Whether as influential oracles of the people or as eloquent inquisitors and champions of truth, Pastor Tunde Bakare and Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK) stand on equal footing. What happens when these self-styled voices of a generation turn against themselves?—exactly what is happening now.
FFK recently faulted Pastor Bakare’s position on the merits of All Progressives Congress (APC) National chieftain, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. According to FFK, Bakare’s buttering up to Tinubu is incompatible with his (Bakare’s) position as a man of God. Thus, declared FFK, Bakare should stop using the pulpit to spread his propaganda.
FFK’s diatribe (interestingly titled “Who is Squeezing Bakare’s Balls?”) drew on the fact that Pastor Tunde Bakare openly condemned Tinubu just a year ago, attributing the underdevelopment, corruption and instability of the Nigerian economy to selfish leaders like Tinubu; now, 14 months later, the same Bakare hallows the same Tinubu, styling him a paragon of democracy and development.
Possibly because his pastorship requires that his words be salted with grace, Pastor Tunde Bakare allegedly poked at something that happened with FFK about 30 years ago. Drawing from the gist, FFK was afflicted with something that mandated him to spend some time in a Bible School in Ghana. According to reports, that is all that Bakare has said about FFK’s query on who is squeezing his testicles.
This is not the first time that Pastor Bakare is commenting on politics or Tinubu (as FFK pointed out). In the same vein, this is not the first time that FFK is criticising abuse of clerical positions for what appears to be personal choices or preferences. Furthermore, FFK is not the only notable socio-political commentator accusing Bakare of misusing the pulpit—what FFK brought to the table is a stark portrait of Bakare’s apparent vacillation on Tinubu.
It is still too early to decide how all these will end. But the war of words continues with Pastor Tunde Bakare’s reputation (and integrity) on the line, and Femi Fani-Kayode poking at figurative private parts.
