A Lagos-based lawyer and former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has berated the ministerial nominee from Oyo State, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu, over his comment on Boko Haram during his screening at the Senate on Monday.
Shittu, while answering a question, had stated Boko Haram was not an Islamic group but added that he would not like to speak much on Boko Haram because he did not want the sect to kill his family the way they had done to others who had criticised terrorism in the past.
He had said, “It will be a difficult thing for anybody who wants to continue to live to make comments in public about these faceless elements but I want to assure this Senate that everything they (Boko Haram) have been doing is not Islamic
“I want to say with all sense of responsibility that I don’t want to comment much; I still have a family to take care of and I still want to live.”
However, Fani-Kayode stated in a Facebook post on Wednesday that Shittu should be ashamed of himself.
Fani-Kayode said, “Shittu is either a coward or a closet Boko Haram sympathiser! Shame on him.”
However, Shittu, who is a former Oyo State Commissioner for Justice, had stated at the Senate that he was not an extremist but a devout Muslim who had authored seven Islamic books and various tracts.
He told the Senate that his secretary was a ‘born again Christian’ and he had a good working relationship with her.
Shittu said, “My secretary is the wife of a pastor. In fact, she is an S.U. She doesn’t wear earrings and she is the one that handles my correspondence; we have a good working relationship. I am not an extremist and I am not a religious fanatic. I believe in God and I believe everybody should work towards a sane and godly society.”
The ministerial nominee also urged the government to pay clerics nationwide salaries so that they would be able to preach more effectively which would in turn improve the level of morality in Nigeria.
He stated if this was achieved, the level of crime would drop and the money being spent on security by the government would reduce.
Shittu added: “We are all religious and yet we don’t want religion to have any role in governance. If I have my way, all religious officials should be paid. The government should pay them salaries so that they can play the role of moralising society.”
He also advised the Senate to employ a chaplain and an Imam that would pray and also admonish the Senate before and after plenary sessions as this would instil the fear of God in them and improve their legislative abilities.