President Bola Tinubu says he invoked the “spirit of freedom” in Ijebu land against President Muhammadu Buhari and former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, when they appeared to be threatening his political ambition. 

 “Your monies were confiscated. The cash swap didn’t work. It was terrible then. I realised that I came to Ogun State to invoke the spirit of freedom for which we are noted for,” Mr Tinubu said. 

“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.”

Mr Tinubu disclosed this at the Palace of Awujale of Ijebu Land, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, when he paid a courtesy visit on Thursday. 

 Speaking with All Progressives Congress delegates in June 2022 in Ogun state, in the run-up to the party’s primary, Mr Tinubu declared that ’emi lo kan’, while narrating how he helped former President Muhammadu Buhari to clinch the presidency in 2015. 

  “He tried the first time and failed. He tried a second time and failed. He tried a third time and failed. He even cried on television that he would never run for president again,” Mr Tinubu said. “I went to meet him and told him this is not a crying matter: ‘we will support you and you will be president’.”  

 Again, in January 2023, during APC presidential campaign in Ogun state, Mr Tinubu accused the Buhari regime of using the raging fuel scarcity and naira redesign and cash handling policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to blunt his chances at the ballot box at the February polls. 

  “You’re hoarding fuel and hoarding the naira,” Mr Tinubu said in Abeokuta. “Still, we will vote, and we will win this election.  

“Whether you change the ink of the naira or spend money till you are in debt, things won’t turn out as you hope, we are the ones who will win the election, and our opponents will fail,” he had boasted.