Tunde Bakare warns against 'Emilokan' politics.
Pastor Tunde Bakare, the Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, advised his congregation on Sunday against "Emilokan" style politics.
Emilokan, a Yoruba proverb that translates to "It's my turn," gained enormous popularity after President Bola Tinubu used it during his 2023 pre-election campaign.
'Emilokan' is a predisposition toward authoritarianism, according to Bakare, who stated this at a State of the Nation broadcast in a church in Ikeja, Lagos.
"I warned that 'emilokan' or entitlement politics would breed an imperium presidency, one that would veer toward dictatorship and be intolerable of dissent."
Bakare made his remarks in reference to the Department of State Services' arrest, custody, and prosecution of Godwin Emefiele, the suspended governor of the Central Bank, as well as the detention of Abdulrasheed Bawa, the former director of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Last Thursday, the Federal High Court in Lagos set August 15 as the date for hearing Emefiele's application to suspend his trial by the Federal Government through the DSS.
Bakare responded, saying, "The DSS's actions have raised concerns about professionalism and adherence to the rule of law." The reported invasion of the EFCC's facilities and the handling of Emefiele's case have aroused debate about the importance of due process and the equitable administration of justice.
"The handling of the Emefiele case has sent a signal to the world and the current President's disposition to the war against corruption."
According to the priest, the current administration's war on corruption is equivalent to making some people scapegoats simply because they are corrupt.
He stated that Emefiele, if found guilty, should be prosecuted, adding that while the suspended CBN governor may have made a mistake in managing the country's monetary affairs, he should not be made a scapegoat because he could not have acted without presidential authorization.
