…Says it will breed dictatorship
Presiding Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church (erstwhile called Latter Rain Assembly), Pastor Tunde Bakare, has distanced himself what he described as entitlement politics of Emi lokan’ saying it will breed dictatorship.
This is in apparent reference to All Progressives Congress,APC flag bearer,Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who popularised the saying during the party’s presidential primary.
In a state-of-the-nation address, on Sunday, Bakare described Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s slogan of ’emi lokan’ as an entitlement mentality the country could live without.
I almost collapsed when I got a call from Adeboye’s wife-Bakare
He bemoaned the killing of Lagos Governorship Candidate Funsho Williams and Power Minister Bola Ige, and other politicians killed in this dispensation.
Bakare pinpointed the culprits of the killings as those afraid that the victims were better rated than they were.
Bakare explained that the politics of ’emi lokan’ failed to focus on serving the people but rather was about gratifying a personal ambition, adding that, it would be wrong to sacrifice the destiny of an entire country for the ambition of a single politician.
Although he never mentioned any candidate, the ’emi lokan’ slang belongs to the APC Presidential Candidate, Tinubu.
The term ’emi lo kan’ which means ‘it is my turn’ in Yoruba language was made popular by the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, who used it to canvass for votes in Abeokuta, Ogun State in the build up to his party’s primary election last June.
Bakare added that such a mentality made those in power lean toward dictatorship and made them less accountable to the people who elected them.
He said: “This ’emi lo kan’ politics that insists on one’s turn, even if circumstances do not align, is bad. Politics of entitlement also manifests as perennial candidacy, not with the intent to serve, but to gratify long personal ambitions. It could also manifest as insistence on a given political office as a reward for what one considers a lifetime of sacrifice to the nation. Politicians with a sense of entitlement evade political debates and do not consider it imperative to communicate with the electorate.
“Entitlement politics will breed an imperial presidency that is distant from the people and has no sense of responsibility or accountability to the people. Such imperial governance will slide towards dictatorship and will be intolerant of dissent.
“Entitlement politicians set low performance benchmarks for themselves when they secure power and are content with projecting molehills as mountains of achievement. Good Politics, Good Governance, Fellow Nigerians, having completed our analysis of bad politics and the bad governance it outputs, let us now take a look at good politics and its output of good governance. Good politics is pragmatic politics in the interest of the people.
Bakare also added that anyone interested in occupying a political office must be willing to communicate directly and engage with the voters.
“Politicians who practice good politics talk to the people they intend to govern; by communicating, they allay fears, restore hope, and assure the citizens. It is engaging and interactive. The practitioners of good politics are open to interrogation and they do not avoid debates or evade difficult questions. It is inclusive: good politics gives a sense of belonging to historically excluded or vulnerable groups, including women, young people, the elderly, and persons living with disabilities,” he said.
Tinubu had stirred reactions by delegating some questions asked him during his interactive session at Chatham House, London, late last year.
