CPC designation: Present Trump with mutually beneficial business proposal, Bakare tells Tinubu

Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC), Pastor ’Tunde Bakare, has urged President Bola Tinubu to respond strategically—not emotionally—to Nigeria’s redesignation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) by the US President Donald Trump.

He spoke in his state of the nation address titled, “The Darkness Before Dawn,” Bakare advising that the most effective way to de-escalate tensions with the United States, is for Nigeria to “present the U.S. President with a mutually beneficial business proposal” that aligns American interests with Nigeria’s long-term security, economic, and technological goals.

On October 31, President Trump announced Nigeria’s redesignation as a CPC over alleged Christian genocide. This was followed by his now-infamous threat to come into Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” to conduct what he described as a “fast, vicious and sweet” attack on terrorists.

The cleric said the comments jolted the Nigerian state from years of complacency, exposing a leadership class long disconnected from the reality of spiralling insecurity.

According to him, the torrent of terrorist attacks following Trump’s remarks—from Borno to Kebbi, Kwara, and Niger States—suggests that criminal groups are now audaciously challenging the authority of the Nigerian state.

He also urged the Federal Government to suspend all non-essential mass gatherings in vulnerable communities as part of emergency measures to curb further mass abductions.

He warned that intelligence suggests terrorists are increasingly targeting schools, worship centres, and community events—locations where civilians gather in large numbers and where security presence is often limited, saying armed groups are “pre-emptively rounding up civilians to use as human shields” in anticipation of intensified military operations following U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of military strikes.

Bakare described Donald Trump as a leader who responds to business logic more than diplomatic appeals.

“President Donald Trump has proven to be a transactional leader whose threats are usually intended as invitations to the negotiation table,” he said, adding, “The Nigerian government should present the United States with a mutually beneficial business proposal—one that facilitates U.S. business interests while guaranteeing Nigeria’s security, educational development, industrialisation, and access to cutting-edge technologies.”

He did not disclose the details of what such a proposal should contain but stressed that the opportunity for strategic diplomacy is wide open if Nigeria approaches the situation with clarity and confidence.

Bakare claimed that as far back as November 2024, shortly after Trump won the U.S. election, he received a spiritual revelation showing that the incoming administration would have an “unusual and intense interest” in Nigeria.

In that vision, he said, he saw Air Force One landing in Sabo, Yaba, Lagos—symbolically linking U.S. interest to Nigeria’s tech sector (“Yabacon Valley”).

Trump appeared dressed in traditional Arabian attire, which Bakare interpreted as a sign that geopolitics, oil interests, and religion would significantly influence U.S. policy toward Nigeria.

He warned that Trump’s renewed focus on Nigeria intersects with American strategic interests in the Middle East, emerging technologies, and Africa’s mineral wealth.

Bakare urged Tinubu to summon the political will to address the structural weaknesses at the heart of Nigeria’s insecurity.

“The rise in banditry is the height of government’s failure. It is the shame of a nation that has refused to confront its fundamental problems. It is the loudest evidence that the Nigerian state has failed to protect its most vulnerable,” he said.

He condemned the secrecy surrounding the release of abducted victims, questioning who negotiated with bandits, what concessions were made, and why security forces were allegedly withdrawn from vulnerable communities before attacks.

“Who ordered the withdrawal of the military from the Kebbi School about 45 minutes before the attack? What agreements were negotiated with the bandits, and what concessions were made to secure the release of the abductees?

“The continued attacks on communities further underscore the need for fundamental interventions that go to the very essence of our nationhood and the quality of governance in both domestic and foreign policy contexts.

“It is a stain on government that the people now appeal to foreign nations to rescue them from terrorists on their own soil,” he added.

Bakare also revisited what he called “The Nigeria Question” — the unresolved political, ethnic, legal, religious and security foundations that have kept Nigeria unstable since independence.

Bakare said Nigeria cannot overcome insecurity until it confronts the truth of its diverse grievances instead of burying them under political convenience.

“No nation can build lasting peace on denial. Truth is the foundation of justice, and justice the foundation of peace,” he declared.

The cleric accused successive administrations, from Ibrahim Babangida to Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan, and late Muhammadu Buhari, of failing to implement reforms that could have stabilised the country.

He also decried Jonathan’s inability to act on the 2014 National Conference and Buhari’s refusal to implement the APC restructuring committee report.

He said President Bola Tinubu now stands at the same crossroads, urging to embark on the holistic reform of the security and governance framework.

“The president has a choice: either to embark on the holistic reform of the security and governance framework and address the Nigeria Question or, like his predecessors, prioritise politics with 2027 in view, restrain his actions, administer piecemeal or superficial interventions, and approach the situation in fits and starts.

“While we acknowledge the ongoing efforts of the president to address the situation—from the declaration of emergency on security to the mass recruitment into the police force—we challenge the president, who, prior to his presidency, was an advocate of geopolitical restructuring, to rise up to the occasion and take the bull by the horns. It is against this backdrop that I now reiterate the following short, mid and long-term recommendations.”

He also commended the federal government for declaring a nationwide security emergency. However, he stated that the declaration must be backed by some measures including prevention of further mass abduction as terrorists have started abducting civilians to be used as human shields.

Bakare outlined an aggressive short-term plan for Tinubu’s administration, including publicly acknowledging government failures and apologising to communities devastated by terrorism, creating a Victims and Survivors Register, deploying massive security reinforcements to vulnerable regions and integrating retired military personnel, paramilitary groups, and technology-based surveillance into the fight against terror.

Bakare also proposed the creation of a Presidential Commission for National Reconciliation, Reintegration, and Restructuring, which would work for two years to heal national wounds and set Nigeria on the path of constitutional transformation.

Nigerians can now invest ₦2.5 million on premium domains and profit about ₦17-₦25 million. All earnings paid in US Dollars. Rather than wonder, click here to find out how it works.

Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.