08/02/2026
Let me make it clear that I am not against Sheikh Pantami’s decision to join partisan politics. It is his right as a Nigerian citizen, just as it is our right to criticize.
I am a fan of Sheikh Pantami the cleric, but not Hon. Pantami the politician. As his fan, I do not want his reputation as a religious leader to be soiled by politics.
But it seems the fanatical Pantami supporters (the Pan-termites) are pushing Mallam into the ring. Well, I have done my best to caution Mallam. But as the saying goes, he who is destined to be beaten to a pulp, ignores appeals to stop fighting.
Nigeria has weak institutions, gratuitous political culture, corrupt civil service and disregard for rule of law. Nigerian political space is a jungle where the powerful often wins and the weak loses. No thanks to the presidential system. In a presidential system like ours, winning a governorship or presidential election requires huge funding, with donations coming from ten-percenters, shylocks, contractors, political opportunists, ex-convicts, you name it. And once elected, repayment is expected through inflated or unexecuted contracts, policy favors, etc.
The Supreme Court is the most powerful institution in Nigeria, while the president is the most powerful individual in the country. Yet despite declarations against the diversion of local government funds, the practice persists. That tells you something about structural resistance to reform by Nigerian politicians.
Let’s be frank: no one can occupy public office in Nigeria and emerge entirely unblemished under thorough scrutiny. Tax defaults or delayed filings, discrepancies in Code of Conduct records, awarding contracts to companies with links to family members, questionable estacodes, inflated protocol expenses — the traps are many. No sheikh, pastor or technocrat is immune to these ‘minor’ but clear criminal offences.
