Obasanjo and Buhari’s 16 years ‘ruined’ Nigeria – Dele Farotimi backs Peter Obi’s one-term proposal

Human rights activist and lawyer, Dele Farotimi has endorsed presidential hopeful Peter Obi’s proposal for a single-term presidency, arguing that extended time in office has failed to yield meaningful progress under Nigeria’s past leaders.
 

“(Olusegun) Obasanjo had eight years — what did he do with it? (Muhammadu) Buhari had eight years — what did he do with it? He ruined Nigeria. (President Bola) Tinubu has had two years, and he is taking us back 50 years,” Farotimi said Monday on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.

“It’s not about how much time a person spends in office; it’s about what they do with that time.”
 

Obasanjo served as president from May 1999 to May 2007, while the late Buhari led from May 2015 to May 2023 before handing over to current president Bola Tinubu.
 

Farotimi, known for his advocacy on justice and systemic reform, stressed that transformative leadership does not require a long tenure.
 

“I first heard this one-term presidency idea from Peter Obi during the election cycle. If I ever run for the presidency of Nigeria, I wouldn’t need more than two years to do everything I need to do. The real question is: what does he intend to do with the one term?”
 

Obi has repeatedly pledged to serve only a single four-year term if elected, a promise he first made during a widely attended X Space session in June. More recently, he suggested adopting a single five-year presidential term, similar to the model in South Korea, where re-election is not allowed.
 

“If I have the opportunity, we should stop having a second tenure for presidents. It should be five years. That is what is in South Korea, so people come in knowing they have a job to do,” Obi said.

 

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