Pastor Tunde Bakare, the Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, has launched a blistering attack on Nigeria’s political class, accusing many of the nation’s leaders of behaving like “termite kings” whose primary concern is consuming the country’s resources rather than building a prosperous future.
The fiery pastor made the remarks in Lagos on Sunday at the public presentation of his three-volume book, Strategic Intervention in Governance, a collection of 104 speeches delivered between 2008 and 2025 on governance, leadership and national development.
Painting a stark picture of Nigeria’s leadership crisis, Bakare urged political office holders to abandon selfish ambitions and adopt what he described as the “ant mentality” — a culture of hard work, cooperation, sacrifice and long-term planning that prioritises future generations over immediate personal gains.
He argued that meaningful nation-building can only thrive where there is sustained unity of purpose, lamenting that Nigeria’s present democratic structure has failed to inspire such collective resolve. Rather than embracing divisive calls for secession, he challenged the country’s leaders and constitutional thinkers to lay a stronger foundation capable of guaranteeing lasting national cohesion.
Bakare also decried the steady decline of Nigeria’s education sector, attributing the deterioration to years of poor investment and policy failures dating back to the Structural Adjustment Programme.
Reflecting on his personal journey, he noted that although he received all his education in Nigeria before earning international recognition, he was compelled to educate his children abroad because of the collapse of the nation’s educational system.
According to him, no nation can achieve sustainable development after neglecting its education sector, insisting that rebuilding public education must become a national priority.
Beyond criticism, the cleric called for practical solutions to Nigeria’s challenges. He advocated a new leadership culture driven by competence, integrity and innovation, while urging greater investment in youth development, vocational education, entrepreneurship and technology to unlock the country’s enormous human capital.
Addressing young Nigerians, Bakare encouraged them to take responsibility for the nation’s future, expressing confidence that their generation possesses the vision and capacity to restore the Nigerian dream and place the country on the path of lasting progress.
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