Buhari gave me N5m for Citadel – Tunde Bakare

 

BY LINUS CHIBUIKE

THE General Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari gave him N5million as his contribution to the construction of the multi-billion naira Citadel complex.

He disclosed this just as he stressed that his relationship with the President was mainly about nation building and a great legacy for his administration rather than personal gains, The Point reports.

According to the Pastor, who was Buhari’s running mate during the 2011 presidential election, under the Congress for Progressive Change, the N5million contribution was paid to the church account and traced to the President by handlers through the depositor.

Bakare, who disclosed this shortly before he began his widely publicised State of the Nation Broadcast, also noted that burning down private and public properties to show grievances was a wrong approach because the price would eventually be paid by all.

“When you burn down TVC, your anguish is against Tinubu. How about those working there? The things you have ruined, can you rebuild them? I understand it has run into trillions,” he said.

“Is that the society you want to live in? Did GTB and the founders offend you? We are angry and all of a sudden, we burn down so many things…This should not be the case,” he added.

Going into the main address, Bakare said, “Unfortunately, the protests took a sad turn, from the attacks on protesters by thugs, to the infiltration of protests by hoodlums unleashing mayhem in cities and communities.

“According to Alan Bible: No nation, no matter how enlightened, can endure criminal violence. If we cannot control it, we are admitting to the world and to ourselves that our laws are no more than a facade that crumbles when the winds of crisis arise.

“Furthermore, in the words of President Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ): The poor suffer twice at the rioter’s hands: First, when his destructive fury scars their neighbourhood; second, when the atmosphere of accommodation and consent is changed to one of hostility and resentment.

“Unfortunately, this is where peaceful protests hijacked by thugs and hoodlums have landed us. Be that as it may, governments at the federal and state levels have lent credence to the conclusion of protesters that the government itself was behind these smokescreen tactics to discredit the protests.

“By its actions and inactions, the government has burned the bridge of trust. It is my hope that this address will help rebuild that bridge and resolve the issues in the interest of the Nigerian nation.”

He, however, said any attempt to resolve the issues must go beyond the surface to excavate underlying factors.

“Our overarching challenge is systemic governance failure which, over the decades, has worsened the living conditions of Nigerians. As a result, although the Special Anti-Robbery Squad has been disbanded, the spirit of SARS continues to prowl unchecked,” Bakare, who is Chairman of the Royal Commonwealth Society (Africa), stated.

-ThePoint