A Yoruba folktale tells of the wily tortoise serenading the elephant with the song, “A ó m’erin j’oba,” meaning, we shall make a king out of the elephant, after which the elephant was eventually lured into a ditch!
Could Pastor Tunde Bakare, Serving Overseer of The Citadel Global Community Church, Oregun Road, formerly known as Latter Rain Assembly, situate on Akilo Road in the Ogba area of the Ikeja District of the Lagos metropolis, be luring Bola Tinubu, a former Governor of Lagos State, into a booby trap?
Many Nigerians of Yorùbá stock don’t seem to be too sure of Bakare’s motives considering what appears to be his penchant to hold contradictory positions on the same issue at different times.
After reportedly claiming in a sermon in 2006 that Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) could not possibly be a good leader for Nigeria, Bakare surprisingly turned around to accept to be Buhari’s running mate in the 2011 presidential election, which they lost. Many haven’t recovered from the shock.
After declaring that he would be Nigeria’s President after Buhari, Bakare seems to have done an about face with what some think is an epiphany of Tinubu being the possible successor to Buhari.
He had disclosed his likely ascendancy to the presidency of Nigeria in a most dramatic fashion: “Take it to the mountain top. In the scheme of things, as far as politics is concerned in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari is Number 15, and yours sincerely (presumably, himself, Pastor Tunde Bakare), is Number 16… And nothing can change it.”
Nothing can be more categorical than that. Prophecies are direct and declarative. There can be no in-betweens. And so, when a prophet appears to be insinuating something contradictory to what the Lord may have earlier revealed to him, you must pay attention.
Though Bakare didn’t quite say that Tinubu would be Nigeria’s next President, he seems to be asking those who may be against Tinubu’s presumed bid for the presidency to take a second look at him, the way bankers do loan proposals.
Anyway, those who know how to interpret political doublespeak know where the presidential selection needle seems to be pointing to, especially with the cue coming from Pastor Bakare’s revised divine submissions.
Now, those who might want to shoot down Tinubu’s ambition for the presidency with the argument that his wealth may have been acquired through shadowy means, or that his politics is machiavelian, should carefully consider Bakare’s submissions.
The allusion to the Bible story of Jephtah, one of Israel’s Judges, kings without coronets, who was recalled from Tob to save Israel from certain defeat by the Ammonites after he had been banished by his half-brothers because he was an illegitimate son of his father, is instructive.
The following are excerpts from a deodorising sermon by Bakare ahead of Tinubu’s possible formal declaration of a bid for the exalted office of the President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria.
Bakare reminds his Yoruba kinsmen that Tinubu, “to his credit, like Jephtah, had fought many battles on behalf of the Yoruba people, and won, despite his rough beginning.”
He told those he referred to as Tinubu’s traducers that “God does not need anybody’s permission to put (Tinubu) in His Hall of Fame, despite (Tinubu’s) past deeds and ancestry.”
And to those who do not yet recognise the genius of Tinubu, Bakare admonishes: “Accept your humble pie, eat it. When you were sleeping Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was working day and night. He secured Lagos, secured Ogun, secured Ọyọ, secured Osun, secured Èkìtì, secured Ondo, secured Edo. And you say he is a nobody.”
He then advises: “Stop all this nonsense about ancestry. You will kill your heroes and those who can deliver you. You will put them aside and nothing will happen… He that has ears let him hear… Therefore, let’s sit around the table and say, ‘These are the challenges. Jephtah we need you…’ A word is enough for the wise. Look inward today, and see what you can do.”
He goes further to explain: “The reason power is given is so that you can protect others. The reason riches are given is so that you can support others. Until you understand the dynamics of power and wealth, God will not bless you as He desires to, because you will consume everything upon your own lust.”
All these because of the narrative making the rounds that some Yoruba, in anticipation that the presidency may indeed be zoned to the South, or to the South-West in particular, want to take Tinubu out of reckoning because of his perceived immoral financial baggage and opaque ancestry.
What Bakare appears to be suggesting, in not so direct terms, is that whoever will cast the first stone against Tinubu must be he who comes to equity with clean hands. It’s certainly going to be awful hard to come by such a politician in this current dispensation.
Which leads to the question of evidence of competence in public service, which Bakare thinks Tinubu has displayed abundantly, far and beyond any other Yoruba politician and public figure in today’s Nigeria. Not too many people are going to be able to argue this with the Pastor.
Something else that admirers point out about Tinubu is his knack for spotting and empowering talents and setting up systems that can succeed his tenure. The continuity of the culture of excellence in the governance of Lagos State cannot be ignored, even if there are glaring lapses.
Maybe the Yoruba who shoot down Tinubu’s (undeclared) interest in the presidency should provide an alternative candidate that has the same or better political gravitas. It will be better still if they can find an alternative without corruption baggage, even as they must also note that no competent court has convicted Tinubu of any misdemeanour.
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has made half-hearted feints to prosecute Tinubu, and the Code of Conduct Tribunal had had to discharge him from trial for want of evidence it seems. So, you must give Tinubu the benefit of the doubt as the principle of fairness and justice demands.
But as soon as anyone finds a shred of evidence of corrupt practice that can be pinned on him the finder must act promptly. Scoundrels must be prevented from occupying Nigeria’s highest political office.
Something that the Yoruba who berate Tinubu need to understand is that Nigeria’s political culture is more about appeasing interests than anything else. If the presidency is zoned to the South, as is presumed, it must be filled, in spite of the warts and chinks in the armour of whoever is offered. Even Mai Gaskiya Buhari can’t deny that he has a past.
The Nigerian leadership selection process is not the best, but it serves the purpose of uniting Nigeria, until such a time that merit will be the major criteria for recruiting those who will run the affairs of Nigeria.
One can only hope that Bakare and The South West Agenda, otherwise known as SWAGA, a collective of old faithful, formed to advance Tinubu’s presidential fortune, will not end up as the political tortoise that will dig a political ditch for the presidential ambition of Tinubu.
