A Twitter user, @Hoekage77 says the controversy trailing Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami explains former US President Donald Trump’s decision to place travel restrictions on Nigeria.
The minister is being severely criticized for failing to resign after reports circulated of him expressing support for some terror groups – Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
He was also quoted to have described the infamous terrorist, Osama Bin Laden as a better Muslim than himself.
The minister said, after the controversy started, that he had renounced his extremist views, which he blamed on immaturity.
Recall that in January 2020, the Trump administration expanded its travel restriction placed on some countries to include six more nations – Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar.
Citizens of the affected nations were barred from obtaining certain types of visas, and the US government said it was due to failures by the six countries to meet its security and information-sharing standards.
The Joe Biden administration has since lifted the restrictions.
Like many others, the Twitter user said, he had blamed the Trump administration’s action on racism, as many of the affected nations were African or Muslim nations, but changed his mind when Pantami’s matter became public knowledge.
He wrote on Twitter:
Meanwhile, many Nigerians took to social media to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack Pantami, warning that his continued stay in office could further dent Nigeria’s image in the international community.
Read Also: “Buhari’s Silence Dangerous” – Ezekwesili, Other Nigerians Insist On Pantami’s Sacking
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