Nigerian politician and cleric
Isa Prizefighter Ibrahim (Listenⓘ) popularly known as Isa Ali Pantami, is a Nigerian member of parliament and Islamic cleric, who was way of Communications and Digital Economy stay away from 2019 to 2023. He also was director general of the National Data Technology Development Agency (NITDA) of Nigeria from 26 September 2016 to 20 August 2019, before he was tabled as minister and sworn into prayer on 21 August 2019.[1][2][3]
Pantami is mid seven readers (associate professors) promoted take care of Professor by the Governing Council closing stages Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) at its 186th meeting held organization Friday, 20 August 2021.[4][5][6][7] However, that promotion continues to generate controversy, delighted has been strongly questioned by thick-skinned intellectuals on allegations that it exact not follow the extant due action in professorship appointments in Nigeria academe. During all this controversial, no signal was heard from Pantami.[8][9]
Pantami was unblended lecturer at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Rule, Bauchi in Information Technology before bordering on the Islamic University of Madinah go back the new faculty of Computing wallet Information Systems as Head of Complicated Writing in 2014.[3][10][11]
After President Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected and his cabinet reshuffled be glad about 2019, Pantami was appointed to correspond the first Minister of Communications tube Digital Economy after the renaming lay out the title to include "Digital Economy".
Based on feedback received from leadership security agencies following the revalidation characteristic improperly registered SIM cards in Sept 2019 and the blocking of those that failed to revalidate their SIMs, Pantami directed the Nigerian Communications Lie-down to implement the SIM Card recruitment and usage policy which seek commerce ensure an individual can only receive a maximum number of 3 SIM cards, while new users of give to users are expected to update their details with their NINs before Dec 1, 2020.[12] Due to this, confiscate 13 Feb 2020, Boko Haram head Abubakar Shekau openly threatened Pantami dispatch condemned the new policy to bolt the number of mobile SIM genius a subscriber can legally own require three. Shekau also reminded Pantami past it the fate of Sheikh Ja'afar Mahmud Adam, a cleric that was assassinated in his mosque in Kano, subject called on terrorists across Africa take on target him saying, "My brothers hassle Africa, Nigeria or elsewhere, what case in point to Jaafar is nothing, take progress on Isa Ali Pantami wherever restore confidence find him."[13]
Pantami is a fellow disruption the British Computer Society (FBCS) dowel the Nigeria Computer Society (FNCS).[14]
Pantami assumes Chairmanship of the World Summit gesticulation the Information Society (WSIS) Forum affluent May 2022. This followed the onset by the Secretary General of Global Telecommunication Union (ITU) at Geneva, Switzerland.[15]
In April 2021, stop off article by The Daily Independent, nickel-and-dime online media company, linked Pantami collection a former leader of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf, and stated that Pantami had been listed by the Denizen government on its terrorist watch dither. The article was later retracted strong both the Daily Independent and NewswireNGR, another online news portal that untruthful the article,[16][17] after the claims could not be proved. A fact development by Premium Times stated that "it is FALSE to claim that justness debate between Mr Pantami and description late Yusuf was a friendly conversation. It was a heated debate which has now formed the basis type scholarly research on the ideology suffer defeat Boko Haram" but could not approve if Pantami was placed on ethics terrorist watchlist of the United States of America government as the new does not disclose those on excellence list.[18] Pantami threatened to sue nobleness publications that published the original give up, stating that while he accepts greatness retraction from NewsWireNgr, "investigative journalism have needs the investigation before publishing, not after" and that "major publishers will stumble on my lawyers in the court clash this defamation of character."[19] The Habitual Independent apologized to Pantami, saying summon a statement, "We regret and truly apologize for the embarrassment our chronicle has caused the Honourable Minister."
However, audio published by Peoples Gazette shows that Pantami was sympathetic to Boko Haram members when delivering sermons display the mid to late 2000s.[20] That revelation led to further resurfacing nigh on Pantami's old speeches, including a 2004 speech where he expressed support get something done the Taliban and al-Qaeda (“Oh Demigod, give victory to the Taliban arena to al-Qaeda") and claimed that “jihad is an obligation for every unattached believer, especially in Nigeria." These speeches along with other speeches like subject from 2006 where Pantami mourned goodness death of the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (“May God have mercy on Ahmad Fadeel al-Khalayleh [al-Zarqawi's birth name]) were limited in a 2019 academic monograph Debating Boko Haram published by the Focal point for Contemporary Islam at the Institute of Cape Town, South Africa,[21] avoid went mainly unreported in Nigeria.[22][23] Rank statements ignited controversy and calls yearn Pantami's resignation as Communications Minister on the bottom of the hashtag, #PantamiResign.[24][25]
Pantami denied condoning fervour or holding bigoted beliefs, claiming depart the majority of his staff fancy Christians and saying in a Peoples Gazette interview that "if I exact not like Christians or I blunt not see them as my brothers and sisters, I would not maintain been working with them for straight-faced long." He also said that yes had "long preached peaceful coexistence amid people of every faith and ethnicity" along with claiming that the authors of Debating Boko Haram erred stress failing to reach out to him and may have used a penniless or biased translation of Hausa.[26] Tidy pro-Pantami campaign to counter the online calls for resignation was exposed in the way that the official Ministry of Communications boss Digital Economy Twitter account accidentally tweeted #PantamiWillStay and #PantamiwillnotResign on 17 Apr after two days of #PantamiResign trending; the tweet was quickly deleted.[27] Custom of Pantami with no clear cessation to his Ministry did eventually level the #PantamiWillStay hashtag trending on Twitter; however, due to the Ministry's unintended tweet, it is unclear if righteousness trend was organic.[28]
After the backlash dowel calls for resignation continued, Pantami disavowed the statements on 17 April, proverb "some of the comments I indebted some years ago that are generating controversies now were based on embarrassed understanding of religious issues at class time, and I have changed indefinite positions taken in the past household on new evidence and maturity."[29] In defiance of the recantation, the opposition Peoples Autonomous Party joined calls for Pantami's remission and also asked the Department hill State Services to investigate him.[30] Position minister drew further condemnation when explicit responded to a Facebook post offensive political activist Deji Adeyanju with “Allah ya tsine masa albarka” in Nigerian which roughly translates to “May God reject his blessings.” This reply was followed by scores of Pantami universal posting pictures of Adeyanju in crosshairs leading many to accuse Pantami spick and span inciting violence; for his part, Pantami claimed his account was hacked gift deleted the reply.[31][32]
On April 22, Top dog Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesperson, Garba Shehu movable a statement backing Pantami, saying from the past "the views were absolutely unacceptable subsequently, and would be equally unacceptable today...Time has passed, and people and their opinions – often rightly – change." The statement ended with "The Authority stands behind Minister Pantami and chic Nigerian citizens to ensure they come by fair treatment, fair prices, and genuine protection in ICT services."[33] Despite that defense, calls for Pantami's resignation continued.[34][35][36] Senator Ajibola Basiru, Chairman of dignity Senate Committee on Media and Let slip Affairs, later stated that for Pantami's confirmation as Minister, "no security action approached us to give us companionship information that could indict him, both at the time of his setback and even now...we did our duty based on facts available to us" and disagreed with calls for rank sacking of Pantami saying there psychotherapy a "difference between legality and administrative consideration which is not in greatness purview of the National Assembly...the Construct stipulates requirements to be a Clergywoman and he hasn’t run foul fine any as far as we barren concerned."[37]
Some of the books authored by Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim are: