Chinelo Obogo
Senior Pastor of Latter Rain Assembly, Tunde Bakare, has alleged that there are too many people in government working against the progress of the country.
Bakare in his state of the nation broadcast, yesterday, entitled “Unveiling the True Enemies of Nigeria” said those working against Nigeria could be found in local, states and federal levels.
He claimed that the groups of privileged persons feed fat on unaccounted-for security votes, taxes and levies paid by citizens, and deploy the paraphernalia of office that they hold to enrich themselves, rather than in serving the people.
“The true enemies of our nation are found at every level of government, from local, state to federal levels and in every arm of government. They can also be found on the streets, in households, and the marketplace….
“At the state level, the true enemies of Nigeria are those state governments that feed fat on unaccounted-for security votes; those who connive with zonal political oligarchs to personalise and privatise the state; who deploy the force of state to quell dissent; who paralyse local governance structures in such a manner that discredits genuine arguments for restructuring and devolution of powers; who give critics an excuse to postulate that if state governments are already abusing the little power they currently wield, what will they do if we devolve yet more powers to them?
“At the zonal level, the enemies of Nigeria are those who have perverted their influence and turned the states within their zones of influence into personal estates. They are the political puppeteers who rig the system to enthrone their stooges and use them to corner resources and opportunities. They are the political bandits and pseudo-democrats who are maniacal in merchandising the will of the people, from masterminding vote-buying to engineering seemingly spontaneous outbreaks of political violence. These are the true enemies of Nigeria.
“At the federal level, the true enemies of Nigeria are in every arm of government. In the judiciary, they are judges who pervert justice and auction judgements to the highest bidder. In the legislature, they are those who rob the nation “under the guise of constituency projects” and are quick to pass laws that undermine our national freedoms, thereby threatening our national stability.
“In the executive arm of government, the enemies of our nation are those who deploy the machinery of state against hapless citizens; those who serve self rather than the people; adversaries clad as advisers who could inadvertently destroy the legacy of any president through fabricated facts and contrived counsel in a bid to protect their political careers.
“We must decide whether we belong to the camp of true enemies or true patriots; enemies who engage in counterproductive blame games, who succumb to the forces of division, who yield to the primordial sentiments of ethnicity, religion or even partisanship; or patriots, people “who love and support” their native land, who, 100 years since the first building blocks of a coalition for nationhood were laid, will take it upon themselves to salvage the vestiges of national unity and forge a common patriotic front against the enemies of Nigeria,” he said. On the kind of leader contemporary Nigeria required, Bakare admonished President Muhammadu Buhari against just being the Commander-in-Chief, but also the Unifier-in-Chief of an increasingly fragmented and disillusioned populace.
He said strong leadership also means accepting dissent and listening to contrary views while making decisions in the best interest of the people.