Academics is a line with standards but unfortunately we’re losing standards on a daily basis because of our selfish interest, this leads to the churning out of incompetent professionals.
Attacking personality has never been in my character because there is no pride and honour in it. Besides, a real writer or a public affairs analyst should always stick to the objective not emotion. But everybody knows that I am good at criticising professions, especially if they are tainted with uncertainties and forgery.
I do wonder or ask why Pantami so much loves poking his nose in an area that he barely knows anything about and whenever we try to call him to order his blind followers usually take it too personal and even see us as his “enemies of progress”.
For the sake of clarification, Professor Isa Ali Pantami, the immediate-past minister of communication and digital economy, began his career in Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, ATBU, Bauchi between 2003 and 2004 as a graduate assistant. Years after he took a study leave for his MSc and PhD, which he completed in 2014. In 2013, he was promoted to the rank of lecturer while on study leave.
On his return from the leave, he secured a foreign appointment with the Islamic University in Madina, Saudi Arabia as an assistant professor. This is a position offered to a fresh PhD holder in the American education system, which is equivalent to a junior lecturer in the Nigerian education system. In 2016, he was appointed as the director general, Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, a non-academic or educational agency by the then President Muhammadu Buhari. In 2019, he was appointed as minister of communication and digital economy.
Let us shun or keep sentiments aside and allow the truth to speak for itself. From 2004 to 2016, Pantami was a junior lecturer. If he had risen to the rank of associate professor before he left to Madina, he would be considered whenever he speaks on an issue like this, but not as a junior lecturer, for God’s sake!
The general public should get this clear, no one is doubting Pantami’s level of intelligence, sense of humour, rationality, smartness, human relations or sympathy, or envy his national and international recognition. In fact, he is a good man, he’s smart and vast in Islamic affairs. But all we are saying is that, he is not qualified to say anything about the academia.
As an upcoming researcher, I define a scholar as someone who has vast experience or has contributed a lot towards the development of his field of expertise.
No one is envying Pantami, I am just curious or surprised as to what a junior lecturer like Pantami can navigate in a field that he left as a beginner or junior; certainly he would end up navigating whatever suits him.
Pantami is yet to know a lot about his field of specialisation as a professor not to talk of lecturing job as a whole. All the major books he has written are on social life, but he published a book that will guide upcoming researchers. is this not a slap on his face and a disgrace to the real scholars?
If I were him, I would have returned to the academia and continue from where I stopped since he is eager to mentor young lecturers. But Pantami’s action is unacceptable to the academia.
Abubakar Muhammad Sani,
Kaduna
