Use 2027 elections to stop assault on democracy – Aregbesola tells Nigerians

..says ” Emi Lokan” is despotism 

The national secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has urged Nigerians to use the 2027 general elections to halt what he described as an assault on democracy, likening the popular political slogan “Emi lokan” to despotism.

Aregbesola, a former Minister of Interior and erstwhile ally of President Bola Tinubu, made the call in a video shared on his X page on Tuesday, in which he criticised Tinubu’s campaign slogan, “Emi lokan”.

The Yoruba expression, meaning “it is my turn”, was popularised by Tinubu during his 2023 presidential campaign, particularly at an event in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

Aregbesola described the slogan as an expression of despotism, arguing that it reflected an individual’s belief in a personal entitlement to power.

“Despotism is a single word for ‘Emi lokan’,” he said.

“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’.”

He argued that the phrase conveyed a claim to a special right to rule rather than a collective aspiration involving the people.

“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,” Aregbesola said.