The General Overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari on the next steps to take before 2023.
Bakare in a nationwide live broadcast in his church on Sunday, Bakare, urged Buhari to pick his successor in 2023 rather than leave the choice to chance.
He advised Buhari to influence who would emerge his successor in 2023 so that his legacy would not be tarnished.
According to him, Buhari will join the league of strong world leaders like the late Deng Xiaoping of China; the late Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Goh Chok Tong of Singapore if he influences the choice of his successor.
Bakare said, “God is into succession. Anyone in government that does not concern himself about succession is destroying his own legacy because the person coming after you can just mess up everything.
“Let us ask God for the grace of accurate succession; that he (Buhari) will not hand over the baton of government and governance to thieves and perverts, to corrupt and power-drunk individuals, but those who are true patriots, who will serve as our founding fathers served; though not perfect, they did their best.
“By institutionalising a system of succession, Buhari would join the league of strong world leaders like the late Deng Xiaoping of China; the late Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Goh Chok Tong of Singapore.
“As the government of President Muhammadu Buhari ushers us into the second decade of the 21st century, the third pivotal objective of governance should be to build a strong post-Buhari legacy facilitated by accurate
“In this regard, Nigeria must learn from some of the best succession examples in recent history. Of note is the legacy of Deng Xiaoping, a second-generation Chinese leader who laid the foundation for today’s China. Xiaoping flagged off the ‘Four Modernisations’ programme, which searched around the country for leaders who, in his words, were ‘revolutionary, younger, more knowledgeable, and more specialised.’
“In three decades, that programme gave China a succession of leaders who piloted China’s economic transformation, including the current President, Xi Jinping. Without their foresight, we would not be running to China today to finance our shortsightedness.
“We must also learn from Nelson Mandela who stepped aside after one term, but not without positioning the likes of Thabo Mbeki and Cyril Ramaphosa. We must learn from the success story of Singapore, whose former Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong, once said, ‘Mr Lee Kuan Yew has always emphasised political succession, and when I took over, likewise, I planned for succession…Prime Minister Lee is also working very hard to plan for succession.’
“Therefore, even as we build institutions of democratic governance, a key responsibility that history has bestowed on President Muhammadu Buhari at this turning point in our journey to nationhood is to institutionalised systems of accurate succession that will build and sustain the Nigeria we desire. This is a task that must be done.”
Meanwhile, Bakare on Sunday listed true enemies of Nigeria in all levels of government.
Bakare urged Nigerians in this new decade to stand up against the true enemies highlighted in his statement at all levels rather than attack journalists who criticize the government.
