The presiding Overseer of the Global Community Citadel Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has revealed the instrumental role the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, played in the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
While paying tribute to the Awujale of Ijebuland, Bakare said the passing on Adetona and former President Muhammadu Buhari on the same day was significant.
The clergyman also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the state burial given to Buhari.
According to Bakare, Awujale facilitated the merger of opposition parties which gave birth to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the victory of Buhari in the 2015 election.
Speaking during his state of the nation address at the auditorium of the Church on Sunday titled, “A Major Shift in the National Focus,” Pastor Bakare recalled how he approached Awujale to speak with Tinubu to lead the merger which he agreed, adding if the late monarch who died at the age of 92 had not facilitated the merger talk, the APC would not have emerged.
He said: “Without Awujale’s pivotal intervention, APC would not have emerged as a political party.
“Kabiyesi convened a key meeting at the Oriental Hotel in Victoria Island and brokered the agreement that led to the formation of the APC.
“Even at that, Kabiyesi was non-partisan, supporting any course he thought would facilitate good governance, strengthen the national interest, foster peace and further the course of building a united Nigeria.
“He remained, to the very end, an elder statesman, a patriot, a mentor, a loyal friend, and a rare gift to this nation.”
Bakare reiterated that the merger that formed the APC was the first time there would be a handshake between the progressive North and the progressive South, adding that the passing of the two great man signified a shift which only a few could discern.
Bakare, who was running mate to Buhari in the 2011 election, described Buhari as one of the most tolerant and fair-minded individuals he ever met.
He said, “We must awake to the handwriting on the wall. President Muhammadu Buhari and Oba Sikiru Adetona left a legacy that reads loud and clear – The giant of Africa cannot stand on one leg.
“We cannot build Nigeria as a one-party state. The intersection of these two men played a critical role in the emergence of a virile political landscape with a strong enough opposition party to challenge the then-ruling party.
“We can only build on their legacy by ensuring that both the ruling party and the opposition are strong enough to guarantee good governance in the interest of the ordinary Nigerian.
“Their legacy also reminds us that we cannot stabilise our beloved nation on divisiveness. We cannot build a truly virile nation unless we build an inclusive nation. Where we have been divided as a nation, let us remember the religious tolerance of a man who, for years, was wrongly labelled with the toga of religious fundamentalism when indeed, he was one of the most tolerant and fair-minded Muslims to walk this earth, twice opening the doorway for Christian leaders – Pastors to be specific – in politics and governance.”
He recalled that late President Buhari “left a legacy of an Electoral Act that opened the doorway for Nigerian youth and persons with disabilities, positioning them to shatter glass ceilings through the Not Too Young To Run Act and the Disability Act.”
“Where we have, in the past, polarised the political system and undermined political opponents, let us remember the virtues of a man who would rather present his case to the electorate than descend into the politics of mudslinging.”