By Editor
The crisis between Hajiya Naja’atu Mohammed and Professor Isa Ali Pantami has taken another dramatic turn, with conflicting signals emerging over reported efforts to reconcile the two prominent figures.
While reports indicated that a delegation of respected Islamic scholars and community elders approached Pantami’s camp seeking forgiveness on behalf of Naja’atu, she has now publicly denied authorising the move.
Sources had earlier reported that on Saturday night, a high-powered delegation visited representatives of Professor Pantami in what was described as an attempt to resolve the disagreement between the two personalities.
The delegation was reportedly led by the Sarkin Hafizan Kasar Hausa, Gwani Yusuf Hamza, who also serves as National Chairman of the National Council of Memorizers of the Holy Qur’an.
According to the reports, the delegation held a lengthy closed-door meeting with representatives of Pantami.
The meeting was said to have centred on the controversy that had recently escalated between Naja’atu and the former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, with elders reportedly exploring a peaceful settlement.
The development initially created the impression that reconciliation efforts had reached an advanced stage.
The involvement of respected religious figures was particularly significant because it suggested that influential intermediaries were attempting to prevent the disagreement from developing into a deeper personal and political confrontation.
However, the situation changed on Sunday when Naja’atu distanced herself from the delegation.
She reportedly said she neither sent the team nor authorised anyone to approach Pantami on her behalf. She further suggested that anyone who visited in her name without her knowledge may have misrepresented their mandate to her.
Her denial has therefore introduced a new layer to an already complicated dispute. It raises questions about whether the delegation was acting independently as concerned elders seeking peace, whether it was encouraged by people close to the two camps, or whether there was a communication gap between the intermediaries and Naja’atu herself.
Despite the denial, the reported visit indicates that reconciliation remains an issue being discussed around the crisis.
The willingness of respected elders to intervene suggests that there are people within the wider northern political and religious community who believe the disagreement should not be allowed to escalate further, particularly given the public attention surrounding the two figures.
The conflicting accounts also show why the crisis has taken different dimensions in recent days. What began as a disagreement between two influential personalities has increasingly attracted religious figures, political actors and community elders, making the dispute more complex than a simple personal disagreement.
Every new development is now capable of generating competing interpretations about the intentions of the parties involved.For now, the central question is not whether reconciliation is desirable, but who authorised the latest attempt and whether both sides are genuinely prepared to accept mediation.
Naja’atu’s denial means that the reported delegation cannot automatically be regarded as an official peace mission from her camp, even though the visit itself suggests that efforts to open a channel of communication with Pantami are continuing behind the scenes.
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