The former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, yesterday urged Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of forgiveness as exhibited by former President Olusegun Obasanjo who has “forgiven him,” just as he declared that he wholeheartedly accepted the olive branch extended to him by his former boss.
According to him, even if one disagreed with Obasanjo, no one would doubt his firm commitment to the unity of Nigeria.
In a statement, Atiku who noted that if national unity must be achieved in all its ramifications in Nigeria, forgiving others who had offended one must be the watchword, said: ‘’Forgiveness is divinely inspired and is an oil that lubricates the wheels of continued human interactions and engagements.”
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar while commending his former boss for taking this bold step in the interest of the nation and humanity, stressed that the process of national healing and reconciliation should advance to a new level and extend to other citizens of the country who might have had grievances against one another.
Urging politicians to learn from the words of Mahatma Ghandi that an eye for an eye would make “our nation go blind. “When I made a similar effort few years ago, it was on the conviction that it would not be beneficial to me before Allah, if I went to the grave with bitterness. Let us forgive one another so that we can team up for national rebirth.”
It will be recalled that former President Olusegun Obasanjo, had last Sunday while responding to the demand of Northern Youth Leaders Forum, NLYF, to forgive his estranged former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, said; “I have forgiven him.”
Abubakar was Obasanjo’s vice, between 1999 and 2007, and was believed to have scuttled the third-term ambition of Obasanjo in 2006.
