Pastor Tunde Bakare, former presidential aspirant and overseer of the Global Community Citadel Church in Lagos, has described President Bola Tinubu’s leadership approach as a “motor park style of politics.”
Delivering his Easter Sunday sermon on April 20, Bakare expressed deep concerns over the country’s economic and security challenges, warning that Nigeria may face widespread unrest if the administration fails to change course.
“Fellow citizens, at the core of this political recklessness is the motor park-style politics cultivated by old guard politicians and more recently, by President Bola Tinubu,” Bakare declared.
“Those leading the nation today lack the humility and integrity demanded by this critical moment. What we have witnessed so far this year is a slide into tyranny and blatant abuse of power.”
Referencing a July 2024 Financial Times report, the clergyman noted how Tinubu’s policies have worsened the naira’s value, spurred inflation, and intensified the country’s cost-of-living crisis, plunging millions into further poverty.
Bakare, who was a key figure in the 2012 Occupy Nigeria protests, said that public frustration is reaching a tipping point and warned that continuous economic hardship could lead to a mass uprising.
“People of faith have prayed to exhaustion. Calls for prayer now feel like hollow rituals. Many believe prayer alone is no longer enough, and that without urgent, pragmatic action, the fury of the poor could ignite a full-blown social, political, and economic crisis,” he warned.
He further accused Tinubu of turning the National Assembly into a mere extension of the executive arm.
“Mr. President, your leadership has rendered the National Assembly the 48th member of your cabinet. Under your watch, a minister has become a de facto third-term governor in Rivers State, emboldened by your backing. The Assembly now operates as a rubber stamp, singing the sycophantic anthem: ‘On your mandate, we shall stand.’”
Bakare concluded by urging Tinubu to dismiss underperforming aides and bring in credible individuals known for integrity, accountability, and transparency.
