In a recent development, Professor Isa Ali Pantami, the former Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, has issued a statement inviting academics who have criticized his book “#SkillsRatherThanJustDegrees” to an intellectual debate.
This invitation comes amidst claims of distortion and misunderstanding of the book’s message on social media platforms.
Mr. Pantami added that some academics have allegedly misinterpreted its content without fully engaging with it, prompting Pantami to challenge them to a public debate.
In Pantami’s invitation, he added that among the five he authored in the last two years, has garnered significant attention, with translations into various international languages underway.
According to Pantami’s invitation posted on verified Facebook seen by Kano Times “A few academics (among our brothers, friends & colleagues) intend to distort the actual message of the book on social media, instead of writing their books to counter or ridicule the global paradigm shift advocated by the book. Some indirectly criticize without reading the book and, ironically, also go ahead and make recommendations the same with the advocacy of the book.”
“As a result, all the academics (our colleagues) who have challenged the book are invited (to nominate the best 3 among them) for an intellectual debate on any campus (University) in Nigeria (of their choice, not for the author to choose) to either challenge the author of the book or defend their arguments before a neutral audience.”
In response, Professor Ibrahim Bello-Kano, a professor of English at Bayero University Kano (BUK), critiqued Pantami’s invitation, labeling it as unconventional and indicative of Pantami’s purported shortcomings in critical thinking and writing skills.
Bello-Kano emphasized the traditional nature of academic discourse, suggesting that responses to critiques should be in written form rather than through public debates.
Moreover, Bello-Kano questioned the originality of Pantami’s ideas, citing historical precedents in the debate over skills versus degree qualifications.
He also cast doubt on Pantami’s claim regarding the translation of his book into multiple languages, challenging him or his defenders to provide evidence to support this assertion.
According Prof. IBK “Now I’ve a few points to make about Mr. Pantami wishing or asking to debate his critics. But before my first point, let me say this. If the forwarded message on this platform is really from, or written by, Pantami, then it’s clear that he’s a poor writer and a shoddy thinker to boot.
“Look at the poorly written prose, and the ample indicators of the writer’s low critical thinking acumen. So, back to my first point: millions of books and papers by living authors are reviewed across the writing and publishing world on a daily basis, but I’ve never heard of any serious writer or author asking to debate his reviewers, or the commentators on his or her book.”
“Pantami’s demand to debate his critics is pretty odd for any sound academic or scholar. Second, Reviews have a world of their own, and are not personal or personalized pieces or responses. Third, Pantami can respond to his critics in writing.”
“This is quite acceptable. His quip that his critics should rather write their own books is a powerful evidence of his being an alien to academic culture. Third, the debate on skills versus degree qualification is an old one, since the 1950s.”
“It was an old credo of American Pragmatism, from William James to John Dewey (see, on this, Richard Rorty’s “Consequences of Pragmatism”, 1989). So, Pantami isn’t saying anything new. He’s, again, not conversant with the topic in Education, Pedagogy, or Teacher Training. Fourth, Pantami is the typical semi-educated person who’s pained by ASUU’s rejection of his illegal Professorship and is desperate to soothe his badly bruised ego. Fifth, his, or the, claim that his book is being translated into many other languages is either a lie or just an attempt to pass off his questioned erudition.”
“Let him or his defenders mention or give evidence as to the languages that his book has been translated into. Just how many? It’s rare to see an author literally begging to debate his critics or reviewers in the immediate moment.”
“Finally, Pantami can have his dubious “bragging rights”, but that’s where his case properly belongs—– bragging rights for a man whose ego and scholarly claims have been badly and justifiably bruised.”
The exchange highlights the tension between academic discourse and public engagement, with Pantami advocating for a live debate while critics like Bello-Kano prefer the more traditional approach of written responses.
