By: Fejiro Oliver<\/p>\n
Anyone who supports terrorism, anyone who see terrorism as a legitimate
\nmeans, anyone who uses terrorism to cause the death of innocent people
\nis a terrorist in my eyes-Milos Zeman<\/p>\n
When next you go to the embassy as a Nigerian and you are denied visa
\nwithout reason, you are free to go to the Ministry of Communications and
\nDigital Economy to pull out the Minister, Sheikh Ali Isa Ibrahim Pantami
\nand beat him mercilessly for making you waste your money, time and
\nhaving a record of visa denial. You can be sure that his refusal to
\nresign and President Muhammadu Buhari refusal to sack him despite public
\nacknowledgement by him of his sympathy to terrorists is the reason
\nembassies have placed Nigerians on watch list.<\/p>\n
Pantami\u2019s appointment into such sensitive position is not a fluke. Let
\nme take you on a ride on who he is and the powers he wield in the
\nPresidential Villa, so much that he is feared by other ministers.<\/p>\n
There are three kinds of Muslims namely; the Izala, Shiites and the
\nDeraka. While the Izala is the majority and very arrogant, the Shiites
\nis the minority. The Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar
\nMalami, Hadi Sirka who\u2019s Minister of Aviation and Pantami belongs to the
\nIzala, which incidentally I learn the President also belongs to, even
\nthough he does not share in the extremist nature of Pantami\u2019s
\norientation. The three currently form the cabal in the presidency. If
\nyou are wondering why Pantami is not panting, unbothered and very sure
\nthat he won\u2019t be sacked, this here is the reason.<\/p>\n
But Nigeria is not a republic where its citizens do not have a say on
\nwhat happens in government. He who pays the piper dictates the tune and
\nthis is the approach Nigerians home and abroad must follow if Pantami
\nmust go either through forceful resignation or sack byBuhari. Pantami
\ndid not get his ministerial nod via fiat. He got it with the full
\nconsent of the National Assembly even though the two legislative
\nchambers are mere seals of Mr President. It took the 360 House of
\nRepresentative members and the 109 Senators to wear the ministerial garb
\non Pantami. It took a minimum of two Federal constituencies to get the
\nFederal lawmaker into the hallowed chambers. It took over eighteens
\nstates of the Federation to put Buhari in the State House and all these
\nwere done by the people who sacrifice their blood and sweat to pay their
\nbogus allowances, salaries even when they are unproductive to the
\ncountry. We pay these pipers and will dictate this tune, starting with
\nPantami.<\/p>\n
We cannot change the goalpost at the middle of the game. We cannot cry
\n\u201ccrucify her\u201d when we caught a petty thief and now shout \u201cHosanna\u201d, when
\nwe catch a self confessed armed robber. If we can kick out Adesoun Kemi
\nas a Minister through public outcry, then Pantami must follow same
\nunless the maxim \u201cthe voice of the people is the voice of God\u201d has no
\nplace in Nigeria. If that is the case, we all can begin to call for the
\nrelease of all armed robbers, terrorists and militants arrested by the
\nNigerian government.<\/p>\n
Pantami needs no push to resign from such hallowed position. It is in
\nhis integrity and dignity to quietly tender his resignation, apologise
\nto the nation for the global embarrassment caused us and submit himself
\nto the State Security Service (SSS) for vetting and then undergo
\nguidance and counseling on how to be patriotic to the nation first
\nbefore religious belief. Whatever press release that Garba Shehu has
\nreleased on Buhari\u2019s behalf is only binding on the Ministers and Mr
\nPresident\u2019s behalf, not the elected governors, lawmakers and over 200
\nmillion Nigerians that have demanded and still demanding for the removal
\nof a self confessed terrorist apologist.<\/p>\n
For every minute Pantami stays in power, Nigerians across the globe are
\nendangered and this cannot be allowed to happen. It is not about the
\nPresident any longer but the rule of law and the constitution. The first
\nduty of government is the protection of life and properties of its
\ncitizens. This has been breached already by Pantami. No Nigerian feels
\nsafe again with the Minister having access to every data and details of
\nour living.
\nFor the records, by virtue of his position as communication minister, he
\nhas access to ALL our BVNs, email and social media handles, house
\naddresses, office address, family genealogy, phone numbers and bio-data.
\nAnyone with such information controls the people and can decide to wipe
\nthem out in a split of second. I fear for my life and my family. I live
\nin fright daily that Boko Haram and other terrorists can be given by
\nhouse address to get me killed. I live in fear that my phone can be
\ntracked now by those Pantami \u2018once\u2019 owe allegiance to, in order to take
\nme out of existence. This fear of mine pervades every Nigeria home.<\/p>\n
With the linking of our NIN to phone numbers, Pantami can be anywhere in
\nthe world to monitor my movement and others. He can pass information on
\nme to his comrade at arms to strike simply because he does not like what
\nI post on facebook or tweet. He doesn\u2019t need to pass a fatwa publicly
\nany longer like he passed on activist Deji Adeyanju. All he needs to do
\nhenceforth is to send out our details with \u2018fatwa\u2019 written in code and
\nwith the speed of light, an individual is killed. We are in dangerous
\ntimes and this calls for civil disobedience.<\/p>\n
The Nigerian people must demand for the removal of Pantami as Minister.
\nIf Buhari will not sack him, we have a duty to also boycott every NIN
\nregistration and anything that has to do with digital registration under
\nhim. For heaven sake, what is so special about Pantami that he cannot be
\nsacked by the President? Let us concede that Buhari has the prerogative
\nto sack a minister once he has been confirmed by the Senate. What then
\nis special in Pantami that he must head such a sensitive position,
\nconsidering his past that he can\u2019t be moved to another ministry? Is this
\na plan to rig 2023 election since they now have all data of eligible
\nvoters in the national database?<\/p>\n
The statement by the presidency is the most reckless, careless,
\ninsulting and inconsiderate one ever made by any sitting President.
\nEvery paragraph reeks of stupid arrogance that tells us to go to hell.
\nCrime has no expiry date and will never have and prosecution must take
\nplace no matter how long it takes, unless there is immediate state
\npardon. In the case of Pantami, the presidency is wrong to tell us that
\n\u201cThe Minister has, rightly aplologised for what he said in the early
\n2000s\u201d. Nigerians have accepted his apology but cannot allow such a man
\naccess to their digital and personal life. The President should know
\nthat the apology is only a matter of circumstance and not because he
\nmeant it. Terrorists and their sympathizers don\u2019t repent. They only look
\nfor bigger opportunities to strike. Making excuse for what Pantami did
\nin his early 30s is giving approval for all Nigerians to henceforth fan
\nthe embers of hate speech, terrorism and support for every evil, knowing
\nthat they will be forgiven a year to their 50th birthday.<\/p>\n
According to Garba, those in the opposition are behind the recent
\n\u201ccampaign against the minister by some ICT companies\u201d and therefore \u201cThe
\ngovernment is now investigating the veracity behind these claims of
\nattempted inducement, and \u2013 should they be found to hold credence \u2013
\npolice and judicial action must be expected\u201d. There you have it
\nNigerians, be prepared for massive arrest in the coming days. The same
\ngovernment that is yet to direct the SSS to investigate Pantami over his
\nterrorism comments and media allegations of being behind Patrick Ibrahim
\nYakowa and Gen. Aziza\u2019s death in 2012 is already investigating unfounded
\ninsinuations that exists only in their imaginations.<\/p>\n
Garba Shehu and the Presidency he writes for must in the word of Anna
\nLindh that \u201cTerrorism can never be accepted. We must fight it together,
\nwith methods that do not compromise our respect for the rule of law and
\nhuman rights, or are used as excuse for others to do so\u201d. To spare
\nPantami is to give the shout out to other terrorists\u2019 sympathizers in
\ntheir 20s and 30s that they can utter all they want and will be forgiven
\nwhen they are about to clock 50 years, irrespective of what their
\nactions must have caused the people and the nation. Buhari had a golden
\nchance to pass a strong message that terrorism in whatever form will not
\nbe tolerated by his government using Pantami as an example, but he
\nburgled it in support of his religion instead of his love for Nigeria.<\/p>\n
Pantami must go and the heavens will not fall if Nigerians keep
\npressing, including asking the United States, EU countries and China to
\nplace every member of the presidency under terrorism watch list and visa
\nban to them and their families for harboring a known terrorist
\napologists among them. The minister does not reflect the peaceful and
\nnon violent nature of the Islam that we know of. He does not even
\nepitomize the loving and welcoming character that the Izalas are known
\nfor. We will not call out our beloved Muslim brothers for the abominable
\nsins of Pantami. Pantami just has to go and Buhari knows it. Like
\nbiblical Jonah on his way to Nineveh who was thrown into the river to
\nsave the others after confessing his sins, Pantami should also be shown
\nthe way out of the cabinet. The government of Saudi Arabia where he got
\nhis orientation from will be willing to welcome him.<\/p>\n
These little things matter\u2026<\/p>\n