Pastor Tunde Bakare, a former presidential candidate and leader of Global Community Citadel Church in Lagos, has spoken out against President Bola Tinubu’s style of leadership.
During his Easter Sunday message on April 20, Pastor Bakare said Tinubu is practicing what he called a “motor park” kind of politics, which means disorderly and rough political behavior.
“Fellow citizens, 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 Tinubu. Those responsible for steering the course of our nation lack the humility and character this moment demands…What we have seen since the beginning of the year is a descent into tyranny and the brazen abuse of power.”
Bakare warned that Nigeria is at risk of a major public protest if the government doesn’t improve its handling of the economy and security. He referred to a July 2024 report from the Financial Times that blamed Tinubu for letting the naira drop badly in value. This has caused the worst cost of living crisis in years and made life harder for millions of Nigerians.
“People of faith have prayed to the point of weariness, and any call for prayer now appears to be a mere religious ritual.
Some have concluded that we have prayed long enough and that unless certain pragmatic steps are taken with immediate effect, the rage of the poor may engineer social, economic, and political worst-case scenarios,” he argued.
Bakare, who once joined the 2012 Occupy Nigeria protests, said people are running out of patience. He warned that things could soon get out of control if leaders don’t act fast.
He also criticized the National Assembly, calling it a place for “legislative misbehavior” and even said it feels like the 48th member of Tinubu’s cabinet, rather than an independent body.
“Through its actions and inactions, the National Assembly has, in effect, become the 48th member of the President’s cabinet, while a cabinet minister has, more or less, become a third-term state governor in Rivers State, pampered by the indulgences of the President.
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.”
Mr. President, thanks to your political machinations, Nigeria is now bedevilled by a captured National Assembly, the most ineffective in its checks-and-balances role since the start of the Fourth Republic. This National Assembly, the Tenth, has by its unconstitutional endorsement of the President’s abuse of powers proven to be the most spineless in our recent history,” he argued.
Bakare advised President Tinubu to remove non-performing aides and replace them with honest, capable people who are known for being transparent and responsible.
