Former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has lambasted critics who mocked him for taking a picture with Isa Ali Ibrahim, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy in Kano State.
The duo attended the wedding ceremony of President Muhammadu Buhari’s son, Yusuf Buhari who married the daughter of the Emir of Bichi, Zahra Nasir Bayero in Bichi Kano state on Saturday.
Fani-Kayode had posted some photos from the wedding ceremony on his social media accounts including one with Pantami.
But the former spokesperson to Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential campaign was lashed heavily because he has often criticized Pantami as a terrorist.
In response to the comments from his critics, Fani-Kayode wrote, “Are you still foaming at the mouth because I shook hands with Isa Pantami? Keep foaming and let your blood pressure go higher.
“If you like drop dead. I offer no apology or explanation and I need no validation from you. You either trust my judgement or you do not and either way I do not care.
Fani-Kayode then said that, “You see my faith teaches me to forgive those that express regrets about their past actions and utterances and to be at peace with as many people as possible.
“It also teaches me to shake a hand when it is extended to me in friendship.
He added that, “The bottom line is as follows: you can do and say your worse. You can vent until you wee in your pants. You can wail until you defecate in your trousers. You can scream and shout from morning till night.
“You can run up and down like a weather beaten and rain soaked chicken whose head has been cut off until you collapse.
“You can do all these things simply because I took a picture with a fellow Nigerian and called him my friend and brother.
“It does not move me and it changes nothing: though we may not agree on everything, Isa and I are now friends and we will remain friends. Live with it or die with it.
“If most of you had 10% of my courage and foresight Nigeria would be a far better place. History will vindicate me and posterity will judge us all.
“You do not know what I know and you do not see what I see. You assume the worse because you are the worse.
“Whatever you choose to say or do I don’t care. All I know is that I will never prostitute my principles or compromise my stance on fundamental issues and I will disagree with those that I choose to disagree with but I will never be driven by hate or be deaf, dumb and blind to reason.
“And unlike most of you I can never be a coward. I have the courage to be civil and to be civilised to those that offer me respect and friendship even if we do not agree on all things. The question is do you?
Fani-Kayode then drew other comparisons. “You didn’t see Buba Galadima hugging Ahmad Lawal. You did not see GEJ shaking hands with PMB. You did not see Atiku shaking hands with PMB.
“You did not see GEJ shaking hands with Osinbajo. The only thing you saw was FFK shaking hands with Isa Pantami!”
