By Kingston Magare 11-8-2025
Social activist and human rights lawyer Dele Farotimi, said Nigerian Presidents in the past and present have done little to change the fortunes of the country.
Farotimi was speaking against the back of reports former Anambra State governor and presidential aspirant Peter Obi is canvassing for a single four-year tenure to revamp Nigeria’s economy and end mass scale poverty.
He submitted that former leaders Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari practically wasted 16 years of Nigerian life adding that President Bola Tinubu who is currently in the saddle is taking country nowhere.
“I first heard this one-term presidency idea from Peter Obi during the election cycle. It’s not about how long he says he wishes to serve; I’m more interested in what he intends to do with that time,” Farotimi said during an interview on Channels TV Sunrise on Monday.
“If I ever run for the presidency of Nigeria, I wouldn’t require more than two years to do everything I need to do. You don’t need a long term to achieve lasting change, but the question should be: what does he intend to do with the one term?”
“(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.
“So, it’s not really about how much time the person spends; it’s a function of what they do with the time that they have.”
Obasanjo was Nigeria’s president from May 1999 to May 2007 while the late Buhari was in office between May 2015 and May 2023 when he handed over to former Lagos governor Tinubu.
Obi writing on his X social media page Monday said in two years a discipline and focused President can reverse the economic downturn of the country.
“Other nations have faced similar challenges and turned their fortunes around through disciplined leadership, sound economic policies, and a total commitment from the leaders to invest in human development and pulling their people out of poverty.
“A recent example is what is happening in Argentina. In Argentina, over 52% of its population lived in poverty by early 2024 according to the World Bank, with millions of Argentines unable to meet basic needs. Inflation was above 200%, and economic confidence had collapsed.
“Yet, within two years, through decisive action to cut waste in governance and prioritize economic stability, the newly inaugurated president was able to cut down the poverty rate to 38.1% from 52% in just 2 years and extreme poverty fell to 8.2%, with inflation just around 2–3% monthly.”