By Halimah Olamide
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday reminded Ogun state indigenes how he used their state to invoke what he called “spirit of Freedom” with his now popular statement, “Emi Lokan.”
Speaking at the palace of Awujale, Oba Sikiru Adetona during his visit to the state, Tinubu said he owed the people of the state so much.
“I invoked the spirit of freedom in Ogun,” the president said while speaking at the palace.
Recall that apart from the “Emi Lokan”, Tinubu also said openly accused the Central Bank of Nigeria of using the Naira redesign to frustrate his campaigns. The then Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, is currently undergoing interrogations at the custody of the Directorate of State Security.
He told his audience which comprised eminent traditional rulers and opinion leaders in the area, “It is a homecoming and I owe so much to all of you and there is so much to thank you for. Because of the way you have taken me and the way you’ve responded to me, all I can say is thank you.
“To many of you, thank you for being there for me and being there for the country. You demonstrated so much loyalty, so much commitment and voted at a very crucial time.
“Your monies were confiscated. The cash swap didn’t work. It was terrible then. I realised that and I came to Ogun State to invoke the spirit of freedom for which we are noted for.
“I invoked that spirit twice. The spirit of Baba (referring to Awujale). The spirit of Baba – Emi l’okan (it’s my turn), that’s Baba. The spirit for being blunt and that is him.
“And the second spirit is that of money (Naira scarcity), ‘ama dibo ama wole’ (we will vote and we will win) even if there is no money. And that, ever since, has been the spirit that is driving me to serve.”