Pastor Tunde Bakare, the Presiding Pastor, Latter
Rain Assembly, has urged presidential candidates
to look beyond the 2019 elections and place the
interest of the nation above their political
interests.
Bakare, who is also the Convener of the Save
Nigeria Group (SNG), gave the advice in Lagos on
Sunday while delivering the 2019 State of the
Nation Address in his church.
He urged all the candidates not to see the 2019
election as a do-or-die affair or consider winning
it as the only means of impacting positively on
nation-building and good governance.
The SNG convener said Nigeria was losing with
the winner-takes-all politics, adding that he
believed all candidates could work together in a
team after the polls for the common agenda of
building a better Nigeria.
“Our country needs a uniting force that can rally
our diverse strengths around a common narrative,
towards a common objective, to achieve a
common vision – The Nigeria of Our Dreams.
“After all is said and done, may Nigeria win, no
matter who wins or loses in this year’s elections.
After the elections, we have a nation to build
together.
“I am reminded of the words of Anwar al-Sadat,
‘There can be hope only for a society which acts
as one big family, not as many separate ones’.
“With our zero-sum game and winner-takes-all
politics, we could be losing the ideas, the
brilliance, and all the strengths required to build a
nation. “But when, beyond the elections, the Buharis, the
Atikus, the Moghalus, the Ezekwesilis, the
Durotoyes, the Sowores and the likes come
together to minimise our weaknesses and
maximise our strengths, as one political family,
with one agenda – nationhood, we can shape a
new nation beyond 2019,“ he said.
Bakare said restructuring was a precondition for
the progress of the country, advising that
candidates could form what he called, ‘Team
Restructuring’ to address the country’s challenges
after the elections.
He said the array of brilliant candidates paraded
by some of the political parties was a good
development for the nation’s democracy.
Bakare said with candidates like Mrs Oby
Ezekwesili of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria
(ACPN) and Prof. Kingsley Moghalu of the Young
Progressives Party (YPP), voters had great
choices to select from.
The SNG convener added that President
Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) and Alhaji Atiku Abubabakar of
the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had also
made promises for a better Nigeria and that it
was left for the electorate to make their choice.
He, however, said he was disappointed by the
way people in both APC and PDP had made the
journey of Abubakar a big issue.
Bakare said the issue of who could or could not
travel to America had little or no relevance to
governance and the nation’s development.
The SNG convener urged politicians to face the
real campaign issues and stop distracting
Nigerians with things that could not better their
lots.
On the insurgency war, Bakare said the recent
setbacks recorded by the country were more of
declining patriotism among the troops more than
other reasons.
He said the declining patriotism was also
demonstrated by other Nigerians on a daily basis,
because of little hope in the country.
Bakare urged leaders to deliver the country of
everyone’s dream to change this mindset and
attitude.
“On the resurgence of terrorists activities, the
president, the National Security Council, the
Ministry of Defence, the Army Headquarters, and
the National Assembly Committees on Defence
must re-examine the defence architecture,
especially the human resource factor, and address
every anomaly in the interest of the vulnerable,
rather than the powerful.
“Failure to do this could undo the gains of the
war on terror. The soldiers, on their part, must
approach the call of duty with civility and
courage; with civility because the reports and
allegations of human rights violations by the
military are repugnant and unbecoming of the
distinguished profession.
“Their code of conduct must be influenced by the
words of Proverbs 14:31 (MSG): ‘You insult your
Maker when you exploit the powerless; when
you’re kind to the poor, you honor God’.
“ In addition, we enjoin them to continue to act
with courage, because, in the words of General
George S. Patton: ‘Wars may be fought with
weapons, but they are won by men’.
“To our soldiers in the theatre of war, you carry
the weight of the hopes of a generation on your
shoulders. May God replenish your resolve and
reward your courageous resilience.
“For those who have died in combat, we owe
these heroic patriots the eternal duty of ensuring
that they did not die in vain.
“Not only does the government owe their families
adequate welfare packages and the assurance of
a decent future, we, the people of Nigeria, for
whose sake they laid down their lives, must
become soldiers in our own right; we must
become soldiers for good governance.
“At crucial moments such as the coming
elections, responsible choices must become our
weapons in the theatre of citizen engagement,
and credible leadership must become our banner
of victory.
“We owe the memories of these soldiers a well-
governed nation, a nation that is worth their
sacrifice, because good governance is the soil
upon which patriotism is nurtured, and a nation
that is worth dying for must be worth living in,â€
he said.
Bakare said the church would continue to be
involved in engagements to reshape the country
and awaken its consciousness for a better
tomorrow.
Source:
www.vanguardngr.com/2019/01/look-
beyond-2019-bakare-tells-buhari-atiku-others/
