Former vice presidential candidate Pastor Tunde Bakare says it is his calling to lead Nigeria into its prophetic destiny, and that he may actualise that without any election.
Bakare, who is the General Overseer of the Latter Rain Church in Lagos, stated this while reacting to some comments generated by one of his new year prophesies in which he declared that God had asked him to run for President during his “State of the Nation” broadcast on Sunday.
In further clarification of the prophesy, he explained that he never said that he will run for election, but only asked the congregation to pray for him over the prophesy.
He said that the call to build the nation is not new to him, recalling how a vision he had as a 13-year-old where he discussed the future of Nigeria with two great leaders of the country changed his life.
He said, “The declaration was not a presidential campaign announcement; it was an invitation to prayers sent out to fellow labourers initiated in our corporate destiny as nation builders
“To the uninitiated, that declaration was news, but to my partners in destiny, to whom indeed the request for prayers was extended, my journey and trajectory in the call to nation building is well known. It began on April 10, 1967 when, as a thirteen-year-old, I saw myself in a vision discussing the future of the nation with two Nigerian leaders, General Yakubu Gowon and Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
“That vision changed my life; it sustained me as a teenager and propelled me into student politics at the University of Lagos as I ran for the post of Student Union President; it took me into active politics as I stood on the platform with the elders the day the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) was launched in Lagos; that vision shaped my uncompromising non-conformist value system in legal practice, business, ministry, and politics. The subject of the twelfth prophecy is therefore not new.
“Nowhere in that declaration did I mention running for election. It is, however, not surprising that politicians and the politically-minded have interpreted it as such.
“Every time the word “run” is used in a statement, the politician thinks of elections, while a statesman thinks of the next generation. I am, by God’s grace, a nation builder propelled by the dream of a New Nigeria and hopefully will become a statesman someday.
“I am indeed running, but not for elections; it is a race of destiny and the destination is certain.
“To everyone asking what the twelfth prophecy actually means, my unequivocal response remains, to this end was I born, and for this purpose I came into the world: To lead Nigeria into her prophetic destiny. It will happen in due course, in God’s way, and in God’s time.
“Some may ask, “How then can it happen, if not by elections?” My simple response is that there are biblical precedents, including the stories of Joseph, David, Nehemiah and Daniel; there are also historical precedents, including the case of George Washington whose unanimous election was merely an endorsement, and Gerald Ford who, under the terms of the 25th Amendment, took the oath as Vice President on December 6, 1973, and, following the resignation of President Richard Nixon, was inaugurated as the 38th President of the United States on August 9, 1974, without a single election”.
The pastor however said that he will not have any objection should God decide it is by election he will lead the country.
“If God leads me to serve my nation by election into political office, I state boldly that I will accept it with all my heart. In the year 2011, when the opportunity came to be running mate to then General Muhammadu Buhari, God said to me, “You are walking on a path that I have mapped out for you”
“In His wisdom, God knew that phase of His plan was not going to lead to election victory, but it was a crucial phase of His plan, and I dare say that the dress rehearsal was worth it. As God unfolds the next phase, my response to Him is simply, “Here I am. Send me” he said.
