Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has sharply criticised a viral social media post that likened Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi to Singapore’s founding Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew.
The post, made by an influencer Alex Onyia on X (formerly Twitter), read, “Peter Obi is like Lee Kwan Yu of Singapore. Leaders like him come once in a generation.”
The message quickly gained traction among Obi supporters, with many echoing the comparison.
However, Onanuga dismissed the statement as not only misguided but deeply insulting to Nigerians.
Reacting in the comment section of the post, he wrote, “I find posts like Onyia’s very amusing. He is possibly posting for some idiots to gobble everything he says. How can anyone in his right senses compare Peter Obi with the late Singaporean leader, Lee Kuan Yew, a name Onyia misspelt?”
The presidential adviser argued that Obi’s record as a two-term governor of Anambra State did not reflect visionary leadership.
“Peter Obi was not an exemplary governor of Anambra. He didn’t show any vision of development. He did not build a classroom, as has been said irrefutably. Indeed, he left Awka, the capital, worse than he met it,” Onanuga said.
He added in Yoruba, “If a man wants to be sharp and bright, he shows the traits in infancy,” implying Obi never showed the kind of promise associated with transformational leadership.
Onanuga concluded by urging Onyia to “delete your egregious joke. You have insulted Nigerians.”
Lee Kuan Yew, who led Singapore from 1959 to 1990, is widely credited with transforming the Southeast Asian city-state from a poor, post-colonial economy into one of the world’s most prosperous and orderly societies.
His legacy includes a strong emphasis on meritocracy, discipline, infrastructure and zero tolerance for corruption.
The comparison between Obi and Lee has sparked debate online, with critics and supporters of both figures continuing to clash over what constitutes visionary leadership in a Nigerian context.
