Government Officials Regard Corruption As Official- Tunde Bakare

 Presiding Pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly, Tunde Bakare has reiterated that government officials in Nigeria are not only corrupt, but had made corruption official. His remark came just as the second Vice President of Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani appealed to wealthy Nigerians to support the less privileged in the society. Bakare Ubani made the appeal during the launch of his foundation, Onyekachi Ubani Foundation in Lagos, weekend. The lawyer said that the society will continue to breed miscreants if the wealthy do not render necessary assistance to the poor and less privileged in the society. Pastor Bakare in his remark at the ceremony noted that: “At the twilight of the military era in Nigeria’s political trajectory, the name “Nigeria” became synonymous with a certain word, a word that elicits the image of a cesspool running over corruption.” Pastor Bakare spoke on the theme: “The System that allows massive corruption in Nigeria must be a bad system”. He said: “At that time, precisely in 1999, Transparency International rated Nigeria the second most corrupt country in the world in terms of perception, second only to her eastern neighbour, Cameroon. “For instance, given the unbridled looting of the treasury at the time, reportedly to the tune of over 1billion dollars as was subsequently uncovered following the exit of the military, it was obvious that the abnormal had become the norm, the illegal had become legal, the outrageous had become banal and the aberrant had become the gold standard.” The Pastor said trough 17 years of civil governance, the stench of corruption has continued to pollute the national atmosphere and to attract the derision of the international community. “Despite the emergence of a new government on the heels of a strong anti-corruption campaign, despite the credence lent to this anti-corruption promise by the antecedents of President Muhammadu Buhari, and despite global acknowledgment that Nigeria has taken shovel loads off the peak of this mountain of filth, the stench of corruption remains “fantastically” horrible with t Ubani on his part said to avoid crisis arising from the surge of unemployment is “to extend a hand of help with a heart of love, however little, to that next door neighbor, or stranger seeking your assistance,” he said. 

Ubani noted that he has been in the daily struggled to help the poor in the society but that there is a limit to how many people he can help with his limited resources. “There is a limit to how many Nigerians a Good Samaritan with limited resources can help, but I am convinced that if I get your support in your capacity as an empowered Nigerian, together we can create a system that will lift majority of Nigerians, young and old, out of poverty and hunger. ” Earlier, during his address of welcome, President Muhammadu Buhari commended the vision of the foundation. Speaking through his spokesperson, Mr Femi Adeshina, President Buhari said: 

“It is significant that the foundation is dedicated to helping the poor and needy in the society and also to celebrate those who made our country proud with virtuous acts.” Commending the keynote address of Bakare, the President said, “I am very pleased that the foundation launch will be marked by a public lecture, which topic focuses on one of the things dearest to the heart of this administration which is the anti-corruption war. I look forward to details of the address.”