Elijah Adebero
Pastor of Senior Pastor of the Citadel Global Community Church, Tunde Bakare, has recalled how he met Buhari and how they became political allies.
He however said the meeting had not borne the fruits he desired as, according to him, the expectation he had about the Buhari presidency has failed to materialise.
He said things h had gone so negative that some of his friends had been accusing him of being part of those who brought Buhari to power.
In an interview with BBC Yoruba, Bakare said: “I was in my house when I started the Save Nigeria Group. It was to help the country. I never knew (Goodluck) Jonathan or (Umaru) Yar’Adua. God only showed me a vision and I started moving around, saying ‘do not let Nigeria go bad’. Professor Wole Soyinka, (Retired Gen. Alani) Akinrinade, renowned people of Yoruba extraction joined us.
“That was where Buhari first saw me and decided he could bring me close. We too, we wanted to know his intentions for Nigeria. That was how we met in Kaduna. I had in mind to help Nigeria but when (Obafemi) Awolowo could not become the president, as a good person, I washed my hands off.
“People thought someone who had once served as a military head of state, that once he becomes president, Nigeria will be better and progressive but instead of things to get better, everything has worsened.
“But God is not asleep. Some of my friends accuse me of bringing Buhari to power. I explained to them that he is someone I used to see and discuss the way forward with, that he would listen but once you leave, nothing comes out of the discussion. Then I decided to stay back.”
The cleric added that many people voted for Buhari because they thought that, as a former military leader, he would understand the nation’s complexities and be able to lead the country on the right path.
“Things have turned upside down. They say the elders are the ones disrupting the nation, but it started with the youths. The coup plotters in the military — there are people that were 20 years old, 30 years old — they are the ones that brought us to where we are. They brought us here before they grew old in the job and refused to leave,” Bakare said.
“If a military takes over a country, they won’t leave until things become bad. They will plunder every conceivable object is gone. However, there are still good ones among the bad eggs.
“Our leaders are corrupt. Let’s assume the military destroyed the government, what happened to our civilian government? Although many of them moved from the military, we still don’t know if we are in a military or civilian era. Nigeria will continue to deteriorate unless we turn around and make amends and ask those stronger than us to help us.”
