The Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has addressed the mixed reactions, which followed his congratulatory message to former military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (retd.), on his 90th birthday.
In a statement on his X handle, Obi stressed the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation, particularly in light of Nigeria’s tumultuous past, including the civil war from 1967 to 1970.
Obi acknowledged the pain and anger some Nigerians still feel regarding the war but argued that responding with bitterness only perpetuates division. He noted the significance of Gowon’s longevity as a symbol of healing, alongside the reconciliatory gesture of providing a national burial for Biafra leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, in 2012.
Referencing his Christian faith, Obi called for a shift away from anger, advocating for a united Nigeria that learns from its history rather than being defined by it. He expressed his belief that embracing forgiveness is essential for the nation’s progress and the cultivation of a more inclusive society.
Obi also reiterated that his actions are aimed at fostering unity and building a better future for all Nigerians, encouraging others to join in the journey toward reconciliation.
The statement read: “My felicitation with Nigeria’s former military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, on his 90th birthday anniversary, which was celebrated by a cross-section of Nigerians, has been received with mixed feelings by some Nigerians, and some have expressed their sentiments publicly and privately to me.
“I share in some of them, and I feel that as a leader in the vanguard of providing direction for our country to shift base away from all our shortcomings, including the issues that caused our avoidable, cruel civil war, I needed to show the world that the ultimate heroism is forgiving the enemy and moving forward.
“Indisputably, the darkest part of our 64-year journey as a nation is the 30 months of civil war from 1967 to 1970. God Almighty, whose ways are not our ways, must have a reason for keeping the Chief Prosecutor of the war, General Gowon, alive to be 90 years old today, and the man who saw the end of the war, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, at 87 years, spearheading all moves to see a reconciled and just Nigeria.
“There was also a developing new spirit when the same country, Nigeria, gave the Biafra leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, a heroic national burial on March 2, 2012, when he joined his ancestors, coincidentally during my tenure as Governor of Anambra State. The status of the burial given to Dim Ojukwu remains the boldest indication to the world that Nigeria, as a country, is disposed to moving forward in the spirit of reconciliation.
“There are various ways human beings can respond to acts of evil, especially those that claimed millions of lives. One is the tragedy of revenge, and another offers the hope of forgiveness in an attempt to forget. The latter conforms neatly with the template I adopted in greeting Gen. Gowon at 90 years old.
“In all my dealings with human beings, I try to be guided by my faith as a Christian in the strong message preached by Jesus Christ himself and underscored in reflections in St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians 3:13: ‘Bear with each other and forgive one another: if any of you has a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you.’ And to Ephesians 4:31-32: ‘Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.’
“Whatever reason I give for joining the rest of Nigerians to greet General Gowon may never truly conform with some persons, especially direct victims of the war, but anger, hurt, and bitterness are the most common responses to cruelty. These emotions fuel sectarianism, lead to resistance, and trigger avoidable blood feuds, which we are witnessing across the globe and even in our country. This does not abate.
“There is something about forgiveness—it sets the person doing it free. Forgiveness is more a process than an instinct. Hate has put our society, blessed by God to be the greatest land in the black world, down, but this hate has to stop.
“I was under ten years old when the Nigeria-Biafra war started in 1967. Most of my supporters across the country, joining me in the quest for a new Nigeria, were born after the war, and I didn’t feel I should drag them back to the dark side of our history by being unforgiving. I feel such an act would derail the message of a new Nigeria that we insist is POssible.
“‘Must you greet him? Why didn’t you keep quiet?’ some angrily say to me. But that would still be injurious to our journey to a new Nigeria, where all political vices—including but not limited to ethnic, religious, and regional segregation, as well as bitterness—are eliminated.
“Various personal experiences of victims of injustice across the globe who have chosen to put ugly things behind them visibly demonstrate the transformative power of forgiveness in healing personal and collective wounds.”
