Tunde Bakare, serving overseer of The Citadel Global Community Church, has asked President Bola Tinubu to accept advice and “stop playing God”.
Speaking on Sunday during his state of the nation broadcast at the church in Lagos, Bakare said the president should implement a “coordinated programme” to steer Nigeria out of its current crisis.
The cleric said Nigerians have prayed long enough for the country to improve, while he dismissed further calls for prayers as nothing more than a “mere religious ritual”.
He said Nigerian leaders need to act urgently to prevent the country from descending into a mafia state.
Killings and abductions by gunmen are on the rise across the country, with Plateau and Benue states among the hardest hit.
“People of faith have prayed to the point of weariness, and any call for prayer now appears to be a mere religious ritual,” Bakare said.
“Some have concluded that we have prayed long enough and that unless certain pragmatic steps are taken with immediate effect, the rage of the poor may engineer social, economic, and political worst-case scenarios.
“Only by confronting our reality with honesty and courage can we begin the work of resurrection – not just of our nation, but of our collective broken spirits.
“To avert the full-blown breakdown of law and order in our fragile democracy and the intervention of our already battle-weary armed forces, I offered timely counsel to the Nigerian government and led prayers for the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Sunday, January 12, 2025.”
Bakare said he used the prayer session to offer counsel on how leaders can steer the nation through its challenges.
“Dear Nigerians, the past few months since that admonition have shown that those responsible for steering the course of our nation lack the humility and character this moment demands of leaders,” he said.
“Instead, what we have seen since the beginning of the year is a descent into tyranny and the brazen abuse of power.
“Those entrusted with power appear determined to destabilise what is left of our political institutions and have committed themselves to obliterating the guardrails of constitutional governance.
“I urge you, Mr president, to think deeply and reflect on these words: ‘No man is wise enough nor good enough to be trusted with unlimited power’. Please, stop playing God!”
The cleric condemned the senate’s suspension of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Kogi central senator, declaration of state of emergency in Rivers by Tinubu, and subsequent ratification by the national assembly.
“It is clear that our so-called leaders are determined to turn Nigeria into a mafia state,” Bakare said.
“The two main contenders in the ongoing institutional immorality Olympics are the executive and the legislature.”
Bakare called for psychological tests on politicians seeking elective office.
The cleric said Nigerian leaders should coordinate nationwide survival interventions, stabilise the economy, reengineer debt profile, facilitate structural reforms for geo-economic industrialisation, spur inclusive economic growth and development, and build an economy.
“To execute this mandate, these visionary leaders should oversee the establishment of what I called the consolidated value investment and development fund (COVID Fund) when the pandemic brought the economy to a halt, a situation we are yet to recover from five years after,” he said.
“This fund, which I will now simply call ‘The Fund,’ is not based on volatile factors such as the price of oil. It rejects the logic that Nigeria must be trapped between the rock of loans or handouts and the hard place of a solely extractive economy.”
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
