Nigerians Are Suffering, Reshuffle Your Cabinet “No More Time to Waste.” Bakare Warns Buhari

For the second time in the New Year, another influ­ential Christian cleric and pro-Muhammadu Buhari asso­ciate from the South West has warned the president that real transformation is needed as Ni­gerians are suffering under his watch and that the “change slo­gan” has become an ineffective mantra.
Yesterday, during his annu­al state of the nation speech in Lagos, Reverend Tunde Bakare, respected founder of Latter Rain Assembly and former vice pres­idential running mate to Buhari in 2011 stated that, “it is unfor­tunate” that the ‘change’ mantra “that was once the rallying cry for progressive development has now become associated with ret­rogression and suffering.”

Nine days earlier, Father Ejike Mbaka, Priest of the Cath­olic Adoration Ministry in Enu­gu, who backed Buhari during the last presidential election told the president, during his New Year message at the cross over service into 2017, to tackle the challenges facing the coun­try, stating that “many Nigerians are suffering.”
His words: “Though the President is trying on corrup­tion and security, Nigerians are hungry; they want to see more changes.
“There is the need to as­sist businessmen and women in their businesses,” the famous cleric who publicly supported Mr. Buhari’s presidential am­bition”
He also advised Buhari to appoint experts who would help him to revive the econ­omy, counseling him to con­sult Church leaders and emi­nent men of God to advise him and tell him the truth about the economy.
On a regretful note, the Catholic cleric lamented that, “We cannot reach him for ad­vice because of the kind of peo­ple around him.”
Yesterday, Bakare also de­cried the alarming levels of in­flation in the country, which he noted had seen the prices of eve­rything - from staple food sup­plies to electronic appliances and automobiles - skyrocketing.
According to him, 2017 will be crucial in the life of the cur­rent government and warned the president to immediately re­shuffle his cabinet because “we have no more time to waste.”
Bakare also took on Buhari in certain specifi areas. Accord­ing to him, federal government’s policies, especially on exchange and interest rates, should be dis­carded forthwith and more prag­matic ones be implemented in­stead.
His words: “To begin with, the confusing and discrimi­natory multiple dollar to nai­ra exchange rates – favourable to some and not so favourable to others, and without doubt confusing for potential inves­tors – must be discarded while a more reliable and predictable exchange rate, mutually benefi­cial to our people and economy and attractive to foreign inves­tors, should be put in place.
“Similarly, prohibitive and punitive interest rates must be lowered in order to liberate the creative ingenuity of our peo­ple as well as encourage those who can access mortgages at af­fordable rates to become home­owners, especially if our Pension Scheme is up-to-date and robust.
“The multiplier effect of the removal of these bottlenecks in our economy will cushion the ef­fect of the current recession on our people.”
“Mr. President must galva­nise his team to get the job done; square pegs in round holes must be removed or put in appropriate places; the wicked who surround the righteous must be led away from the presence of the king. Those who cannot stand the heat must get out of the kitchen.
“It is time to demonstrate leadership, wise judgment and astute public policy that guar­antees stable and prosperous na­tionhood upon a foundation of peace; it is time to build a well-ordered nation with strong in­stitutions dispensing justice; it is time to arise with patriotic zeal to build a great nation such that, years from now, generations yet unborn will look back at their history, not with disdain, but with gratitude to God that our generation preceded theirs.
“May 2017 be the year we look into the future with the eyes of faith and take steps to accomplish all that we know is possible.”
Significantly, just as Mbaka did, Bakare gave the president a pass mark on counterterrorism and internal security.
His words: “On insecuri­ty, Nigerian Security Tracker 10, a portal of the United States Council on Foreign Relations, which maps violence in Nigeria, reported a decline in deaths per month from violence perpetu­ated by a combination of state and non-state actors, including Boko Haram, from 767 deaths in May 2015 when this govern­ment came into power, to 250 deaths in December 2016, nine­teen months into the adminis­tration.
“The group’s capacity had also diminished significantly from the control of 13 local gov­ernments just before the 2015 elections to a resort to suicide attacks by the turn of 2016.
“Under this administration, 21 of the abducted Chibok girls were also released to their par­ents in October 2016, and, last Friday, Rakiya Abubakar, the latest rescued Chibok school­girl, was reunited with her par­ents in Abuja.”