President Bola Tinubu said he invoked the spirits of freedom, symbolised by ‘Baba Emi l’okan,’ and the spirit of Naira scarcity, symbolised by ‘ama dibo ama wole’ to overcome obstacles and win the election.
The President stated this while speaking at the palace of the Awujale in Ijebu-Ode on Thursday.
According to him, the naira swap crisis that rocked the country prior to the 2023 general election forced him to invoke the spirit of freedom in the South West state (Ogun).
He explained that the statements Emi l’okan which means it’s my turn and ‘ama dibo ama wole’ which means we will vote and we will win, were those he used during his campaign and are also thesame one he used to invoke the spirit.
“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.”
The President acknowledged that these spirits had been the driving force behind his service and expressed his gratitude to Oba Adetona, all the Obas, elected officials, particularly his ‘personal friend’, Senator Gbenga Daniel, the Senator representing Ogun East and thanked them for their loyalty and commitment during those crucial times in the 2023 election.