BEING TEXT OF SPEECH BY PASTOR ‘TUNDE BAKARE AT THE FREEDOM RALLY
COURTESY OF HOUSE OF FREEDOM
ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2018
VENUE: TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE

Protocols.

It gives me great pleasure to join this distinguished gathering of patriots to wish our beloved country, Nigeria, a happy 58th Independence Anniversary. I am excited to see Nigerians, young and old, from all walks of life, and from every part of the nation, come together with such excitement, fervour and passion around the common cause of celebrating our dear nation and charting a path to her greatness. I am all the more excited to see Nigerians take personal ownership of the Nigerian narrative by declaring with such contagious patriotic confidence: “ This is My Nigeria! ”
When I first saw the electronic flier for this Freedom Rally and the creative way the word ‘My’ was inserted in the statement, “This is Nigeria,” it looked like an omission or at best an afterthought. But, of course, “My” was inserted the way it was to project the mission statement of citizens who have awakened to the responsibilities of making their nation great.
When you say, “This is My Nigeria,” you exude a contagious sense of pride in your national identity. Now, that doesn’t mean you deny the undesirable realities of the status quo. Rather, when you say, “This is My Nigeria,” you see beyond those sad realities.
You see beyond the extreme poverty that has earned us the infamous title of the Poverty Capital of the World; you see beyond the institutionalised corruption that has perpetuated widespread poverty, violence and underdevelopment; you see beyond the atrocities of Boko Haram, criminal herdsmen, cattle rustlers, kidnappers and armed bandits across the country; you see beyond the excesses of those in whom public power is vested, from politicians to preachers; you see beyond the corruption and criminality of some bad apples in the carts of such security agencies as the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS); you see beyond the fallen standards of education and the incessant strikes and school closures that turn four-year degrees to extended lessons in endurance and longsuffering; you see beyond hospitals that double as graveyards; you see beyond the highways to the afterlife that are our road

its a lengthy speech..To read more visit

tundebakare.com/this-is-my-nigeria