FIERY Televangelist and Overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly Church, Lagos, Pastor Tunde Bakare, was the vice presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), in the 2011 polls. In this interview, he called on Nigerians to resist the Federal Government’s plan to remove fuel subsidy, saying that he would lead the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) on a protest if government goes ahead with its plan to remove fuel subsidy. Excerpts:

Will you mobilise the Save Nigeria Group to protest like what happened during late Yar’Adua’s administration if the Federal government goes ahead with its plan to remove fuel subsidy?

We will wait and see. They have been changing the goal posts themselves. We are going to make available to Nigerians the simple arithmetic of fuel subsidy; it is not just going to be a church affair. We are going to ensure that everything is spelt out for them to see.

They are not subsidizing the cost of production within our country, what the government is subsidizing is alternative cost. Is it not a shame that Nigeria will now be importing electricity from Ghana? So, whether I will lead a mass protest or not does not arise, President Jonathan has called for it, the battle line is drawn and we will see who will win between Ghaddafi and the people.

During your sermon, you said mass revolt brought President Goodluck Jonathan to power and mass revolt would flush him out of power. Are we going to see the revival of the Save Nigeria Group because for a long time, the group seems to be in a coma?

The Save Nigeria Group is not in a coma. Save Nigeria Group is at work, there are several aspects of our work. It is not going to be the responsibility of Save Nigeria Group to lead a civil protest. When it happened, there were so many groups that came together and at the end of the day, you find that some people and some groups pulled out, while some stayed.

What is coming is bigger than that, but I want to assure you that the Save Nigeria Group is not in coma, it is not dead, it is not silent. We will come out at the appropriate time. I am waiting for Jonathan to cut off his head if he goes ahead with the planned removal, you know that Goliath’s sword was used to cut off his own head.

But how do you separate your stand from that of the CPC on fuel subsidy removal?

In the days of Solomon, King of Israel, he was totally in charge and Rehoboam still had all the paraphernalia of what you call the ruling class until the people themselves said enough is enough.

If you put the population of the ruling class together, they are not up to one million, but the rest of the nation will rise against them. How will it happen? And how did it happen in the past? I remember when the Save Nigeria Group were going to march, there was one of their agents who said we were going to march and fail. The chairman of PDP then, Ogbulafor who said it was a road show, we knew who became history at the end of the day.

Let me make this plain: I made it clear that the message was given in the course of my duty as a shepherd to feed the flock with knowledge and understanding, so that they will not be afraid and they will not lack anything. They will not be afraid of terror and terrorists in power. God is able to tame any power monster at anytime. So, it is in the course of my duty as a shepherd that I gave the message. I am functioning as a shepherd, speaking to the parish not as a politician.

Security has been allocated a large chunk in the proposed 2012 budget. Do you think that will help Nigeria address the growing security problems facing the country?

An intending government would have sat down and said we spent so much last year on security, what did it produce? It produced confusion, death, destruction of lives and properties. That does not resolve instability and issues of insecurity in a nation.

Pastor Tunde Bakare

You cannot have peace without justice; the moment you compromise justice, you have murdered sleep. You can vote N10 trillion on it. It shows how far those in power are ruled by their own fear and they are running from their shadows. It did not work in the past, it will not work now.

Create job opportunities, give hope to people, serve their interest, all violence will begin to wane. And if you gave amnesty to those who threw bombs in the past, how far can you go by trying to jail those who are throwing bombs in the present? What is good for the goose is good for the gander, you will continue to waste your resources forgetting that if there is no error, there will be no terror. So, it is error of judgement, it won’t work. It has failed in the past, it will fail in the present and it will fail in the future.

The president is mobilising security operatives to forestall any resistance against planned removal of the oil subsidy. Many see this move as an oppression of the people, do you agree?

I don’t because there is a new wind blowing across the world, that wind is the peoples’ will against the power of incumbency. We saw it in Tunisia, in Libya, in Egypt, it is blowing across the whole world.

Don’t forget that those the President is mobilising are going to give a command to others to carry out and those that they will ask to carry it out, will be like the man who gave Salim to Anwar Sadat and shot him on the parade. Wait and see.

Right now, in the city of Kano, security men are also not just taking mufti to work, they are also taking women garment so as to change. Just wait and see. That shows the kind of person he is. The government is subsidizing refined products in Nigeria, they are subsidizing alternative cost of exporting our goods so that we can buy it at expensive rates later. What is wrong with us building new refineries?

The ones that were built, were built during the military. And if they are not working well, why can’t they build new ones everywhere so that we do not export crude anymore? We refine more and make more money than we have now.

In 1965, Malaysia came here to take our palm oil seeds, today, Malaysia is making more money from palm oil than we are struggling to make from crude oil. It does not make sense. We need leadership that has a moral fibre to stand and say this is wrong. We need to forge ahead.

What is your take on the controversy heralding toll gate along Lekki-Epe expressway?

I lived in London and America for a while and there are tolls everywhere. I have not limited myself to Lagos State in the pronouncement I made, it is a general thing. They are bringing all the tolls back but my statement is not limited to Lagos State.

If good roads are being constructed and to maintain it in the years to come, tolls are being taken, no sensible citizen will complain. If citizens cry out, governments must explain to them and not to send people to beat them and kill them, that would be tyranny.

The people have a reason for crying out, it does not matter who is in power, whether progressive or conservative. Our citizens are not incapable of reasoning and many of them will gladly pay tax. But when people cannot talk anymore and government does not have the grace to explain, anarchy is on the way.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/12/oil-subsidy-removal-i%E2%80%99ll-lead-sng-to-protest-if-tunde-bakare/