NBC stops Bakare’s live broadcast

Source: http://punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201001182543389

The National Broadcasting Commission on Sunday stopped a Lagos-based radio station, Radio Continental owned by Continental Broadcasting Services from airing a live broadcast by Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly.

Bakare is one of the promoters of the Save Nigeria Group and has been a critic of President Umaru Yar’Adua, for his decision to travel out of the country for medical attention without handing over power to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan.

He had joined other prominent Nigerians including Prof. Wole Soyinka last Tuesday to stage a protest in Abuja over the President’s continued absence.

Bakare had prepared a speech titled, “Understanding Why We Marched on January 12, 2010.” However, shortly before Bakare’s live broadcast, which was slated for 10am, the Radio Continental crew, which was already in the church, said it could no longer air the address as agreed because the NBC had ordered the radio station not to go ahead.

Bakare was, therefore, forced to deliver his address on the pulpit.

Confirming the development, Bakare, in an interview with our correspondent, said, “We were told by the Radio Continental crew that we could not go on with the live transmission because of an order from the NBC.

“The radio people came on Friday to test their equipment to ensure that everything was alright. So when they came this morning, we were ready but they said they had an order not to continue with the broadcast.”

Asked if he got in touch with the management of Continental Broadcasting, Bakare said it was the administrative department of the church that handled the matter while he mounted the pulpit for the Sunday sermon.

“I did not do so myself. Mr. Yinka Odumakin did and he confirmed that it was true that the NBC had ordered the live broadcast stopped,” he said.

Explaining why the Save Nigeria Group took to the streets of Abuja on January 12 in protest Bakare said, “We marched on January 12 because for 50 days, the government of this nation took the citizenry for a ride, treating us with disdain and inflicting on the national psyche the latest addition to our plethora of national maladies, namely: power vacuum.

“The Nigerian nation has been headless and voiceless for the longest period since independence. It is expedient for the vacant office of the President to be filled immediately by an acting president in line with the ‘existing imposed constitution, till we establish the fitness or otherwise of the too-sick-to be-bothered President.”

He said he remained undaunted, had no fear for his life and cared less about those who wondered what business a pastor had with protests, as, “We have locked ourselves in the sanctuary for too long a time, fasting, praying and preaching for good governance in our nation. That in itself is not evil, but, we need to do more as the salt of the earth and the light of the world. It is time for the true church to come out of the closet and rebuild ancient ruins.”

According to him, the whole country has been reduced to one kindergarten class while the Federal Executive Council has turned Nigeria into one big joke as, ‘the spin doctors in Abuja fabricate one lie after the other in order to satisfy the curiosity of their perceived kindergarten citizenry.’

This, he noted had led to confusing signals emanating from everywhere including the seat of power on the state of the President’s health.

He said, “Nobody is sure whether we have a living, dying or dead President. To compound matters, Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan openly admitted at a church service that nobody is in charge of Nigeria and that God is in charge of Nigeria.”

The comments of the vice-president is an admission of hopelessness which simply implies that there is no one to hold accountable for the mess Nigerians are in, since there is no identifiable person in charge.

“We have just been told that the ship of state is in parking mode on the high sea; we are in the midst of turbulence, but the sick President, air-freighted to a foreign land, forgot to leave the key to the ship behind; his co-captain is either incompetent or unreliable and therefore cannot be trusted to steer the ship aright; the crew cannot access the life jackets on board let alone distribute them.

“In case of shipwreck, you are on your own. If you know how to swim, good luck as the name of your vice-president denotes, and if not, bad luck.”

He added that the only way to solve the nation’s problems was to understand the root cause and thereafter implement permanent solutions.

According to him, “The root cause is not far-fetched: our present constitution is a lie and those who swore an oath to uphold it have no respect for it, either because it is falsity, or because they only emphasise it when it favours them.

“Why would a government that makes the rule of law a cornerstone agenda openly violate the constitution with shameless impunity and seem to be getting away with it?

“It is because you have allowed them to trample upon your rights. For a long time, the worst of us have been on the leadership saddle, while the best of us have been sidelined so that the rest of us will remain in servitude for as long as the worst of us remain in power.”

Bakare said enough was enough.

He noted that through the January 12 march and subsequent ones to follow, Nigerians from all walks of life — East, West, North and South; male and female; young and old — ‘are saying, ‘enough is enough.’

When contacted, spokesman for the NBC, Mr. Awwalu Salihu, said the regulatory agency had nothing whatsoever to do with cancellation of Bakare’s live broadcast.

There shall be no peace for the wicked. Whosoever gave the directive has God to contend with. They should know that truth will prevail.

If we cant fight you with the law, we will fight you with your job . . . . another way of govt blunder

NBC's act is inconsequential in the new era of the internet, The man of God can go ahead and give his live broadcast on the internet, let the press carry it from there.

The Pastor first and foremost is a lawyer and if he take such a stand and articulate his view as reported , maybe, just maybe Nigerians can begin to get through to those who are misleading us calling themselves leaders.

YAR A'FAILURE and his cronies, FEC and NASS are a complete disgrace so is also Justice Dan Abutu who I think has taken leave of his senses like all the other arms of government.

How anyone can rule that there is no vaccum of at the Head of government of Nigeria is only a joke. We dont know the whereabouts or the state of the health of our President C-I-C for at least 50days before the hearing, how many days did President have to be away on unannounced medical trip without fininshing date before there is a vaccum on the office of the Presidency.

I am really impressed on the uttrerances of Pastor Tunde Bakare, if men of God are like that, maybe they are truly sent by God to deliver the oppressed. Prayers, fasting and then self help. We cannot continue to watch these thieves make a fool of us in the face of the world.

I also think that a case should be brought to chalenge that useless NBC because we are not in a police state to deny freedom of speech. If the government and Yar A'do nothing is not happy about it, let them come out and challenge Bakare either through the media or go to court.

i dunt suppose the NBC acted independently. a higher power is indirectly responsible for this. VP Jonathan could not have done this. Dora Akunyili and Turai Yar'Adua are suspects number one and two

Nigerian Government is at it again,they never want to hear the truth.Please can someone help me ask Madam if surpressing the truth is a part of re-branding?

foolish minister of rebranding

That is awful. Pastor Bakare is a Nigerian and he has the right to speak out his mind and by the way he did the programme on Radio or T.V by paying for them why should NBC or anybody pick an offence in that, that action is wrong, if the government are true as per the democracy they are claiming standing for then their is No justification to ban him for any reason.

That doesn`t change the fact, We`ve had ENOUGH of the nonsense happening in country. We don`t need to hear the broadcast to be reminded that nothing works in this country. If it was aired 3/4 of the audience would miss it cos of power failure. OUR LEADERS HAVE FAILED US THEY SHOULD ALL PACK THEIR BAGS AND LEAVE ., ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

where is our freedom of speech? our politicians are bunch of dictators like Abacha

Every Christian in Nigeria must praise the effort of Pastor Bakare in the protest in Abuja. Many other Pastors are afraid.

The Bible clearly show that faith without work is dead.

Christians have prayed and fasted. Praying and fasting are good but there is more that Christians can do. It is time to do some practical work. If people fail to do some simple things for themselves to help civilisation, God is not to blame.

There is no need to fast and pray to attend a protest rally. It is the civic right of every Nigerian.

77ken:

That doesn`t change the fact, We`ve had ENOUGH of the nonsense happening in country. We don`t need to hear the broadcast to be reminded that nothing works in this country. If it was aired 3/4 of the audience would miss it cos of power failure. OUR LEADERS HAVE FAILED US THEY SHOULD ALL PACK THEIR BAGS AND LEAVE ., ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

i dont tink they understand the meaning of "OUR LEADERS HAVE FAILED US THEY SHOULD ALL PACK THEIR BAGS AND LEAVE ., ENOUGH IS ENOUGH" they need to be sacked.
wish all the pastors would take a cue from Bakare. what we need now is march onto the streets and bring every system the govt is associated with to a halt.
men of God have a reasonable number of our populace listening to them, if they can only tell them the truth and lead them out on demonstrations, it could make that difference. Martin Luther made considerable use of his Christan congregation.
Wole Soyinka and others are doing their best, but from all indication, Nigerian need a Leader that can lead her people no matter the strength of the corrupt government . we need a leader at this moment that is not scared of speaking the truth, that leader that can mount the podium, speak and incite civil unrest.
organized rally is almost a tolerant of the whole failed system,
the system itself is the problem, let us fight it, even at the cost of our lives.

I don't support this motion.

his words were too tough and strong for them. considering pastor's usage of words they dont want him to incite nigerians. they can afford to arrest him. so the state is just trying to kill the message since the messenger cant be touched for now

How Long can the federal government supress the truth? Surely, not so long because the time is coming says the Lord " I will flush out the evil leaders like water out of the mountains"

What thing is for sure, the wrath of God is coming on the so-called "leaders" who are taking us for granted in this country. They do not always want to hear the truth, this country needs a radical revolution to oust the looters & thiefs in all corridors of power,, as far as am concern, Ya'radua is not the messiah Nigeria needs, so why the hold-it-tight kind of powerstruggle. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Kudos to Men of God Like Pastor Tunde Bakare and that Prilate of the Methodist Church that lambasted the living day light out of Obasanjo
and com criminals at the Oni of Ife 80th birthday

Shame to bad people, that does not change the fact

tarano:

NBC's act is inconsequential in the new era of the internet, The man of God can go ahead and give his live broadcast on the internet, let the press carry it from there.

It was eventually streamed LIVE on the church's website. The broadcast was supposed to be within the coverage of Radio Continental(Lagos), it later turned out to be a world broadcast.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

What ever those thieves want let them do, for all i care truth shall preveil. Every body be ready cus on the 21st of this month there shall be another peaceful march in lagos to tell these politician that we understand everything that is going on, they the politicians shouldn't mistake us for fools. A time is coming when these thieves will be accountable for everything they caused this great country.

BEING TEXT OF LIVE RADIO BROADCAST FROM THE AUDITORIUM
OF THE LATTERRAIN ASSEMBLY, LAGOS, NIGERIA.
ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2010

TITLE: UNDERSTANDING WHY WE MARCHED ON JANUARY 12, 2010

Fellow countrymen and women, I am here this morning to give account and to
explain to every Nigerian why we took to the streets of Abuja, the Federal Capital
Territory, on January 12, 2010.
Just like you, I have read in the Dailies the comments of all and sundry regarding
the “Save Nigeria Group’s Enough is Enough Rally”. Many wrote and spoke in
support and some dismissed it with a wave of the hand. But those of us who led the
protest and everyone in our group who marched did so because all other means of
getting the men and women in power to do what is right concerning the state of the
nation have yielded no tangible results.
To us in the “Save Nigeria Group”, it is amazing that:
(a) It took our rally to get the National Assembly to table the matter of “The
Missing President”. Or was it a mere coincidence?
(b) It took our rally to get the absentee President to allegedly speak through the
BBC Hausa programme for the first time since he disappeared from the
radar fifty (50) days earlier;

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(c) It took our rally to generate a counter-rally in support of offshore
Presidency;
(d) The day after the rally, the Federal High Court in Abuja within four days,
from the time the case was filed till judgment was given, in a seemingly
preemptive judgment, ordered the Vice President to carry out executive
functions delegated to him by the Absentee President. So what would have
happened if we did not march?
The PDP-led government would have persisted with their cacophony of lies
while taking the citizenry for granted and treating us with disdain and impunity.
That the rally took place at all and attracted a large number of our citizens, male
and female, young and old, Christians, Muslims and people of other faiths,
points to the fact that social mobility in our nation is not frozen, and that in
itself is causing a tremor of unease and terror in the oppressor’s camp.
Before going further, allow me for a moment to speak to my constituency. My
primary constituency is the body of Christ, Latter Rain Assembly inclusive, as
well as all lovers of truth - millions of people who on a weekly basis sit or stand
glued to their radios and televisions as the Word of Truth is preached from this
platform to the rest of the nation and the world at large. One question is
agitating the minds of the conservative arm of the
church at this hour. Should Christians or their leaders participate in civil
disobedience, street marches and rallies to protest against governmental
arrogance, tyranny, oppression and corruption? What is the accurate Biblical

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standpoint on this issue? Is there a place for proclamation and outcry in the
streets or does the Bible forbid it?
Let the Bible speak for itself:
1. The first time the word ‘street’ occurs in the Bible is in
Genesis 19:1&2 (KJV) when the angels of God refused to enter the
house of misguided but righteous Lot and preferred to abide in the
street all night before destroying Sodom. That in itself was an
indictment and a protest.
2. From the lamentation of David after King Saul died, it appears that
when certain types of news are proclaimed on the streets of a city or
nation, a sense of joy and triumph envelopes the people therein. (See
2 Samuel: 1:17-20)
3. Oftentimes, when a people and their leaders persistently disobey
God, He sends His prophets to the streets. (Jeremiah 11:1-6)
4. Outcry in the streets will only stop when a nation is rescued from the
hands of strange men in government whose mouths speak lying
words and whose right hands are right hands of falsehood. (Psalm
144:11-15)
Are we there yet? NO.
But someone may quote the prophecy of Isaiah out of context to confuse and
mislead religious minds from taking to the streets.
Isaiah 42:1-4

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If this scripture relates to Jesus Christ, how come any of His servants will take to
the street and not be in rebellion?
Saints and strangers, scripture is not capable of private interpretation – it takes
scripture to interpret scripture. Let the Bible speak again:
i. In His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke in the streets. (Luke 13:22-
27)
ii. Not only did Jesus teach in the streets, he commanded His
disciples to take to the street and make proclamations against
every city that rejected the message of the gospel. (Luke 10:1-12)
iii. What then is the concealed message in Isaiah 42? What is it that
Jesus would not say in the street? Let scripture interpret scripture
again: Matthew 12:9-21, verses 16&17 are key – “yet He warned
them not to make Him known that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the prophet Isaiah.”
iv. It is in the same vein that charitable deeds and prayers are
forbidden in the streets, not strong protests against injustice, crass
hypocrisy and corruption. (Matthew 6:1-6)
v. Whenever truth is fallen in the street and equity cannot enter, the
voice of wisdom will cry aloud in the streets.
(a) Isaiah 59:1-15
(b) Proverbs 1:10-33.

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vi. Even in troubled times, prophetic fulfillment does not happen
except the street and the wall of a city are rebuilt. (Daniel 9:20-
25)
Brothers and sisters, we have locked ourselves in the sanctuary for too long a time,
fasting, praying and preaching for good governance in our nation. That in itself is
not evil, but we need to do more than that as the salt of the earth and the light of
the world. We need to spearhead effective social mobilization, rebuild the spiritual
streets and the walls of our nation and influence what is happening there. IT IS
TIME FOR THE TRUE CHURCH TO COME OUT OF THE CLOSET AND
REBUILD ANCIENT RUINS.

THE REASON FOR THE JANUARY 12 MARCH & FUTURE MARCHES.
Why then did we march on the 12th
of January 2010 and why are we determined to
continue till justice prevails and righteousness exalts our nation?
We marched because for fifty (50) days, the government of this nation took the
citizenry for a ride, treating us with disdain and inflicting on the national psyche
the latest addition to our plethora of National Maladies, namely: Power Vacuum.
Not only are we in deep crises as a result of the power vacuum, our leaders are
also in denial. And to compound our problems, the whole country has been
reduced to one big kindergarten class. The Executive Council of the Federation has
turned our nation into one big joke as the Spin Doctors in Abuja and elsewhere
fabricates one lie after the other in attempts to satisfy the curiosity of their

6

perceived kindergarten citizenry. Let me explain this phenomenon with a
childhood tragedy - the loss of both my siblings, a set of twins, in 1961 after a brief
illness. I returned from school and my siblings were nowhere to be found. I asked
my mother where they were and she said to me, with grief written all over her face,
“they’ve both gone to London to see the Queen”. I asked her their return date; she
tried to compose herself and said, “shortly”. You know the story line. That was the
last time I saw my twin siblings.
Fellow citizens, the Nigerian nation has been headless and voiceless for the longest
period since Independence. We do not know the whereabouts of our missing
President, Umaru Yar’Adua, or the state of his health. On a daily basis, there are
confusing signals emanating from everywhere, including the seat of power.
Nobody is sure whether we have a living, dying, or dead president. To compound
matters, the Vice President, Dr. Jonathan Goodluck, openly admitted recently at a
church service that nobody is in charge of Nigeria and that God is in charge of
Nigeria. Like the story my mother told me about my deceased siblings, the
comments of Dr. Goodluck may satisfy the curiosity of shallow-minded people,
but it is an admission of hopelessness which simply implies that “there is no one to
hold accountable for the mess we are in since there is no identifiable person in
charge.”
We have just been told that:
i) the ship of state is in parking mode on the high sea;
ii) we are in the midst of turbulence, but the sick president, air-freighted to a
foreign land, forgot to leave the key to the ship behind;

7

iii) his co-captain is either incompetent or unreliable and therefore cannot be
trusted to steer the ship aright;
iv) the crew cannot access the life jackets on board, talk less of distributing
them
v) Fellow Citizens, in case of shipwreck, you are on your own. If you know
how to swim, good luck, as the name of your Vice-President denotes, and
if not, bad luck.

As if these woes are not enough load on the heads of an oppressed people, the
National Assembly more or less decided to hide under the umbrella of one finger
and a part of the judiciary added insult to injury by asking the Vice President to
execute whatever the Missing or AWOL President delegated to him without
showing us how the delegation would be done by a man who from all indications
does not appear strong enough to speak coherently. These are the reasons why we
marched in Abuja on the 12th
of January 2010 and why we will march in Lagos this
week on Thursday, January 21, 2010.
By this historic and symbolic march, we in the Save Nigeria Group are saying:
i) Enough Is Enough to quick fix solutions that mask the real problems and
leave our nation vulnerable to crisis upon crisis.
ii) We are saying, as the Good Book says, a living dog is better than a dead
lion. So if the horse is dead, the mark of honor is to bury it, instead of
toying with the destinies of over 140 million people by raising a fact-
finding mission in search of a missing president.

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iii) We are of the considered opinion that the only way to solve our problems is
to understand the root cause of our national dilemma and thereafter
implement permanent solutions.

If we must call a spade a spade, the root cause is not far-fetched. Our present
constitution is a lie and those who swore an oath to uphold it have no respect for it,
either because of its falsity, or because they only emphasize it when it favours
them. Or tell me, why would a government that makes the Rule of Law a
cornerstone agenda openly violate the constitution with shameless impunity and
seem to be getting away with it?
I’ll tell you why, my fellow citizens – it is because you have allowed them to
trample upon your rights. For a long time, the worst of us have been on the
leadership saddle, while the best of us have been sidelined so that the rest of us will
remain in servitude for as long as the worst of us remain in power.
Through the January 12, 2010 March and subsequent ones to follow, Nigerians of
all faiths and from all walks of life - East, West, North and South; male and
female; young and old - are saying Enough Is Enough.
Till we put in place a People’s Constitution and reinvent a True Federalism, fiscal
and otherwise, there will neither be lasting peace nor predictable progress.
But for now, let the government of the day obey the rules they have set and stop
moving the goalpost in the midst of the game. Let the vacant office of the President
of Nigeria be filled immediately by an Acting President in line with the existing

9

imposed constitution, till we establish the fitness or otherwise of the too-sick-to-
be-bothered President. For these and other reasons, the Save Nigeria Group invites
all Nigerians to a Mass Rally on Thursday, the 21st
of January 2010,
commencing at 10.00 a.m. We will assemble at or before 10.00 a.m. at the
Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Open Ground, former Sky Power
Ground, G.R.A., Ikeja, Lagos, where we will be addressed by Credible Agents
of Change in our country before marching to the Lagos State Governor’s office.
Let us join forces together to destroy the shackles of oppression, subjugation and
corruption in our land. Let us all rise in one accord to say to our oppressors,
“Enough Is Enough”. (Ezekiel 45:9)
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
PASTOR ‘TUNDE BAKARE
FOR SAVE NIGERIA GROUP

The message is so touching,and i'm all for the matching parade. TO THE STREETS O ISREAL

These pastors make use of the airing opportunity they have to make critics of the whole nation and its government.

If possible, let NBC ban live messages on television and radio. . . .let them preach their sermons in their "private" churches.

I wonder if some were really called by GOD.

Ben-10:

These pastors make use of the airing opportunity they have to make critics of the whole nation and its government.

If possible, let NBC ban live messages on television and radio. . . .let them preach their sermons in their "private" churches.

I wonder if some were really called by GOD.

BETTER NOT TO WRITE AND BE THOUGHT OF AS A FOOL THAN WRITE AND REMOVE ALL DOUBTS.

.this is d BeGinniNg of the eNd 4 NiGeriA *teardrop*

think bakare should passionately be praying for the Guy as a christian he is, rather than critisizing and causing him more heart attack. Where is the nature of christ in him?

You wouldn't see the nature of Christ if your don't drop your religious mindset
and hug the scriptures.
The same Jesus, went into the bush got strong rope and chased people
out of the building they call church.
I believe when people the strength of the church is the effect to which it has on your
community.
If your church or religion has not changed you or your community. it is a waste of your time

God bless nigeria

So much for demoncrazy and freedom of speech. Yet some people think Abacha was the greatest evil that has befallen Nigeria.

That's too bad even though I don't watch his Live Broadcast.

E.A Adeboye should shut up his mouth! and face his church business. what does he knows about leading Nigeria? he should just keep quite and enjoy flying around with his private jet,

i thought they said democracy comes with freedom of speech. why not our own democracy.