2023: Bakare takes swipe at Tinubu, calls ‘emilokan’ politics of entitlement

Chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Presidential aspirant, Pastor Tunde Bakare has taken a swipe at the party’s candidate in the forthcoming General Election, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, whose ‘emilokan’ slogan he called politics of entitlement, which according to him, is ‘bad for Nigerian politics.’

Pastor Tunde Bakare, who is also the Presiding Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church (formerly known as the Latter Rain Assembly), also frowned at the decision of Tinubu to delegate the duty of fielding questions to his associates, as he called it ‘politics of entitlement, which, he added, is bad politics.

Speaking during presentation of his State-of-the-Nation address (also called New Year message), Sunday, Pastor Bakare also frown at Tinubu’s penchant for delegating fielding of questions to his associates, instead of responding to them directly, saying ‘good politicians do not ask others to answer questions directed at them.’

It would be recalled that while featuring in a political forum in London, recently, Tinubu had opted to delegate fielding of questions to some of his accompanying associates, including; the Kaduna and Lagos states governors; Nasir el-Rufai, and Babajide Sanwo-Olu, respectively; as well as, the Director of Strategic Communication of APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Aleke, and a former Commissioner for Finance in Lagos, Wale Edun.

Reacting to the development, in his message, Bakare warned against politics of entitlement, describing it as bad politics, adding that politicians with a sense of entitlement evade political debate and fail to address Nigerians they seek to serve, as he also asked Nigerians to reject vote buyers in the 2023 election and called for entrenchment of good politics which focuses on issues of development.

“This ’emi lo kan’ politics that insists on one’s turn, even if circumstances do not align, is bad. Politics of entitlement also manifests as perennial candidacy, not with the intent to serve, but to gratify long personal ambitions. It could also manifest as insistence on a given political office as a reward for what one considers a lifetime of sacrifice to the nation. Politicians with a sense of entitlement evade political debates and do not consider it imperative to communicate with the electorate.

“Entitlement politics will breed an imperial presidency that is distant from the people and has no sense of responsibility or accountability to the people. Such imperial governance will slide towards dictatorship and will be intolerant of dissent.

“Entitlement politicians set low performance benchmarks for themselves when they secure power and are content with projecting molehills as mountains of achievement . Good Politics, Good Governance, Fellow Nigerians, having completed our analysis of bad politics and the bad governance it outputs, let us now take a look at good politics and its output of good governance. Good politics is pragmatic politics in the interest of the people.

“Politicians who practice good politics talk to the people they intend to govern; by communicating, they allay fears, restore hope, and assure the citizenr. It is engaging and interactive p : The practitioners of good politics are open to interrogation and they do not avoid debates or evade difficult questions. It is inclusive : good politics gives a sense of belonging to historically excluded or vulnerable groups, including women, young people, the elderly, and persons living with disabilities,” he said.

It would be recalled that in his New Year Day letter addressed to the Nigerian youth ahead of the forthcoming General Election, former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, had frowned at the popular ‘Emi Lo Kan’ slogan of Asiwaju Tinubu, which he had described as a ‘wrong attitude and mentality for the leadership of Nigeria now.’

According to Chief Obasanjo, the Nigerian youth should instead turn the slogan to ‘Eyin Lokan’ (Your turn), insisting that in the forthcoming poll, ‘If for any reason you fail to redeem yourself and your country, you will have lost the opportunity for good and you will have no one to blame but yourselves and posterity will not forgive you.’

“Let me say straight away that ‘Emi Lokan’ (My turn) and ‘I have paid my dues’ are one and the same thing and are wrong attitude and mentality for the leadership of Nigeria now. They cannot form the new pedestal to reinvent and to invest in a new Nigeria based on an All-Nigeria Government for the liberation and restoration of Nigeria.

“Such a government must have representation from all sectors of our national life – public, private, civil society, professional, labour, employers, and the diaspora. The solution should be in ‘we’ and ‘us’ and not in ‘me’ and ‘I’.

“My dear young men and women, you must come together and bring about a truly meaningful change in your lives. If you fail, you have no one else to blame. Your present and future are in your hands to make or to mar.

“The future of Nigeria is in the same manner in your hands and literally so. If for any reason you fail to redeem yourself and your country, you will have lost the opportunity for good and you will have no one to blame but yourselves and posterity will not forgive you. Get up, get together, get going and get us to where we should be. And you, the youth, it is your time and your turn. ‘Eyin Lokan’ (Your turn),” OBJ stated.

Obasanjo, therefore, appealed to the Nigerian youth to eschew long-held societal prejudices and form a common front against ethnic and religious biases so as to elect a leader with a national vision and goal, as he also urged young Nigerians ‘to stop inheriting other people’s prejudices and enemies. Make your own friends and stop inheriting your father’s enemies.’

“Can we let the past go? I appeal to the young Nigerians to stop inheriting other people’s prejudices and enemies. Make your own friends and stop inheriting your father’s enemies.

“Let’s stop criminalizing and demonizing one another on the basis of the civil war on which we are all wrong. And let’s praise and thank God for preserving the oneness of Nigeria. The Scripture says that if God would take account of all our wrongdoings, nobody would be able to stand before Him. While not suffering from amnesia, let us stop still fighting and reacting to the civil war in our hearts, minds, heads and our attitude acrimoniously.