With the Presidency adding its voice to Pantami’s saga and absolving him of any wrongdoing, the minister dominated discussion in Nigeria’s political scene last week.
In this week’s Politics Roundup, we also consider other stories that kept Nigerians busy with reactions and look at their implications to the nation’s development.
Read through to find out other events we picked, at least, for the records.
1. Presidency’s backing of Pantami
The Presidency, through President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, on April 22, said it was behind Pantami, shunning calls by Nigerians for the dismissal of the minister over his alleged link with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda terrorist organisations.
“The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami is currently subject to a ‘cancel campaign’ instigated by those who seek his removal.
“The minister has, rightly, apologised for what he said in the early 2000s. The views were absolutely unacceptable then and would be equally unacceptable today, were he to repeat them. But he will not repeat them.
“The administration stands behind Minister Pantami and all Nigerian citizens to ensure they receive fair treatment, fair prices, and fair protection in ICT services,” Shehu said in a statement.
Implications: The manner Buhari Presidency rushed to say it was behind Pantami amid strong allegations against him, gave Nigerians who have been accusing this administration of pampering terrorists, room to justify their claims.
It is ridiculous that the Presidency failed to consider it wise to probe the minister, especially knowing that he had earlier denied having any link with any terrorist organisation, only to later accept, claiming to have repented when faced with overwhelming evidence.
‘We are behind Pantami’ position of the Presidency also reinforced the assumptions by many of Buhari’s critics that his government may have been worsening the nation’s fault lines by tolerating extremists while ignoring mounting public waves of anger.
2. Defence Minister’s lamentation
The Minister of Defence, Major Gen. Bashir Magashi (retd), on Thursday, April 22, lamented that Nigeria was currently bleeding from the activities of few individuals in the country.
The Minister spoke to State House correspondents during the presidential ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communication Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He spoke about the government making a comprehensive compilation of the identified enemies of the country and the arrest of some individuals funding Boko Haram in Kano State.
Magashi had said, “Make no mistake our nation is bleeding now. It is bleeding because of the self-interest and other primordial considerations of our religious, ethnic and political elite.
“Such elites are quick to apportion blames to groups other than theirs. The whole idea is to exploit the social division for their political gains and it is because of this divisiveness that Nigeria lacks a national consensus or common comprehensive understanding and the interpretation of what national security is.”
Implications: Magashi needs not to tell Nigerians that the country is bleeding, even kids know that. He should, please, give Nigerians hope by telling them what the government, which he is part of, and his ministry, are doing to stop the bleeding and how soon that can be.
If he says self-interest and other primordial considerations of our religious, ethnic and political elite are the cause of the bleeding, is there nothing that can be done to address it?
Rather than always apportioning blames, which this government has been known for since coming into power in 2015, Buhari and his soldiers should live up to their responsibility and save the country from this insecurity quagmire.
3. El-Rufai’s grandstanding
Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Tuesday, April 20, insisted he would never negotiate with terrorists.
He said, “Nobody living in the forest is innocent, and we must kill them all.
“The Chief of Air Staff has been doing well and this has led to a reduction in the activities of bandits in recent times.”
A day after El-Rufai’s comment, bandits killed three abducted students of Greenfield University and have killed and kidnapped several others in the state since then.
Implications: El-Rufai’s case is like that of a man who is busy chasing rats inside a bush while his house is on fire.
It remains a thing of a surprise how the same El-Rufai who told Nigerians how he paid foreign herdsmen to stop attacking and killing Nigerians, all of a sudden, became an advocate of “no ransom, no negotiation with criminals.”
If the governor is not toying with the lives of the citizens, one wonders why his vows and talks of killing and shooting the bandits dead have not been matched with action.
El-Rufai and other Nigerian leaders should understand that their primary job is to secure the lives and properties of Nigerians by every means possible and not to sit and make empty vows and promises while criminals have field days kidnapping and killing citizens.
4. Masari’s defence of Buhari
Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, on Sunday, April 18 said that President Muhammadu Buhari had been taking rubbish from Nigerians.
Masari spoke during an interview with Television Continental in Abuja.
He said, “Protests are necessary in a democracy. Even in the best democracy in the world, people protest. The fact that we have democracy does not mean that people should not complain or protest.
“I don’t think Buhari has failed us, I think he has tolerated us. We once had a civilian president who couldn’t take the rubbish that Buhari is taking from some people”.
Implications: It is within Masari’s right to air his opinion on whether Buhari has failed or not, but for him to say the President was taking rubbish from Nigerians is a reckless comment.
The comment shows how Nigerian politicians always play the ostrich on issues because of ethnic, religious and political sentiments.
5. Razing of Uzodinma’s home
On April 24, gunmen stormed the country home of the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, in Omuma, Oru East Local Government Area of the state and set it ablaze.
Two security men on duty, one of them an operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, who tried to repel the gunmen, were killed.
Implications: The attack on the Imo governor’s country home tells how precarious and dangerous the insecurity in Nigeria has become.
It is another pointer that no one is safe in the country any longer. The fact that criminals can attempt to kill their leaders like the recent cases of governors of Borno State, Babagana Zulum; Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, and the ongoing attack against Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, the burning of Uzodinma’s home, calls for serious concern.
This is no longer time for President Buhari to continue to shut the doors for a national dialogue.