?Many of his political opponents see him as a frustrated politician; but since 2009, when the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) was formed to put pressure on the National Assembly to cede power to President Goodluck Jonathan due to long absence of late President Umaru Musa YarÁdua, who had health challenges, Pastor Tunde Bakare, the convener and General Overseer of Latter Rain Assembly, has become a force to be reckoned with in the Nigerian politics.
Within a short time, the convener of the SNG has mastered the Nigerian politics in term of mass mobilisation.? Political monitor being a good speaker and a man with deep pocket, making an inroad into the murky water of politics in the country was quite easy for him.
A running mate to the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), who was defeated in the 2011 presidential election, the fiery pastor later returned to his church to minister onto the souls of his congregation. But the fuel subsidy removal by federal government brought him back to the limelight.
While the strike lasted, Pastor Bakare team – up with labour groups and civil society group to rally the people against the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government. While the NLC/TUC provided the platform for the struggle in Lagos State, Bakare and his friends were said to have provided the logistics and effective organisation for the rally.
While those in government were of the view that the protests would fizzle out, after two or three days, the crowd at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park at Ojota increased beyond their wildest imagination. Musicians, comedians, clergy men and other activists were invited to speak at the rally. Light food and refreshment, medical aids and entertainment were provided for those who attended the rally. And throughout the five days that the rally lasted at the park, Bakare was in attendance to galvanise the people.
It was therefore not a surprise that the federal government ordered soldiers to the streets of Lagos, particularly the park, in a bid to break the rally.
Some security experts said that if the federal government had failed to act, Bakare and his colleagues in civil society groups would have completely taken over the direction of the strike and labour and the government would have been the losers.