Pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly, End- time Church, Tunde Bakare while speaking during the first new year service at his Ikeja church, in what he tagged “The State of the Nation Broadcast” yesterday, Bakare urged Nigerians to cross check properly whether it would not be hypocritical to feign ignorance regarding the foreboding state of the nation and he said,
“Can we not see the clouds gathering ahead of a major storm? Warning! There is too much turbulence ahead! A competent helmsman knows not to sail in such a situation instead of ignoring the weather forecast only to subsequently shipwreck, kill himself, the crew and the passengers, as well as destroy the ship and cargo!
“In like manner, the journey of the ship of the Nigerian state has thus far been difficult and we have largely been drifting under the influence of the winds. It is clear that a great storm lies ahead as we are approaching elections without addressing the fundamental flaws in the polity”.
“I must also warn that if we sail into general elections at this time without fixing the fundamentals, no matter what precaution is taken by the helmsman and the owner of the ship, once the ship sets sail from Fair Havens, an encounter with Euroclydon would be inevitable”, he warned.
Noting, however, that no such extension of the polls should exceed a period of six months at any one time, Bakare said, “The argument against this would be the notion that the country is not at war. If indeed the country is not at war, how can one explain the invasion and annexation of Nigerian territory by insurgents launching attacks from our borders and neighbouring countries?”
He recalled Jonathan’s remarks during his declaration of state of emergency in three states that the activities of terrorists amounted to a declaration of war and a deliberate attempt to undermine the authority of the Nigerian state and threaten its territorial integrity.
Observing that from available records, the situation had only gotten worse since the president made that declaration, Bakare opined that if the country was at war as the president had said then, “it is even more so now”.
He continued: “Therefore, I submit that if the President considers that a part of the federation will be disenfranschised by reason of the Boko Haram plague, a postponement of the election may not be out of place.
“In my view, the litmus test to arrive at the type of war contemplated by the constitution is the practicality of getting people in the affected states to line up to vote for candidates of their choice in situations where they cannot predict when the next attack will be launched by insurgents.
“I hold the view that the drafters of the law feared for mass disenfranchisement of Nigerians who will refuse to risk their lives, hence the requirement that the nation wins the war before conducting an election”.
Bakare posited an alternative argument in which he called on Nigerian to ensure a replacement for Jonathan who, he said, has shown gross incompetence in tackling the insurgents.
He further clarified that the proposal for suspension of elections was not aimed at “giving the president an avenue for undue tenure elongation but for the purpose of building a coalition that will bring lasting solutions to our problems”.
Recommending the way forward, Bakare called for the creation of a transitional government, saying “in suspending the elections, to gain the support of all stakeholders, the president must not act with the intention to seek re-election.
“Rather, he should, within the period, commit himself to building a non-partisan coalition comprised of major stakeholders and competent statesmen from each geopolitical zone. This coalition, headed by the president, will constitute a combined force that will tackle terrorism and address what I have earlier referred to as the fundamentals, within a time frame of two years or less”, he added.
He further called for the conduct of accurate census, the establishment of a truly independent electoral body, the creation of a true people’s constitution that will reflect the aforementioned features and the conduct of a free, fair and credible elections in the consensually accepted constitutional arrangement.
Source: Leadership
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