Bakare Declares Tinubu’s Emergence “Divine,” Rejects Pressure To Join ADC …Says “You Don’t Birth A child Called APC And Then Try To kill It Yourself”

Founder of the Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has described the emergence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Nigeria’s leader as an act of divine providence, saying no one can deny that God had a hand in his rise to power.

Bakare, who played a pivotal role in the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC), made the remark on Saturday during the maiden edition of the Citadel School of Governance Dialogue Series themed “Nigeria at 65: Historical Reflections, Futuristic Projections” held in Lagos.

According to the fiery cleric and former presidential aspirant, Tinubu’s political ascendancy and the developments that followed could not have occurred without divine orchestration.

“If God wants to remove emilokan, He knows how to do it. You can’t get the kind of thing Tinubu has brought without God’s support,” Bakare declared, referring to the Yoruba phrase ‘Èmi ló kàn’ (meaning “It’s my turn”), which became Tinubu’s campaign mantra in 2023.

Bakare also revealed that he has been under intense pressure from prominent political figures, including a former governor and a prominent politician from the South-West, to defect from the APC to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

“There has been a lot of pressure on me from the who-is-who to join ADC. They come to my home. Even while I was abroad, the hierarchy of that party kept calling, saying they needed my voice,” he said.

The pastor noted that even some of his younger political associates—who rose to prominence through the APC—had appealed to him to lend his influence to the opposition party.

However, Bakare made it clear that he has no intention of abandoning the APC, a party he helped to form, or aligning himself with any rival group.

“I am not going to take part in ADC. The last time I heard about ADC was about a plane that crashed,” he quipped, drawing laughter from the audience. “I wish them well because we need a robust opposition. But you don’t birth a child called APC and then try to kill it yourself.”

In a veiled warning to political actors in the South-West, Bakare cautioned against internal divisions similar to the historical rivalry between Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief S.L. Akintola, which fractured the old Action Group in the 1960s.

“We are not going to have another Awolowo–Akintola crisis in the South-West,” he warned. “We must learn from history so that we don’t destroy the house we helped to build.”

The cleric urged Nigerians to engage constructively in politics and governance, rather than resorting to bitterness and factionalism, stressing that meaningful change can only come through unity, dialogue, and moral leadership.

Pastor Bakare, a long-time political commentator and one-time running mate to President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2011 presidential election under the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), was among the key figures who participated in the 2013 merger that birthed the APC.

Though he has often been critical of government policies and leadership failures, Bakare’s latest remarks mark one of his strongest acknowledgments of President Tinubu’s political legitimacy since the 2023 general election.

The dialogue series, organized by the Citadel School of Governance, drew participants from academia, the clergy, civil society, and the political class, focusing on lessons from Nigeria’s post-independence journey and the path toward a more accountable and visionary leadership.

Bakare concluded his remarks by calling for a new generation of leaders “driven by principle, not ambition,” who will uphold truth, justice, and integrity in the nation’s governance.

“Nigeria’s 65 years have been a journey of both grace and grit. The future will depend on whether we learn from our past or keep repeating it,” he said.