Former aviation minister Femi Fani-Kayode on Saturday addressed critics of the pictures he took with minister of communications and digital economy Isa Pantami at the wedding of the son of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr Fani-Kayode had in an opinion piece in April labelled the Islamic scholar a “sociopathic Jihadist” after Pantami came under criticism over his extremist views.
The former minister has since been subjected to criticism for calling Pantami his “friend and brother” in pictures posted from the wedding venue in Kano on Friday.
Responding to his critics, Fani-Kayode wrote on Instagram that his faith teaches him to forgive when people express regrets over past actions or statements, referring to Pantami’s apology over his past extremist statements after he came under public scrutiny.
“Are you still foaming at the mouth because I shook hands with Isa Pantami? Keep foaming and let your blood pressure go higher,” Fani-Kayode wrote.
“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.
“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.”
Then he added, “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.”
