Aisha Yesufu has compared Peter Obi to former South African President Nelson Mandela, claiming that the former Labour Party presidential candidate has the same desire to serve, leave a legacy, and move on.
She made the analogy while expressing her intention to oppose Obi for a second term in office.
In an interview with Arise TV on Monday, she stated that she had extracted the vow directly from Obi following the 2023 presidential election, pressuring him to reiterate a position he had held since 2022.
“If Mr. Peter Obi gets into office and decides to do more than one term, I, Aisha Yesufu, and I repeat it here, will oppose him with everything in me, because he gave his word,” she said.
She recalled that Obi made the one-term declaration before the 2023 election, and she had initially opposed it.
“In 2022, when he was saying that, I remember saying to him, oh, sir, please, you can’t be serious. You can’t say you’re going to do one term and move on,” she said.
Yesufu stated that after the election, she sat down with Obi and demanded a fresh commitment.
“I need your word on this. I know you had said it before. I want you to repeat it. Is it true you’re going to do just one term?” she said she asked him.
She said Obi told her, “Aisha, I told you even in 2023, and I still mean it, because I said I’m going out and I’m telling people this is what you have said.” And I’m putting my name on the line. I don’t joke with my name. I don’t joke with my integrity. When I say something, I mean it.”
Yesufu expressed confidence that Obi would follow the vow, describing him as a man of his word.
She said she was drawn to Obi because of his expressed intention to leave a lasting national legacy rather than cling to power, comparing his approach to that of Singapore’s founding leader Lee Kuan Yew and South Africa’s Nelson Mandela.
“When he talks, you see him put himself in the likes of Lee Kuan Yew, in the likes of Nelson Mandela, especially more of Nelson Mandela, and that a lot can be done in a country without you having to stay on, on, on, and on,” she said.
She explained that Obi’s dedication to a single term stemmed from a notion that leaders who are not concerned with re-election make better decisions for the country.
“When you know you’re not coming back, you’re not able to make decisions that work more for the nation, rather than decisions that work more for a few people, because you’re thinking of coming back and you need their help later or whatever,” she said.
Yesufu noted that she envisioned Obi being remembered as the father of modern-day Nigeria a century from now if he followed through on his vision.
“Sitting down with him is seeing him wanting a Nigeria that not only works but, years from now, probably I would say like a hundred years from now, people will remember him when they talk about Nigeria,” she said.
