Convener of Save Nigeria Group (SNG), Pastor Tunde Bakare
By Omololu Ogunmade
Convener of Save Nigeria Group (SNG), Pastor Tunde Bakare, Sunday called the bluff of the State Security Service (SSS), describing the agency’s instruction, asking him to “tone down” the volume of his message as nothing but an exercise in futility.
Bakare, who is the Pastor of Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos, told his congregation that Sunday’s message was a follow-up to last week’s, titled: “How to Change Government Peacefully and Make Society Better,” where he listed four ways by which he said President Goodluck Jonathan would exit power ahead of 2015.
The four ways he listed were: the unquestionable God factor, resignation, impeachment and the people’s revolt.
He advised Jonathan to choose one of them, insisting that one of the four will happen before 2015.
Consequent on this, he was invited by SSS who advised him to reduce the tempo of his message to avoid heating up the polity.
He explained that the men of the SSS did not arrest him but only invited him and treated him with every sense of respect and civility at the agency’s Shangisha, Lagos office on July 23, vowing that he would rather increase the intensity of his message than reduce it.
Citing various Biblical instances where men of God were intimidated without being cowed by persons he called “fox,” Bakare warned security agents to be careful in daring servants of God.
“Secret service agents, men of the armed forces and the police, hear the word of Lord – be careful how you carry out your assignment against genuine servants of God by any label – apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher.“
“Be careful not to obey the last order, especially if the last order is evil or against natural justice; you cannot obey such without bringing damnation upon your own head,” he warned.
He said anyone who thought that he had been criticising Jonathan because he has something against him has missed the point, saying his crusade is rather “against bad governance, misappropriation of state funds, embezzlement of public funds and spending money like water without appropriation,” adding: “I am against whoever does any of such things.”