Pa Ayo Adebanjo, the leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organization Afenifere, has stated that the 'Emi lokan' claim of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, is an agreement between him (Tinubu) and the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
Tinubu popularized the Yoruba phrase 'Emi lokan,' which means "it is my turn," following his June 2022 address in Abeokuta, Ogun State, when he pushed for the APC presidential ticket.
Adebanjo, speaking to Labour Party supporters in Lagos during the party's final presidential campaign, said the expression does not represent the Yoruba people but is an agreement that Tinubu will succeed Buhari after he leaves office.
The 94-year-old elder statesman said, “The one who said ‘it is my turn’ is his agreement with Buhari.
“Emilokan didn’t say it is the turn of the Yoruba. Emilokan’s agreement with Buhari was that when Buhari leaves office, he will take over. (But) were you there when he said that?” he asked the crowd, who responded saying, “No.”
Adebanjo, again reiterated that if the LP candidate does not win the election, “forget about Nigeria.”
He said, “I said before that if Obi does not come in as the president, forget Nigeria. The northern elders now say I want to impose Obi on them. No! They want to impose a northerner on us, and we said no.”
Adebanjo becomes the second elder statesman of Yoruba extraction to criticise the phrase after former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Adebanjo, who has been a staunch supporter of Obi, said if the LP candidate loses there would be no opportunity for a non-Christian and a non-northerner to be president again.
Making his position known at the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum in Abuja, Adebanjo had said, “They are making all sorts of devices to ensure that power remains in a particular part of the country. That’s why they are not even supporting the candidate of their own party.
“We will give it what it takes. It is either bend or break. If Obi does not win, forget a country called Nigeria.”