When in June 2022 President Bola Tinubu, then presidential candidate of the APC, initiated the slogan, many thought it was an extension of his unending campaign theatrics. The man behind the mantra had nursed his dream for a long time and, like an Arabian performer, knew when his time came. The road to the zenith of Nigeria’s political power had been long and difficult, yet the patient dog kept gnawing at his ambition.
The odds were firmly stacked against him- prolonged fuel scarcity and Naira redesign policy of the apex bank- yet he had the heart of a lion to roar, “Emi l’okan.” “Emi l’okan” is the sound we make when life seeks to bypass us and its vicissitudes come rolling in with reckless abandon. The sound of “Emi l’okan” helps keep us in the fray and further bolster our equilibrium when the centre seems not to hold any longer.
The overwhelming allegations of crime and corruption and other scandalous controversies like a whirlwind could not stop him. The man who models strength of character decided to outbrave all odds and waded through the murky waters to emerge President-elect.
Those who give up on their dream will never be able to say “Emi l’okan.” Mediocre fellows who seek instant gratification will never live long enough to see when their turn comes.
“Emi l’okan,” among other things, teaches discernment. A man must know when his time has come so as not to ill-advisedly allow another to take his place.
President Tinubu understands that timing is everything. The first time he contests he wins. Timing. When we lack a sense of timing we create a large room for trial and error. We continue to rehearse and never know when the stage is set. We must all know our “Emi l’okan moments” if we are going to fulfil destiny. And, destiny, if you must know, is not a stone’s throw from the the point of conception. It involves a long walk home, but the time comes when we stand at the threshold and unequivocally declare, “Emi l’okan.”
Dr Martin Luther King, Jr speaks of marching: “ I don’t march because I like it. I march because I must; because I’m a man.” A man of destiny must continue to march until he gets to the point where destiny becomes his domain.
“Emi l’okan” is the statement of the virtuous. No man says it’s his turn when he has not paid his dues. The president, before the days of NADECO, has been waiting in the wings, “pouring water on Elijah’s hands.”
You must pay your dues otherwise you’ll be dragged out of destiny’s corridors in the event of claiming, “Emi l’okan.” Even when you have paid your dues, you will have haters and cynics all over the place, much less when a charlatan tries to establish himself as the real deal.
After ten years of the formation of APC, the Trojan horse strides towards the pinnacle of his dream. This decade-long wait is just a fraction of his persevering virtue. Several decades accumulate to bring to being this magnificent realization.
In this age of glamour and glitz typified by palpating impatience, we must sometimes wait long to experience our “Emi l’okan season.” Destiny at bottom is individual, and not collective., hence it is “Emi l’okan” and not “Awa l’okan.”
A people can have a collective destiny, but essentially, if they achieve that, there must be individual fulfillment at varying degrees because of the singularity of life.
Therefore, let us learn to glean from every page of history. The president of the most populous black nation in the world teaches a lesson on “turn-taking” on our way to destiny. “Emi l’okan’- the voice of the valiant.
