…says ‘President’s his legacy is in danger’
Pastor Tunde Bakare, Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, formerly Latter Rain Assembly, says the current state of the nation belies the person of the President Muhammadu Buhari he knew when they both ran for the nation’s Presidency on a joint ticket in 2011.
Bakare warned that Buhari’s legacy was in grave danger of being confined to the dustbin of history.
He stated this in his state of the nation address to celebrate Easter, saying he was being forced to speak out because the country did not reflect the dreams he had with Buhari when he was his running mate in the 2011 presidential election on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change.
Bakare stated that he warned in 2015 that Nigeria’s problems had defied the change of government as the myriad of challenges confronting the country were symptoms of fundamental problems.
The cleric said, “I have laid a historical background as an introduction to this address because it is time to speak out. I am compelled to speak out because this is not the Nigeria General Muhammadu Buhari and I had dreams to create when he invited me to be his running mate in 2011.
“I am compelled to speak out because the state of the nation does not represent the Buhari I knew when we took that solemn journey towards rebuilding Nigeria.
“I am compelled to cry out because of the intent of the president as contained in his tribute dated October 14, 2019 in honour of my 65th birthday, PMB wrote to me: “We have shared ideas on how to engender a better country and formed a tag team for political power. May the ideas germinate fully, proliferate and give us the country of our dreams.
“I am compelled to speak out at this point because, given the state of the nation, the legacy of President Muhammadu Buhari is in grave danger of being confined to an unsavoury side of history. I am indeed compelled to speak out because Nigeria is in a state of emergency.
“For many years, Nigeria was in the intensive care unit of the universe. However, six years ago, against timely warnings not to overlook fundamental and underlying conditions as the country prepared for the 2015 elections, her “caregivers” certified her fit and discharged her.
“Underlying conditions have resurfaced and our nation is now in a critical state. Her survival is hanging in the balance and she has been rushed to the emergency room. The diagnosis indicates that a surgical procedure is unavoidable.
“The purpose of this address is to present the facts of this diagnosis and point a way out of our current crisis even as we approach a critical juncture in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“My aim in highlighting these issues is to ensure that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari does not fall victim to what is historically described, especially in American politics, as the “Second-Term Curse.”
“Political analysts describe the second-term curse as “the perceived tendency of second terms of U.S. presidents to be less successful than their first terms.”