…says ‘I now know better about them
Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Ali Isa Pantami, on Saturday, recanted some controversial comments he made on Al Qaeda and Taliban in the past years.
Pantami has been in the eye of the storm over comments credited to him but interpreted as endorsement of the extremist sects.
Social media users and some government critics have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the minister if he fails to resign.
But Pantami during the question and answer session of his daily Ramadan lecture at Annor Mosque in Abuja on Saturday, said he now knows better about some of the comments he made in the past.
He argued that the campaign against him is politically motivated.
Pantami said, “For 15 years, I have moved round the country while educating people about the dangers of terrorism. I have traveled to Katsina, Gombe, Borno, Kano states and Difa in Niger Republic to preach against terrorism.
“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.”