Pastor and Founder of Latter Rain Christian Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare has been criticised by an association of 13 church denominations within the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) for his comments on the controversial tweet by former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, which has been widely regarded as deriding Jesus Christ.
In a recent address in Lagos, Bakare had described CAN’s hardline criticism of El-Rufai’s tweet on Jesus Christ as an attempt to divert attention from the more serious socioeconomic challenges confronting the country. He also described CAN as an extension of government.
However, counter-responding to Bakare’s claims, the Christian, operating under the umbrella of Tarayar Ekklisiyar Kristi A Nijeriya (TEKAN) in Hausa laughed off the comments of the former vice presidential aspirant saying they were expected of someone who is more of a politician than a pastor.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja, President of TEKAN, Reverend Emmanuel Dzieggau censured Bakare, styling him as a confused mind who should be ignored because he has not recovered from the shock of the lost election.
“We read the story credited to Tunde Bakare; first of all, he is not a member of CAN and we are not surprised because he is more of a politician than a pastor.” He said.
“One day, he will wake up and speak as a politician; and another day, he will speak as a pastor. But for him to say that CAN has no right to speak on somebody like El-Rufai, who derogates the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, is a very great offence.”
He asked his fellow pastor to come out clearly to state on whose side he belongs, Christian or Muslim, as he cannot be speak from the two sides of the mouth.
“We are not surprised at the attitude of Bakare. Who is a disciple of Bakare? He was in Deeper Life Bible Church; Bakare went to Four Square Bible Church; from there, he went to Redeemed Christian Church of God and from there he ended in Latter Rain Bible Church where he is pasturing,” he continued.
“In all of these churches, he has been in crises with them. He abused Baba Adeboye, W.F. Kummuyi and wherever he goes, he fights them. No pastor makes trouble like Bakare and he is quarreling with everybody. So we are not surprised to see him abuse CAN and support El-Rufai’s reckless statement. It goes to show his character!”
He observed that if a Christian had made the same derogatory remark as El-Rufai’s, against Prophet Mohammed, the country would have been dealing with several orgies of violence and bloodletting by now.
“We are not going to fight for our God, we have left El-Rufai in the hands of God. Anybody who speaks ill of Jesus Christ does not go scot-free, because the God in heaven knows how to deal with him,” he said, warning Bakare to desist from always getting involved in controversy.
“What does he know about CAN for him to say that CAN is a department of government. What has the issue of Jesus Christ sleeping with women got to do with government? CAN has never been an appendage of government but has been known to be a constructive critic of the authorities.
“If inciting people against government is what Bakare is looking for he will fail because CAN is a responsible organisation. But because Bakare lost election to President Goodluck Jonathan, he has been inciting people against the Federal Government.
“But we will not toe his line of thought and he should not compare CAN with the madness they do in politics. For El-Rufai, we are telling him to go in secret and seek forgiveness from Jesus Christ because nobody insults God and go free. If he doesn’t, the wrath of God will descend on him.”
