Pastor Tunde Bakare, founder The Citadel Global Community Church, has warned rancorous Yoruba elders to stop their scheming against the National leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu ahead of 2023 presidency, as they would fail.
Bakare, in a viral video while delivering a sermon in his church said those Yoruba elders and others scheming against Tinubu have not achieved anything and that they were only envious of him.
“At this junction, I have a word for Yoruba people whose stock in trade is nothing but a rancorous noise characterized by bitterness and resentment about the ancestry of the former two-time governor of Lagos State Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Hello! carry your stone. Can I repeat myself? I said I have a word for those Yoruba rancorous elements and noisemakers who have not achieved as much as Asiwaju Bola Tinubu but worrying themselves about his ancestry. They are quick to tell you he is from Iragbiji, Osun State, he is not from Lagos State as if that will resolve the issues that we face today,” he said.
According to Bakare, knowing the name of Tinubu’s mother or father could not put food on the table of the hungry or create jobs for the unemployed, saying that despite his growing up and challenges, he, like Jephthah delivered Lagos State and nearly all Southwest States from the onslaught of the PDP from 1999 to 2007 and “truth be told, without his cooperation, the victory of APC in 2015 would not have been possible.”
“People, please note, I am not Asiwaju’s brand manager, and definitely do not endorse everything you might have read about his presence, lifestyle, politics and his businesses. All I know, just as every saint has a past and every sinner has a future, and the best of men are still men, frankly speaking, I am not sure that many of his traducers would have survived if they have gone through the similitude of life that Tinubu went through. Therefore those who are envious of him should stop their useless talk about him and busy themselves with what can add value to society,” he stated.
Bakare added that Tinubu could not choose his biological parents, and that no one could forbid him from choosing his role model or stop him from changing his name.
He said to Tinubu’s credit, like Jephthah, he had fought many battles for the Yoruba people and won despite his rough beginning and and that God did not need anybody’s permission to put such people in hall of fame despite their past deeds and ancestry.
“Let me tell you why you must receive my admonition, I was at home when messages were sent to my whatsApp phone, elder statesmen and strange bird fellows, saying that in order to deliver Yoruba people, we must come together and their representatives came to my house and said Pastor they have put ‘my name there’ they did not consult me before they put my name.
“They put other eminent Yoruba people there also. They said they are doing a conference in January so that the Yoruba people can take a position against the onslaught of their perceived enemies, so I asked the man who came to my house, ‘who are you planning to kill?’ He said no! we are not planning to kill anybody, but to do what is right so that the Yoruba people can be free.
“I said when Pilate and Herod agreed on a common thing, it is because they wanted to kill Jesus. I told him what he was not ready to listen to, I told him, have you gone to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a buy-in? He said yes, they have reached him and he has agreed to play ball with them but that there are things to agree on later and a week after, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu also fixed the same date in Ibadan for their own summit, summoning the obas and southwest governors to be there. Who will follow the other? Nobody.
“I am telling you the truth, your humble pie eat it, when you were sleeping, Tinubu was working day and night to secure Lagos, secure Ogun, secure Oyo , Osun, Ekiti, Ondo, Edo and you said he is nobody, ‘Ode’. He is not a fool. Stop all these nonsense about ancestry, you will kill your hero and those who can deliver you, you will put them aside and nothing will happen. Stop plotting and scheming against someone, he has his past and you have yours. Even Pope has a past, don’t let me expose your men of God O. But they all have their past, before I expose them, I have my past too and you do too.
“Stop all these rancorous noise of bitterness. I will defend the right of even my enemies when they have that right. Has he done something with power? Yes, has he done all things well? No. but he did his best, you can’t give more than what you have. Therefore, let us sit round the table and said these are the challenges, Jephthah we need you. Do you know how long I told the Yoruba elders to do this, over 10 years ago.
“They are now going around, milling around him. We are going to fix this country and nobody has a monopoly of wisdom to do it. I know what I am saying today will create lots of backlash on social media. Call me names, I know my names, call me what you like but let us face it,” he stated.