Connect with us

Headline

All I Want is to Be President of Nigeria, Audacious Dele Momodu Declares at Triumphant Homecoming

Published

on

By Eric Elezuo

The ancient community of Ihievbe, in Owan East Local Government of Edo State was on lockdown Sunday as presidential aspirant and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Aare Dele Momodu made a return to his hometown 49 years after the death of his father, Obo Momodu.

The tumultuous crowd that stepped out to receive the illustrious son, who had traversed through time and space, thick and thin to conquer his field of endeavour, was excited to just catch a glimpse of their own.

Accompanied by his beautiful wife, Mobolaji, and a host of entourage, Momodu made a stop over at the home of Senator Yisa Buraimah, who facilitated the homecoming, where he was reunited with his age mates, the Umalame Age Grade, as a prelude to his total acceptance back to the community and among his kindred.

Speaking on behalf of the age grade, while receiving Momodu into their fold,t chairman, Yesuf Tijani, announced that the worthy entrepreneur and accomplished journalist was well accepted, promising him all the privileges and rights of membership. He said the group was proud to have a man of his calibre as their member.

He was thereafter initiated and robed in the attire of the age grade to the admiration of all present.

In his remarks, the host, Senator Buraimah, who doubles as the Seriki Musulumi of the community, confirmed and described the homecoming of Momodu as a symbol of the prayers said for the sons and daughters of the community in the Diaspora to come home.

Responding, an emotional Momodu, who was practically overwhelmed by the show of love and massive reception giving to him by his people, thanked members of the community, and his age group members in particular, saying he had wished his father was alive to witness the joy of the day

“As you can see, I am not a lost child. See the way I returned home triumphant. I cried at this, and I know I will still cry. And again, I wished my father was alive to see this day,” he said.

The homecoming train thereafter moved to Momodu’s place of birth, Ugba village, where another unprecedented number of persons were waiting to catch a glimpse of the accomplished presidential hopeful.

Welcoming him, the village head, Mr. Rufus Aigbevbole noted that it was a rare privilege to have the person of Momodu’s status to come from the village. He informed that though it had been easy for Momodu to come home all these while, he was given a native name Ovbare by his grandfather, which means ‘coming home is worth it’, stressing that the name has been fulfilled by the actions of the day.

Expressing their profound gratitude at reuniting with their son, the villages showered gifts on Momodu including yams, plantains and livestock.

At the palace of the Paramount ruler of the community, where Momodu paid homage, he was honoured with a chieftaincy title as the haihai if the community.

In his speech, Momodu recounted his journey of 62 years, declaring that by the time the 50th anniversary of his father’s death is celebrated, he would have been the president, commander in chief of Nigeria’s Armed Forces.

“I don’t want to be a senator; I don’t want to be a minister – I’m not interested. All I want to be is the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.

The homecoming was graced by notable citizens of the community and the rank and file of the PDP in the senatorial zone.

Momodu, who first declared his Intention to be president shortly after joining the PDP insisted that he remained the most qualified among those aspiring to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, 2023.

He noted that his presidential ambition is a function of the fact that though he had never been an elected official, he has a private individual interacted with the high and mighty of the world including presidents, opinion leaders and eminent personalities across the globe.

“I reached out to many without being a president. Now, I can actualise much more when I occupy the position,” he said.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Headline

Pastor Tunde Bakare: Celebrating a Visionary Preacher @70

Published

on

By

By Eric Elezuo

He is visionary, blunt, articulate, passionate, fiery, evangelical, fearless, controversial and the newest septugenarian. He is the Founder and Presidng Pastor of the Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC), formally known as the Latter Rain Assembly. He is Pastor Tunde Bakare.

A thought provoking preacher, social commentator, legal expert and politician, Tunde Bakare has come of age in the business called Nigeria.

Born on November 11, 1954, Pastor Bakare is regarded as not only a prophetic-apostolic pastor, but a social and economic image maker, whose contributions to the originality, truth and oneness of the nation cannot be overemphasized.

Originally a Muslim, who embraced the Christian faith in 1974 at the age of 20, Bakare has contributed his quota as a nation builder, seeking both the Vice president and president positions of the nation on two different occasions.

Pastor Bakare started his educational life at All Saints Primary School, Kemta, Abeokuta, and subsequently Lisabi Grammar School, Abeokuta, where he obtained both the School Leaving Certificate and the West Africa Examination Council certificate

After his secondary education, he was admitted into the University of Lagos where he studied Law between 1977 and 1980 before attending Law School in 1981, and was subsequently called to the Bar and following his time in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Bakare kickstarted his career when he started practicing law at the Gani Fawehinmi Chambers. His dexterity on the job propelled him to Rotimi Williams & Co., and later to Burke & Co., Solicitors.

In October 1984, he went solo, and established his own law firm, Tunde Bakare & Co. (El-Shaddai Chambers). Within the preceeding periods, he combined his legal duties with pastoral functions working as a legal adviser at the Deeper Life Bible Church, and later moving to the Redeemed Christian Church of God, where he became pastor and founded the Model Parish.

Following his time at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Bakare left to start the Latter Rain Assembly Church in 1989, known today aa CGCC, where he presently serves as the General Overseer. In addition to his time in the church, he zeroed into part time politics, serving as the running-mate to presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari in the 2011 presidential election. Bakare has been critical of Nigeria’s leadership and has sparked controversy with comments considered inflammatory regarding Muslims and other spiritual leaders.

Also in 2019, Bakare announced his intention to run for president of Nigeria following the end of Buhari’s second term with a total conviction that he has a direct mandate to do and will surely become the next president of Nigeria. He joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) but, lost at the primaries conducted at Eagle Square, Abuja, in May 2022. He launched his then political trajectory under the New Nigeria Progressive Movement.

While expressing his intentions to run for the 2023 presidential election towards becoming the next president of Nigeria to church members in 2019 when he was quoted as saying, “I will succeed Buhari as President of Nigeria; nothing can change it. I am number 16, and Buhari is number 15. I never said it to you before. I am saying it now, and nothing can change it. In the name of Jesus, he (Buhari) is number 15. I am number 16. To this end, I was born, and for this purpose, I came into the world. I have prepared you for this for more than 30 years.”

Bakare also presides over the Global Apostolic Impact Network (GAIN), a network of churches, ministries, and kingdom businesses committed to advancing the Kingdom of God on earth as well as the President of Latter Rain Ministries, Inc. (Church Development Center) in Atlanta, GA, USA, a ministry committed to restoring today’s church to the scriptural pattern. He was given a Doctor of Ministry degree by Indiana Christian University under the leadership of his mentor, Dr. Lester Sumrall, in 1996.

Bakare has been instrumental to some uprisings in the country that challenge unhealthy administrations. It would be recalled that his Occupied Nigeria Movement led the protest against the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan in January 2012 after minor increase in fuel price. The protest was a total success, and led to reduction in fuel pump price.

Also a social critic, Bakare is critical of Miyetti Allah, labeling the Fulani herdsmen as a group of terrorists who rape, murder, and kidnap innocent civilians. Several Fulani Islamic scholars criticized Bakare’s comments about Fulani herdsmen as Islamophobic. Bakare had said that Fulani herdsmen were driving Nigeria towards a civil war.

He also holds a yearly state of the nation address to set the stage for the future and review national issues of the year past.

In his 2019 address, he stated, “We can therefore confidently state that, over the past thirty years, we have faithfully executed our God-given mandate to the nation from this platform. Over the past thirty years, we have deployed appropriate tools for appropriate occasions, from prophetic declarations to confrontational advocacy and from political activism to propositional policy advisory. Over the past thirty years, we have done this consistently, sometimes at the risk of being misunderstood by friends and foes alike.

“We have been motivated not by wavering
opinions of men but by our unshakeable faith in our national destiny and an unalloyed commitment to seeing that destiny fulfilled.”

Reports have it that he was arrested in March 2002 after preaching sermons critical of Nigeria’s then-president, Olusegun Obasanjo.

No matter how it is viewed, and the direction of his controversies, one thing is obvious, Bakare has stood on the side of truth, hope, and justice, and has remained consistent over the years.

The Serving Overseer has been very vocal, his trademark, over the recent hardship in the country, condemning the politicians for preaching what they cannot practice.

He said Nigerian politicians were not living lean or sacrificing like the rest of the citizens whom they asked to sacrifice for the country by enduring economic hardship.

Bakare said this while delivering the keynote address with the theme: “Cultivating a Culture of Dialogue: Nurturing Understanding in a Culturally and Socially Diverse Nation” at Wilson and Yinka Badejo Memorial Lecture 2024.

He is a strong believer in the theory that the pen is mightier than the sword. He write in an essay of same title that:

“The likes of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Kwame Nkrumah, and Chief Obafemi Awolowo, armed with no other weapon, mobilised the Queen’s language in the struggle for independence from the Queen. They fought their battles through such media as West African Pilot, Accra Evening News and The Tribune. Decades after independence, when free, fair and credible elections were annulled, and a tyrannical dictatorship held sway, the Nigerian press took up the baton and contended against the sword of oppression by deploying the armoury of vocabulary. I am so glad that the labours of these pen warriors and all others who fought for the democracy we enjoy today have not been in vain after all.”

For seven decades, Pastor Bakare has remained a voice in Nigeria politics, religion and socio-economic circle, relating with with Nigerians according to where the matter lies.

On this occasion of your 70th Birthday, we celebrate your consistency, focus and leadership acumen that has affected the people positively.

Congratulations sir!

Continue Reading

Headline

US Polls: Tinubu, UK PM Starmer Congratulate Trump

Published

on

By

President Bola Tinubu has extended his heartfelt congratulations to President Donald Trump on his re-election as the 47th President of the United States of America.

A statement by Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), Bayo Onanuga on Wednesday, said President Tinubu looks forward to strengthening the relations between Nigeria and the United States amid the complex challenges and opportunities of the contemporary world.

Donald Trump claimed victory on Wednesday and pledged to “heal” the country as results put him on the verge of beating Kamala Harris in a stunning White House comeback.

President Tinubu said: “Together, we can foster economic cooperation, promote peace, and address global challenges that affect our citizens.”

According to President Tinubu, Trump’s victory reflects the trust and confidence the American people have placed in his leadership. He congratulates them on their commitment to democracy.

President Tinubu believes that, given President Trump’s experience as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, his return to the White House as the 47th president will usher in an era of earnest, beneficial, and reciprocal economic and development partnerships between Africa and the United States.

Acknowledging the United States’ influence, power, and position in determining the trend and course of global events, the Nigerian leader trusts that President Trump will bring the world closer to peace and prosperity.

Meanwhile, the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has congratulated Donald Trump on his “historic election victory”, adding that the UK-US special relationship would “continue to prosper”.

“As the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defence of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise. From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come,” he said.

Continue Reading

Headline

Just in: Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja is Dead

Published

on

By

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, is dead.

Lagbaja died after battling an undisclosed ailment. He was 56 years of age.

He was appointed COAS by President Bola Tinubu on June 19, 2023.

On October 20, the army dismissed rumours that Lagbaja had passed on, adding that the army chief was undergoing medical treatment abroad.

On October 30, Tinubu appointed Olufemi Oluyede as the acting COAS.

Continue Reading

Trending