible also that they revealed their check to him and horse trading took place thereafter. It could also be that there was no comprise but that the DSS, based on the face value, cleared him. These are possible scenarios that might have happened to put the country in this kind of embarrassing situation. As a lecturer, a lot of graduate students use me as one of their referees without telling me. I just open my email and see messages from people trying to confirm from me the kind of person they are. I don’t respond to such. When they don’t see my response, they call me and I tell them I don’t know them and that even if I do, I will only say general things that I know about them. I don’t want to soil my integrity. I always tell my students to always behave well if they need my recommendation for future purposes. It is important for our security agencies to wake up.
In the defence put up by the Presidency for Pantami, it was said that he might have stepped on some powerful toes as a result of the reforms being carried out in the ministry and that those forces might be behind his matter.
It is not impossible for that to happen. I clearly understand what the spokesperson of the president was saying then. I have confidence that the possibility of that is likely going to be 70 per cent true. But the questions are: did he do those things he was accused of? Are those things not weighty enough for him to be removed or sacked? Did he not agree that he made those critical views?
We concede that some people might be out to frustrate his legitimate policy of government which is enrolment into NIN. The policy, according to government, is aimed at stemming insecurity. We have seen cases where people used unregistered telephone numbers to make calls that brought about loss of lives and unleashing of violence. Government is right in wanting to sanitise the sector to ensure the numbers we have are not pre-registered. It is a noble decision. But that does not exempt Pantami. His past utterances, which have not been denied, make him unfit for that office. He can’t be trusted to drive the reforms dispassionately. Those who live in a glass house should not throw stones. Chinua Achebe said if you fetch ants-infested firewood, you should be ready to play host to lizards.
What is the implication of Buhari retaining Pantami despite the avalanche of calls for his removal?
The president has every right to say he won’t abide by the call for his removal. Constitutionally, he has the power to so do. Maybe what we are hearing and what is before the president don’t tally. If Nigerians are saying Pantami should go because of the factors identified, and the president is saying no. Then, the president will do well to give Nigerians more information that they don’t know. The fact that Pantami has not denied those allegations makes Buhari’s job in removing him easier. Garba Shehu’s statement that the minister is being attacked because of the reforms he is doing is not enough. Buhari may further lose the support of Nigerians if he does not provide contrary information about Pantami to justify his continuing in office as a minister. Once that sets in, Buhari knows the implication. If the people you are governing withdraw the support and respect they have for you, what that means is that it sends a dangerous signal. Any government that comes to power, whether democratically or otherwise, seeks for legitimacy first. And one of the ways to enjoy legitimacy is through the support of the majority of the citizens. If the government only gives this kind of excuse and ignores the calls for his removal, it will tell on the integrity of the president. Already, the president has a lot of image laundering to do about his administration. This is another burden that is being added to it. So, the president will do well to listen to the people and ask Pantami to resign.
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