DID BAKARE SHOOT HIMSELF IN THE FOOT? – (Part 2) by FAJ

After the maelstrom of who are not the nation’s enemies, the Pastor waxes lyrically on the “true enemies” of Nigeria. Here, I have to deliver massive cuts to avoid the knife of my editor for exceeding space limit: “…The true enemies of Nigeria are those who, paraphrasing the words of George Washington, seek to build their greatness upon their country’s ruin…. As it is with the leadership, so it is with the citizenry… In Nigeria, the vast majority of our people regularly take turns perpetuating the cycle of corruption either as beneficiaries or benefactors. These enemies in citizens’ clothing are those who choose to be spectators while the nation goes down the drain on their watch; those perverts on the pulpit who hide under togas of godliness to manipulate the vulnerable; those economic behemoths who window dress their underhandedness with ‘filthlanthropy’; those who are perpetually “not on seat” because they can’t “come and go and die;” those who rob, rape, raze, pillage, abduct, murder, dismember in the name of hunger or misguided rage; those who sell their votes or connive with political bandits to short-change their children’s children; those who partake of loot and celebrate looters from the same ethnic group or religious organisation; those who say of the looters, ‘We know say na thief, but this thief na our thief’.
“At the local level of government, the true enemies of our nation are those agents of oppression who place excruciating multiple tax burdens on often defenceless Nigerians – the petty traders, okada riders, keke drivers, bricklayers, pepper grinders, carpenters, vulcanisers, mechanics and other artisans…
“At the state level…are those state governments that feed fat on unaccounted-for security votes…; those who paralyse local governance structures in such a manner that discredits genuine arguments for restructuring and devolution of powers….
“At the zonal level, the enemies of Nigeria are those who have perverted their influence and turned the states within their zones of influence into personal estates…
“At the federal level, the true enemies of Nigeria are in every arm of government. In the judiciary, they are judges who pervert justice and auction judgements to the highest bidder. In the legislature, they are those legislators who rob the nation “under the guise of constituency projects” and are quick to pass laws that undermine our national freedoms… In the executive arm… are those who deploy the machinery of state against hapless citizens; those who serve self rather than the people….”
Zeroing on the presidency, Bakare suggests three pivots that could birth a worthy legacy for the Buhari persona, and provoke the stirrings of a truly new and progressive Nigeria. Understandably, only the last leg of the three pivots captured the imagination of the media. Here are some cut-outs of the two critical pivots. Deconstructing Barrack Obama’s iconic uppercut to African despots while visiting Ghana in July, 2009 (“Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions”), Bakare affirms: “A strongman is different from a strong leader… Africa does need strong leaders; men and women who will build strong institutions. Therefore, providing strong leadership must be the first pivotal agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government in the next three years… It means now, more than ever, being not just the Commander-in-Chief but also the Unifier-in-Chief of an increasingly fragmented and disillusioned populace; to offer hope, inspiration….”
The second pivot is hinged on the mainframe of strong leadership: “We must strengthen institutions of justice by adherence to the rule of law and respect for court judgements…We must also strengthen institutions of accountability by enforcing transparency in government revenue and expenditure….”
The third pivot is where the robber missed the road. We don’t need quotes to make that clear. In spite of extensive borrowings from the succession paradigms of Deng Xiaoping, Nelson Mandela, Lee Kuan Yew…our agenda setters still muddled up the prairie, and substituted successor for succession as holistic approach to legacies of quality, committed and responsible leadership cadre.
Here’s a parting shot, a warning for Pastor Bakare: When next you give your broadcast, you may spend as long as you want on air – fervently dividing and delivering the word as you’re led…when it’s time to deal with the media, it is advisable you munch your text equivalence to far less than a quarter of your speech. You see, those copious Biblical passages and parables you so much love to contextualize your statements, to the media controlled by a tribe deeply irreverent and devoutly irreligious, that’s all mumbo-jumbo embellishment. This angst will often enable them to miss the spine of your arguments, and set you on a path that you have not envisioned. Simply put, less is much better. And less stressful.