'Emi Lokan' wrong attitude for Nigerian leadership - Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has stated that the attitude and mentality of ‘Emi Lokan’ (My turn) is inappropriate for Nigerian leadership.

The former President stated this in a New Year letter in which he urged Nigerians to vote for the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the February 25 election.

‘Emi Lokan’ was popularized by All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Bola Tinubu in his June 2022 address in Abeokuta, Ogun State, as he pushed for the party’s ticket at the time.

Obasanjo, according to a statement released by his spokesman, Kehinde Akinyemi, criticized such a mindset.

“Let me say straight away that ‘Emi Lokan’ (My turn) and ‘I have paid my dues’ are one and the same thing and are wrong attitudes and mentality for the leadership of Nigeria now.

“They cannot form the new pedestal to reinvent and to invest in a new Nigeria based on an All-Nigeria Government for the liberation and restoration of Nigeria.

“Such a government must have representation from all sectors of our national life – public, private, civil society, professional, labour, employers, and the diaspora. The solution should be in ‘we’ and ‘us’ and not in ‘me’ and ‘I’.”

The ex-President, on the other hand, told the youths that it was their time to stand up and fight for better leadership.

“Future is not emotion. I challenge the youth to arise. Let nobody pull wool over your eyes to divide you and/or segregate you to make you underlings.

“Nigerian youth, wherever they come from, North or South, East or West need education which is now denied to over 20 million children; Nigerian youth also need skills, empowerment, employment, reasonably good living conditions, welfare, and well-being,” he added.