
TEXT OF SPEECH BY PASTOR ‘TUNDE BAKARE AT THE STATE OF THE NATION BROADCAST ON EASTER SUNDAY, APRIL 20, 2025.
Introduction
Fellow citizens,
It is fitting that today’s state of the nation broadcast is being delivered to a nation in need of resurrection this Easter Sunday. In the Book of Ezekiel, the prophet was transported to a valley full of dry bones where God asked him, “Can these bones live?”1 I imagine He is also asking us today: “Can Nigeria live?” If we think of the mass grave in Bassa, Jos into which over fifty of our citizens were lowered on Tuesday; if we think of the sense of foreboding, hunger, sorrow, shame, and of utter hopelessness, we may be moved in our broken humanity to answer, “No.”
Yet, it is precisely in moments such as this, when hope, far from being renewed, is depleted; it is in moments like this that truth becomes as precious as oxygen to our body politic. For today’s State of the Nation Broadcast, I am borrowing words attributed to Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States of America, as my title. He said, “Let the people know the truth and the country is safe.”2 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.
People of faith have prayed to the point of weariness, and any call for prayer now appears to be a mere religious ritual. Some have concluded that we have prayed long enough,3 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.
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. My admonition, titled “A Word in Season for the Nigerian Government: A Timely Counsel in Our Season of Great Challenge and Great Need,”4 was based on the encounter between Joseph and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, as recorded in Genesis 41.I said to Mr. President:
Dear President Tinubu, please borrow a leaf from the pharaoh who ruled Egypt at the time of Joseph. This particular pharaoh showed remarkable wisdom and insight, as well as a heart receptive to truth. God strategically positioned this humble man as king over Egypt at a crucial time in world history. […] When he awoke from his dream, he recognised something odd was happening. As a strong leader, he acknowledged his sense of unease. But as a humble leader, he enlisted the advice of others. He summoned Joseph, who successfully interpreted his dreams. Pharaoh knew his kingdom hung in the balance, as he carefully processed the message God had given him through Joseph.
I then went ahead to declare and pray:
God is about to do something with Nigeria that will cause nations of the earth to come here and learn. May the good Lord grant President Tinubu hearing ears [and an] understanding heart to do the needful for Nigeria’s turnaround, for the betterment of our citizens…
A Distasteful State of Affairs
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. 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.
From the theatre of the absurd staged in Rivers State, with puppets on strings controlled by directors in Abuja, to the dance of shame performed by the National Assembly in their rush to suspend the constitution and endorse, through the backdoor, the usurpation of powers by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; from the Senate’s shameless bid to silence Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for demanding that the President of the Nigerian Senate uphold the moral standards required of that office, to the uncouth outbursts of an undistinguished senatorial misfit who tried in vain to silence the distinguished citizens attempting to testify on behalf of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, it is clear that our so-called leaders are determined to turn Nigeria into a mafia state.
Click here to read full document.
All Categories
Recent Posts
RECOGNISING AND EMBRACING GOD’S GRACE GIFTS
THE WILL AND THE CODICIL OF GOD 2
Join us for Sunday Worship Service
+234- 911-381-5851
info@thecitadeglobal.org