The Serving Overseer of Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has dismissed claims that he mocked the African Democratic Congress (ADC) over its ill-fated plane crash of 2006.
The clergyman asserted that he was misquoted, maintaining that his reference to the ADC plane crash was a metaphor and not intended to mock the victims of the tragedy.
He made this clarification at a news conference in Lagos on Sunday, emphasising the context of his statement.
The clergyman explained that he was being approached by some ADC members to join their party, during which he made a reference to the ADC flight.
He noted, “I am not going to take part in ADC. The last time I knew about ADC was about a plane that crashed. I wish them well, because we need a robust opposition.”
He, however, expressed disappointment that some public commentators deliberately linked his ADC comment to the plane crash, saying, “To those commentators who have criticised my comment as insensitive for something not more than a metaphor, I ask whether, at some point in their careers, they have used the Titanic as a metaphor to warn of pending danger.”
“I also understand that some have amplified that imagery to score political points and further denounce the ADC party. For instance, on Thursday, the President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio, alluded to the ‘crash’ imagery in his description of the ADC party in an exchange on the floor of the Senate with its Minority Leader, Abba Moro,” he said.
Clarifying the intent of his ADC airline allusion, Bakare said, “Let this undue controversy surrounding the ADC crash metaphor serve as a warning. Let every person saddled with solemn responsibility of steering the ship of state at any level, local, state or national, or in any arm of government, executive, legislative or judicial, learn from history and recognise the transience of power.”
He urged leaders to commit to service rather than self-interest.
“For those struggling to obtain power, whether in the ruling party or the opposition, I hope they learn the lessons of history. I seriously hope that those in the cockpit of our nation’s governance, and those trying to change course midair, will see the handwriting on the wall.”
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