One of the promoters of the Save Nigeria Group (SNG), pastor Tunde Bakare has said that he now feels the impact of the January 15, 1966 failed military coup led by late Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzogwu based on current developments in Nigeria.
He said the failed Nzogwu’s military putsch against the then civilian government of the First Republic contributed much in deepening the poverty of leadership that has become the bane of the country.
Bakare, who is senior pastor of the Later Rain Assembly, made the disclosure on Thursday at the headquarters of the church in Lagos in an exclusive interview with Sunday Independent.
He said if the coup had succeeded, it would have rid Nigeria of bad leaders who, he said, profited from keeping the country divided for selfish gains.
He regretted that 44 years after the failed coup, several Nigerian leaders are still determined to profit from the country’s division. Said he: “How I wish the Nzeogwu coup had succeeded. It would at least have helped rid the nation of the bad eggs and help in welding it together and lay a solid foundation which we are still groping in the dark to achieve several years after.”
The fiery cleric said had the coup succeeded, the country would have been a better place to live, adding that the nation would have been rid of bad leaders who, he said, had held it hostage over the years to satisfy their selfish interest. He, however, warned that the problem of the country today transcends another military coup, hence that should not be contemplated.
Rather, Bakare said the country needed a committed leader who could rise up like the Italian leader, Giuseppi Garibaldi, and weld all the various nationalities of the country together for the purpose of realising its potentials as a great nation. On why he opted to hit the streets with the traditional Nigerian activists, Bakare said: “To inspire others and to take a stand and show that the present leadership in Nigeria is not what people wanted and to show that since social mobility in the present Nigeria is not fruitful there is the need to give voice to the voiceless and to let them say enough is enough to the present leadership in the country.”
He said the on going SNG nationwide rally is not a one off thing, rather a movement that is determined to enthrone good leadership. “Our target is not Yar’Adua because the problem of this country is not Yar’Adua, rather the system and we are determined to tackle the problem headlong and bring the best and brightest to the service of the nation.”
Continuing he said: “In spite of the rot in the system, some of us would not sit aside and allow the country to continue the downward movement which could be catastrophic.”
Bakare said if the country is left in the hands of those he considered as “a cabal manipulating the affairs of the country it could lead to its beak up.”
His words: “I totally believe in the oneness of this country and this informs the reason why we must act now to prevent it from breaking into pieces and this is not good for us as a people. I am totally sold up to the idea of Nigeria and I want it to realise its potentials.
“We are poised to enthroning good leadership in this country and we will not stop at that as our agenda is much more than the present set of leadership, rather the need to sensitise Nigerians to end this same rudderless government that has not bettered its lot over the years and we are prepared to do this even at great risk to our lives.
“This is just not one rally but a process that is beyond the present government or the 2011 general elections which under the present circumstances cannot bring any good thing to the country.
“We must realise that you cannot continue to use the same medicine for a problem that has refused to go. When you use the same method it means you are likely to get the same result and this time around, we want to achieve something different that would change the face of this country and prevent it from sliding back and we are poised to do this even at great risk to our lives.”
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