Onanuga slams Peter Obi over ‘Wrong Example’ in One-term Presidency

By Shamsudeen Abubakar

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and former Director of Media and Publicity for the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign, has criticized the opposition presidential candidate Peter Obi for flunking history in his promise to serve only one term if elected president.

In a strongly worded post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, August 4, 2025, at 1:16 p.m, Onanuga, a seasoned newspaper executive, criticized Obi for citing Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Nelson Mandela as models for his proposed One-term Presidency.

The post quickly gained traction, amassing 17,600 views, 76 reposts, 24 quotes, and 188 likes within its first hour online.

Onanuga in his words, stated that: “Peter Obi, the aspiring presidential candidate of the fledgling opposition party, 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.”

He further added that 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.

Onanuga explained 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. He noted that Lincoln’s first term began 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.

Regarding Kennedy, Onanuga said, “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. He was assassinated on November 22, 1963, before the expiration of his first term.”

On Mandela’s example, Onanuga observed that Nelson Mandela was 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.

“Mandela’s example might be more appropriately recommended to Obi’s rival for the opposition ticket, who will turn 81 by 2027,” he concluded mockingly.