Tunde Bakare at 70
Even as an activist Pentecostal priest with an intense political complexion, he caused quite a stir when in 2019 he announced that he would be Nigeria’s president after Muhammadu Buhari. “To this end, I was born, and for this purpose, I came into the world,” he told his church members.
In 2011, he had accepted the offer to be Buhari’s running mate in the presidential election, under the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). They were unsuccessful. In 2022, he participated in the presidential primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to pick a candidate for the 2023 election ahead of Buhari’s completion of two terms as president. He was unsuccessful, but loudly asserted that he had participated in the primary righteously, by which he meant that he had not tried to use money to influence the delegates who voted.
Passionate about Nigeria’s progress and a vigorous promoter of good governance, Pastor Tunde Bakare, who turned 70 on November 11, can be described as a liberation theologian. “Nigerian political leaders have mostly not demonstrated empathy,” he was reported saying at a recent event.
He had rebelliously converted to Christianity in 1974, having been born into a devout Muslim family in Abeokuta, in present-day Ogun State. He founded The Latter Rain Assembly, now known as The Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC), in 1989. As the overseer of the church, he is known for his pugnacious preaching style, and sometimes controversial sermons.
After studying law at the University of Lagos, he practised with some notable law firms before establishing his own law firm in 1984.
He was a member of the Deeper Life Bible Church and the Redeemed Christian Church of God, where he founded the Model Parish, before he launched his own church, which brought a different flavour to Nigerian Pentecostalism.
In 2014, when he represented Ogun State at the National Conference, he rejected the N12m allowance for delegates. He was reported saying, “We go with integrity of heart, it is not money. The God of heaven will prosper us.”
According to a striking birthday tribute by his “close confidant,” Dr Segun Oshinaga, about two years before the end of the Buhari presidency, “the President attempted to give his friend a gift.” “It was an offer of an oil block,” he said, adding, “Many would have jumped at it calling it divine supply.” But Pastor Bakare told Buhari, “Thank you Mr President but I cannot accept this gift. It will spoil my brand. Oil block is a national treasure and if I get it just because I’m the President’s friend, then it becomes morally indefensible.”
As a co-convener of the Save Nigeria Group (SNG), which led significant civil demonstrations towards good governance, he displayed not only courage but also a commendable sense of patriotism. He said he distanced himself from the organisation after it was hijacked by the Jonathan administration.
As part of the activities to celebrate his 70th birthday, he donated a solar inverter to the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, demonstrating the importance of giving back to society. He said: “When I turned 50… I transformed my primary school into a model primary school. When I turned 60, I decided to contribute to my secondary school, Lisabi Grammar School. With the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lisabi received N474m, and today there is a Tunde Bakare House on the premises.” He added: “Now, as I turn 70, I felt it was time to give back to my university… I don’t have to be President to make an impact.”
We wish him many happy returns as he enters his septuagenarian years
