Presiding Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC, formerly Latter Rain Assembly), Pastor Tunde Bakare, has decried the state of the nation.
Bakare, who was running mate to Buhari in the 2011 election when he contested under the platform of the defunct Congress for Progressives Congress (CPC), declared that the legacy of Buhari is in grave danger.
During his state of the nation address titled, “The conspicuous handwriting on the wall” delivered at the church auditorium in Lagos on Sunday, Bakare lamented the insecurity in the land, blaming it on the failure of government to create effective regional governance while there is an attempt by regional non-state actors to fill that regional vacuum.
“Our nation is unstable across the geopolitical zones because, in the absence of legitimate regional governance structures, we are confronted with illegitimate regional actors seeking to hijack governance and control the political economy of the regions,” he said.
While he said he remained committed to the success of President Buhari, he was “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 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.
‘Why I am crying out’
“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. He wrote: “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,” he added.
He advised the President to immediately set up regional governance structures with a view to empowering the federating units. This, according to him, is “the heart and soul of restructuring.”
Bakare reiterated that restructuring “does not mean the dismemberment of the Nigerian state” neither is it “an attack on Nigerian unity.”
“It does not mean disadvantaging any section of the country. It means empowering the North West, the North Central, the North East, the South West, the South South and the South East, so that every part of our country will be safe and prosperous. Show me one person who does not want this for our country, and I will show you an enemy of Nigeria,” he added.
“The insecurity and instability now raging across the nation are the results of our national failure to act on this truth over the years. Because we have failed to guarantee effective regional governance, a regional governance vacuum has been created.
“The insecurity in our country is the attempt by regional non-state actors to fill that regional vacuum. Our nation is unstable across the geopolitical zones because, in the absence of legitimate regional governance structures, we are confronted with illegitimate regional actors seeking to hijack governance and control the political economy of the regions; from the Boko Haram terrorists in the North East, to the bandits in the North West, to the criminal herdsmen in the North Central, to regional militias in the South West, to the militants in the South South, and to the secessionists in the South East. The greatest demand on the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is to facilitate the emergence of legitimate regional governance frameworks that can fill the vacuum and flush out the illegitimate structures.
Buhari can still leave a lasting legacy
Bakare, however, said Buhari can leave a lasting legacy by doing three things bothering on insecurity, economy and Anti-Corruption which are Buhari’s three cardinal programmes.
He said the President must intensify the clampdown on terrorism and banditry by expanding support to the armed forces in terms of technology, armoury, logistics, prompt action on military intelligence, as well as inspirational leadership to sustain the morale of the newly appointed service chiefs.
