Aregbesola likens Tinubu’s ’Emi lokan’ to despotism, asks Nigerians to stop ‘assault on democracy’ in 2027

Former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, says Nigerians have the opportunity in 2027 to prevent what he described as an assault on democracy.

Aregbesola, the national secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), made the remarks in a video shared on his X page on Tuesday while speaking about President Bola Tinubu’s popular campaign phrase, “Emi lokan”, used ahead of the 2023 elections.

Tinubu, during a campaign in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, used “Emi lokan”, a Yoruba phrase meaning “it’s my turn”, to tell his supporters that it was his turn to become Nigeria’s president.

However, Aregbesola, a former ally of Tinubu, likened the phrase to despotism.

“Nigerians have the opportunity today to prevent the assault on democracy,” he said.

“Despotism is a single word for ‘Emi lokan’.

“Despot. A man who believes that he has a divine right to administer space and time. That’s ‘Emi lokan’, not ‘awa lokan’, not ‘egbe lokan’, not ‘eeyan lokan’,” Aregbesola said.

He added: “Emi… that is affirming a divine authority. A divine right to rule. If that was not well understood then, I want to believe that Nigerians now know what it really means.

“So, we are now having it not just being merely said rhetorically but being physically demonstrated.

“But Nigerians have the opportunity today to prevent the assault on democracy.”

Aregbesola was previously a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) before defecting to the ADC.

However, he was absent from the opposition party’s campaign council list released in September by Atiku Abubakar, its presidential candidate for the 2027 elections.

His omission is notable given his position in the party’s national leadership and his role in grassroots mobilisation.

Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the ADC, told TheCable that the absence of some party leaders from the campaign council should not be interpreted as a sign of estrangement.

Abdullahi said the party’s machinery must continue to function even as the campaign organisation gets into gear.