Pastor Tunde Bakare, the Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, cautioned 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 towards authoritarianism, according to Bakare, who stated this at a State of the Nation broadcast in a church in Ikeja, Lagos.
Read Also: SERAP Sues Senate Over Plans To Spend N70bn Palliatives On New Members
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 imperium presidency, one that would slide towards dictatorship and would be intolerant of dissent.”
Bakare’s comments were regarding the arrest, detention and prosecution of the suspended Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, as well as the detention of the former boss of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, by the Department of State Services.
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.”
Reacting, Tunde Bakare said, “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.”
