2027: Recommend your single term pledge to Atiku, Onanuga tells Obi
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has faulted the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the last election, Mr Peter Obi, over his promise to be a one term President if elected, suggesting that the pledge will have been more appropriate for former President Atiku Abubakar. Obi had restated […]
Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has faulted the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the last election, Mr Peter Obi, over his promise to be a one term President if elected, suggesting that the pledge will have been more appropriate for former President Atiku Abubakar.
Obi had restated his promise to serve only one term of four years if elected president of Nigeria, saying that effective leadership is defined by impact, not time spent.
In a post on his X handle, Obi said leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Nelson Mandela, noting that each left office with enduring legacies despite short tenures.
“One of the greatest American Presidents, Abraham Lincoln, served only four years, yet his legacy endures as a model of principled leadership.
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“Another iconic figure, John F. Kennedy, did not even complete a full term, yet his vision and ideals continue to inspire generations.”
He also wrote about Nelson Mandela of South Africa who only did one term in office.
However, reacting to the post, Onanuga said the examples cited by Peter Obi were wrong examples.
Apparently referring to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential aide said, “Mandela’s example might be more appropriately recommended to Obi’s rival for the opposition ticket, who will turn 81 by 2027.”
He also attacked the historical facts put forward by Obi, saying he must have flunked history in school.
“In justifying his so-called ‘sacrosanct’ pledge to serve only one term of four years, he cited Abraham Lincoln, JFK, and Nelson Mandela as leaders he wanted to emulate.
“A simple fact check by a politician who always challenges his gullible and unthinking mob to verify his statements would have revealed that he quoted the wrong examples.
“Obi would have found that Lincoln, at the time he was assassinated, had finished his first term, had won re-election, and had been sworn in for a second term.
“Lincoln began his first term on March 4, 1861. He won re-election on November 8, 1864, and was sworn in on March 4, 1865, before his assassination on April 15, 1865.”
“On John F. Kennedy, who shared a similar tragic fate with Lincoln, came into office on 20 January 1960 as the 35th President of the United States, Onanuga said he was assassinated on November 22, 1963, before the expiration of his first term.
” Nelson Mandela served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He declined a run for a second term on account of his age. Mandela, at the end of his first term as president, was 81 years old. He decided to retire from politics rather than contest for another five-year term. “