By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
The serving overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, on Sunday, reminded his members that he had warned Nigerians about the dangers of “Emilokan” politics.
Emilokan, a Yoruba phrase meaning ‘It’s my turn,’ became popular during President Bola Tinubu’s campaign ahead of the 2023 elections.
Bakare claimed that Emilokan is a tendency towards authoritarianism.
The cleric said: “I’m reminded of the warning that I sounded to Nigerians in January 2023 in my address titled, ‘Bridging the gap between politics and governance.’ I warned that the politics of entitlement, the ‘emilokan’ type of politics, would breed an imperium presidency, one that would slide towards dictatorship and would be intolerant of dissent.”
Bakare also expressed scepticism about ECOWAS’s proposed military intervention in the Republic of Niger.
He said: “Local support for Nigeria by Nigeriens is at an all-time low. It is, therefore, counterproductive to engage in warfare. While we condemn coup d’etats in West Africa, we recognise that the situation calls for deep introspection on the part of African leaders. We call upon Nigeria at this time to provide good leadership. The real question is whether President Tinubu has the capacity to provide moral leadership even in the domestic context.”
Bakare had contested in last year’s All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary, which produced Tinubu as the flagbearer.
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