Stop playing God, embrace humility, cleric tells President

The Presiding Overseer of the Global Community Citadel Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has criticised the current state of governance in Nigeria, citing the current National Assembly’s subservient relationship with the executive.

Bakare, who spoke yesterday, during his state of the nation broadcast marking the Easter celebration at the church’s auditorium, described the National Assembly as the most spineless in recent history, alleging that it has become an extension of the Presidency.

The former vice presidential candidate under the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) said that the National Assembly’s actions and inactions had effectively rendered it a mere rubber stamp for the President’s decisions.

He noted that the Assembly’s action is so concerning that if it had been in place during the 2006 third term agenda debate, it would have likely supported the bid, potentially leading to a significant setback for Nigeria’s democracy.

Bakare specifically targeted President Bola Tinubu’s influence, stating that it has led to legislative rascality in the National Assembly, adding that the Assembly has become an extension of the executive, violating the principles of separation of powers, and rubber-stamping the President’s whims. He noted that the current National Assembly is the most ineffective in its checks-and-balances role since the start of the Fourth Republic.

The cleric also expressed dismay over the verbal attacks in the Senate involving Ebonyi Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi and former Education Minister, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, during the hearing on the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, saying the Senate has become an institution for political rascality.

Bakare, however, urged the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, to subject himself to an unbiased investigation to clear his name of allegations levelled against him.

He also warned President Bola Tinubu against the dangers of unlimited power, quoting the phrase “No man is wise enough or good enough to be trusted with unlimited power.”

Bakare, while advising Tinubu to respect the limits of his office and not play God, described the situation in Rivers State where the President declared a state of emergency as a theatre of the absurd, which was further endorsed by the National Assembly that he described as the most “spineless” in Nigeria’s recent history.

Bakare, however, said that Nigeria is descending into tyranny and abuse of power under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying that those in power are determined to destabilise Nigeria’s political institutions. He, therefore, called on Tinubu to embrace humility, seek wise counsel, and make decisions that would ensure Nigeria’s recovery.

“Stop playing God,” Bakare said to Tinubu, adding that while he does not agree with the latter’s political perspective, it was not his wish to see him fail.