The President of the Global Apostolic Impact Network (GAIN), Pastor Tunde Bakare is no stranger to many.
Speaking at the Independence Day edition of The Platform Nigeria 2020, Pastor Bakare did not mince words when he spoke to critical national security and economic issues bedevilling Nigeria at 60, giving Biblical correlations to some of his allusions while advising on how the tide of insecurity and underdevelopment can be turned around.
On the state of the economy, Bakare noted that the likes of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea, who were where we were 60years ago have left us behind, due to our inability to put the right people in positions of power. He prayed that deliberations at this year’s Platform would stir leaders to put the best people in strategic positions to move the nation forward.
On the issue of Federal Character in Nigeria politics, he noted that there is no state or ethnicity in Nigeria that does not have the crème-de-la-crème fit to serve, while also making a case especially for the church’s engagement in nation-building, according to Romans 8:19. While lauding the idea behind Federal Character, he advised that to get the best from it, we must put round pegs in round holes. Citing the United Kingdom as a model, he believes that policy formulators should be drawn into the civil service from our universities or research institutions. He decried leadership in Nigeria as typified by Mathew 15:14 where the blind lead the blind; more so in our case, where the blind lead the seeing.
On national security, Pastor Bakare lamented that the government has come short on security, economic diversification and fight against corruption. He’s concerned that various reports from the war front are disturbing indicators of a structural problem and further cast doubt as to whether the war on terror is being won; not to mention security agents’ struggle to contain banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery in various parts of the country. He decried mixed priorities when the leadership would rather deploy thirty thousand policemen to oversee an electoral process while far less are left pursuing criminals. He called on the President to find better hands for the job, especially as current service chiefs have overstayed their welcome.
There is character deficiency in Nigeria. If we don’t fix our moral compass, we are going no where.
On national growth and development, Bakare highlights the following areas as catalysts for rapid progress in fixing the country:
- Moral Compass, an urgent national, internal and personal introspection and redemption to address lack of personal and corporate integrity in civil governance.
- Continuity in Governance, the need for successive governments to demonstrate selflessness in seeing valuable projects of preceding governments to fruition.
- Education, the need to prioritize the standard of education (with a focus on cutting edge Mathematics and Science curricula) and build human capital, while also giving the health sector equal attention.
While encouraging Nigerians not to give in to oppression, Pastor Bakare ends his session on an impactful note when he shared his approach to nation-building: “My job is not to be a voice to the voiceless but to restore voice to the voiceless.”