The presiding overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC), Pastor Tunde Bakare, has said that under President Bola Tinubu, Nigeria is descending into tyranny and brazen abuse of power.
In his nationwide broadcast to the Easter celebration, Bakare said that under the president’s watch, the legislative arm of governance is collapsing. In the broadcast titled ‘Let the people know the truth, and the country is safe,’ he carpeted Tinubu over what he called the seeming state capture.
He said: “The past few months have shown that those responsible for steering the course of our nation lack the humility and character this moment demands of leaders. Instead, what we have seen since the beginning of the year is a descent into tyranny and the brazen abuse of power.
“Those entrusted with power appear determined to destabilise what is left of our political institutions and have committed themselves to obliterating the guardrails of constitutional governance.
“From the theatre of the absurd staged in Rivers State, with puppets on strings controlled by directors in Abuja, to the dance of shame performed by the National Assembly in their rush to suspend the constitution and endorse, through the backdoor, the usurpation of powers by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; from the Senate’s shameless bid to silence Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for demanding that the President of the Nigerian Senate uphold the moral standards required of that office, to the uncouth outbursts of an undistinguished senatorial misfit who tried in vain to silence the distinguished citizens attempting to testify on behalf of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, it is clear that our so-called leaders are determined to turn Nigeria into a mafia state.
“The two main contenders in the ongoing institutional immorality Olympics are the executive and the legislature. It is often said that these two arms of government suffered the worst forms of arrested development because they were the direct victims of the military era, but after twenty-six years of uninterrupted democracy, one must ask: how much longer before our institutions finally mature?
“While it is not in dispute that our institutions and constitution are inadequate, it has become obvious that our biggest problems are the occupiers of these institutions and executors of the constitution. The quality of leadership in Nigeria has become so repugnant that citizens must declare a state of emergency on governance, demanding that every aspiring public officeholder undergo rigorous psychiatric evaluation before seeking election.”
According to him, it is through the influence of the President that the National Assembly has become a haven for legislative rascality, rubber-stamping everything the President sent to them.
Bakare advised Tinubu to stop playing God and embrace humility. He said that while he does not agree with the President’s political perspective, it was not his wish to see him fail.
“At the centre of this political banditry is the motor park brand of politics nurtured by the old brigade politicians and, in recent times, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Mr. President, it is through your influence that the Nigerian National Assembly has become a haven for legislative rascality.
“Mr. President, it is under your watch that the National Assembly has become an extension of the executive, grossly violating the principles of separation of powers, and rubber-stamping the whims and caprices of your office, all while singing the international anthem of sycophants: On your mandate we shall stand.
“Recent events have made it clear to Nigerians that had this Assembly been in place in 2006 when the third term agenda was proposed, our democracy would have since morphed into one of Africa’s lamentable tales of sit-tight dictatorship.
“To the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, under whose brand of politics the institution of legislative oversight is collapsing and our democracy is faced with an existential threat, I say: Mr. President, Nigeria is too delicate for this kind of politics.
“If this state capture was what you meant by emi lo kan, it is an anti-climax that can only be counterproductive in the end. I urge you, Mr. President, to think deeply and reflect on these words: No man is wise enough nor good enough to be trusted with unlimited power. Please, stop playing God!
“Much as I disagree with the politics of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I am speaking up today because, again, I do not want the president to fail. It is not in the interest of any Nigerian, let alone the Nigerians whose survival hangs in the balance, for President Tinubu to fail. Whether we like it or not, this administration holds the reins of our economy, and we cannot allow them to flush it down the drain.
“From its approach to governance right from its first day in office, the current administration, though in its first term, seems to have drifted in the sea of hubris, in the process steering the polity adrift and struggling to stabilise it.
“Since justice, equity, and good governance are the foundations for national prosperity, and because injustice can frustrate any economic agenda, it is time for this government to embrace humility and govern with a sense of justice and fairness before it is too late.”
