Femi Fani-Kayode, a former minister of aviation, has praised Prof. Isa Ali-Pantami, the recently appointed minister of communications and digital economy, as a public leader with “indomitable courage” and a genuine passion for serving the country.
This was announced by Mr. Fani-Kayode at the public launch of Mr. Pantami’s book, “A Scholar’s Journey: Navigating the Academia,” which was held in Abuja last Wednesday.
The former minister of aviation praised Mr. Pantami’s assistance in saving Monsoor Al-Kadriyar, who was kidnapped in the Bwari neighborhood of the Federal Capital Territory along with his five daughters.
He said: “Prof. Pantami is courageous about his faith. He is courageous about his academic achievements. He has been courageous in his political career. He has been courageous when it comes to his friendships and his loyalty to so many people.
“He has been courageous in his support and standing by President Muhammadu Buhari through thick and thin, which is something that is a great honor because most people when somebody is out of power, they no longer stand with that person. He has been consistent and clear and that speaks for him.
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“But most important of all, and I have to say this, is his religious fervency, his commitment to Islam. Because he is first and foremost, in my view, and this is probably why I admire him so much, a cleric, a sheikh, and a man that will stand for, and by his faith any day and any time. And that is something that ought to be admired.
“…Look at the issue of kidnappers. The other day, a family was kidnapped. And one of them, the oldest daughter, was killed. Had it not been for Prof. Pantami’s intervention, speaking to a number of people, and his reaching out to that family personally, which nobody else had done, the other five daughters would not be free today”.
Borno State Governor Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum presided over the book presentation.
Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, a former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), gave the book a review.
Eminent dignitaries in attendance included Governors Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State and Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State; former governors of Lagos, Gombe, and Ekiti States, Babatunde Raji Fashola, Senator Danjuma Goje, and Dr. Kayode Fayemi; and a number of ministers, both current and former.
The 341-page book details Prof. Ali Pantami’s 20 years of full- and part-time academic work.
The book spans the former minister’s academic career from January 2003 to January 2023 and takes place on four continents: Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America.
