Society
“I Have Changed” – Embattled Minister Pantami Renounces Past Comments On Taliban & Al-Qaeda
The dredged up comments which are troubling the world of the Minister has resulted in increased campaign for his sack
Labule Thomas
Embattled Isa Pantami, the Minister for Communication and Digital Economy has renounced utterances glorifying Taliban and Al-Qaeda in the past.
The dredged up comments which are troubling the world of the Minister has resulted in increased campaign for his sack – with the emergence of a counter push for his continuing stay in office.
Reacting to the mess created by his past sayings, Pantami while speaking at his daily Ramadan lecture at Anor mosque in Abuja – according to a report on Daily Trust – explained.
“For 15 years, I have moved round the country while educating people about the dangers of terrorism. I have travelled to Katsina, Gombe, Borno, Kano states and Difa in Niger Republic to preach against terrorism,” Daily Trust quoted him to have said.
“I have engaged those with Boko Haram ideologies in different places. I have been writing pamphlets in Hausa, English and Arabic. I have managed to bring back several young persons who have derailed from the right path.
“Some of the comments I made some years ago that are generating controversies now 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.
“I was young when I made some of the comments; I was in university, some of the comments were made when I was a teenager. I started preaching when I was 13, many scholars and individuals did not understand some of international events and therefore took some positions based on their understanding. Some have come to change their positions later.”
