PETER OBI’S AND HIS ONE-TERM FAIRY TALE: Why P.O.’s One-Term Promise Is Either Naive or Calculated Deception”[ 🖋 By Dr. Ope Banwo, The Mayor of Fadeyi]

Let’s stop pretending. Nigeria is not a local government council in Anambra. It is a complex, dysfunctional giant choking under decades of mismanagement, corruption, ethnic distrust, and institutional decay. So, when Peter Obi promises to serve only “one term” of four years if elected, he’s either being dangerously naive—or playing a cunning political game meant to deceive both his base and his rivals.

Let’s not sugarcoat it. Nigeria’s problems are deep, multi-generational, and hydra-headed. And no leader—no matter how brilliant, visionary, or squeaky clean—can realistically turn this nation around in just four years. The man who claims he can either doesn’t understand the scale of what he’s up against… or he knows exactly what he’s doing and is hoping you don’t.

🧠 The Political Lie Behind the Four-Year Myth

Let’s call it what it is: political appeasement.

Obi’s vow smells more like a calculated pitch to calm the nerves of northern power brokers and trick the political elite—especially within the ADC or any potential coalition—into handing him the ticket. It’s a promise that says: “Don’t worry. I’ll just do 4 years to complete the Southern presidency, then hand it back to the North.”

But we’ve seen this play before. It always ends the same way:

• Obasanjo once hinted at just one term. He didn’t just do two terms—he even attempted an unconstitutional third.
• Goodluck Jonathan promised only one term after completing Yar’Adua’s. When the time came, he ran again.
• Buhari? In 2011, he swore that if elected, he’d only need one term to “fix Nigeria.” In 2015, he came back for a second—and left the country worse off.

The truth is simple: no serious politician voluntarily relinquishes power after one term if he can help it. Power is addictive. And in Nigeria, power is also protection.

🧾 If Four Years Is Enough, Why Hasn’t Anyone Done It?

Ask any serious policy analyst, reformer, or insider: It would take a miracle to reverse Nigeria’s bleeding in even eight years, let alone four. Let’s break it down:

1. Security Reform alone—military, police, borders, intelligence—needs 3 years minimum to just stabilize.
2. Judicial and Anti-Corruption Overhaul? Not less than 5 years to yield results.
3. Restructuring the Economy from consumption to production? That’s a two-term battle.
4. Education, Power, Healthcare—these are generational projects, not 4-year quick fixes.

Unless Obi plans to be a ceremonial president who simply “makes an impression” with fancy speeches and policy blueprints—he cannot seriously believe four years will achieve any lasting change.

🔍 Leadership is Not About Self-Restraint—It’s About Finishing the Job

Peter Obi says Mandela did one term. True. But Mandela inherited a functioning system, focused on reconciliation, and intentionally handed over to younger leaders in a stable environment. Nigeria is no post-apartheid South Africa.

Abraham Lincoln did four years? Yes—because he was assassinated. And even in that time, America plunged into civil war.

Obi’s constant comparisons to Mandela, Lincoln, and JFK are not only misleading—they’re intellectually dishonest. None of those leaders fixed their countries in 4 years. And none of them had to clean up Nigeria.

🧩 So Why Make This Promise At All?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

• It’s a strategy to soothe political nerves—especially in the North.
• It’s a tool to disarm internal party opposition, promising them succession.
• And it’s a gimmick to portray himself as morally superior to “power-hungry” politicians.

But leadership is not about who wants to stay less—it’s about who’s willing to stay long enough to finish what they started.

You can’t rebuild a broken house, install solar panels, fix the plumbing, and repaint the walls in four weekends. Nigeria is not a bungalow in Onitsha. It’s a skyscraper built on rotting pillars.

🔥 Final Thoughts: Nigerians Deserve Honesty, Not Slogans

We’ve been played too many times. If Peter Obi is serious, he should stop playing to the gallery with catchy one-liners. He should tell Nigerians the truth: That this will be a war. That 4 years is only the beginning. That he may need 8—and even then, we may not see full recovery.

He should focus on building trust through competence—not token promises of early exit.

Because here’s the harsh truth: If you say you only need 4 years to fix Nigeria, you’ve either grossly underestimated the problem—or you’re deliberately lying to get the job.

And in either case, that’s a red flag.