Senior Pastor of the Citadel Global Community Church, Tunde Bakare, told his congregation on Sunday that he warned against the “Emilokan” kind of politics.
Emilokan, a Yoruba saying, meaning ‘It’s my turn,’ became very popular when it was used by President Bola Tinubu during his 2023 pre-election campaign.
Bakare, during a State of the Nation broadcast, at the church in Ikeja, Lagos, said ’Emilokan’ was a tendency of authoritarianism.
During his speech themed ‘Vice, Virtue & Time: Three Things That Never Stand Still,’ the cleric said, “I’m reminded of the warning that I sounded to Nigerians in January 2023 in my address titled, ‘Bridging the gap between politics and governance.’
“I warned that the politics of entitlement; the ’Emilokan’ type of politics would breed an imperial presidency, one that would slide towards dictatorship and would be intolerant of dissent.”
He also warned the Federal Government against making the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele a scapegoat over how he handled the country’s monetary policy.
According to him, Emefiele couldn’t have acted without presidential authorization.
“Mr Godwin Emefiele may have made the wrong judgement calls in the management of Nigeria’s monetary policy, but he must not be made a scapegoat.
“If Emefiele is found liable for any crime, by all means he should be prosecuted. However, considering the dynamics of the pre-election environment and the then candidate Bola Tinubu’s public allegation that the naira redesign policy was targeted at him, the optics of the president targeting Emefiele for prosecution after winning the election and being sworn in as the president could be interpreted as a form of vendetta far beneath such a distinguished office,” Bakare said.
Bakare added that, “The actions of the DSS have raised concerns about professionalism and adherence to the rule of law. The reported invasion of the premises of the EFCC and the handling of the case of Emefiele have sparked discussions regarding the need for due process and equitable application 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.”
Recall that the DSS arrested Emefiele in June, which according to the spokesperson of the security agency, Peter Afunanya, “was on the strength of suspected fresh criminal infractions/information, one of which forms the basis for his current prosecution.”
The Federal High Court in Lagos, last Thursday, fixed August 15 to hear an application by Emefiele seeking to halt his trial by the Federal Government through the DSS.
