Fiery preacher and founder, The Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare on Sunday said President Muhammadu Buhari will become a failed president if he refused to tear down the 1999 constitution before leaving office.
Bakare spoke while delivering the State of the Nation address at his Church on Oregun Way, Ikeja, Lagos, a PM News’ report says.
Bakare was the running mate of Muhammadu Buhari in the 2011 Nigeria presidential election in the defunct Congress for Progressive Change/Action Congress of Nigeria merger.
The reports said he urged Buhari to stop passing the buck to the National Assembly in giving the nation a brand new constitution before leaving office in 2023.
Following the report, the vocal clergy said, “I say to President Muhammadu Buhari: Mr President, stop passing the buck to the National Assembly. Tear down this inhibiting concoction of a constitution; tear it down so we can build a truly great nation! This is one enduring legacy your administration can still secure before your time in power draws to a close.
“If you do, present and unborn generations of Nigerians will remember you for it and write your name in gold when the history of
this period is written. If you don’t, history will record that you failed to rise to the occasion and squandered a great opportunity.
“What we need is a geo-political structure that will provide an enabling environment for every zone in our nation to maximize its geo-economic opportunities and potentials under a strong and united Nigeria. This can be achieved by a pragmatic approach to restructuring Nigeria, rather than by mere zoning of the presidency,” he said.
Bakare stated that those clamouring and waiting for genuine change to happen through the upcoming 2023 presidential election, without first insisting that the imposed sham of a constitution must be torn and discarded, were merely putting the cart before the horse.
He said this was nothing but a prescription for retrogression, arguing that no tangible progress could ever be made by such exercise he said is in futility.
Bakare added that it would be tantamount to building a superstructure on a faulty or shaky foundation, saying that as patriots, they have presented to the current government pragmatic pathways to such a geo-economic, geo-social and geo-political restructuring of Nigeria.
“However, given the lack of political will on the part of the government, the time has come for Nigerian citizens to make informed and compelling demands on the political system. The purpose of this address is to equip the citizens with the tools to do this,” he added.
