To the Ijesa People, the Good People of Osun State, the Accord Party and Its Members, Nigerians, and Humanity
There are moments in public life when politics must give way to humanity.
This is one of those moments.
I have read Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi’s apology concerning his recent statement, which generated understandable concern, pain and outrage across sections of our society.
I have also read some of the reactions to his apology, including suggestions that his remorse may have been influenced by the outcome of the recent political contest in Osun State.
I understand why some people may think so.
But I believe we must rise above that question.
Whether remorse came before or after political disappointment, an apology should be received for what it offers: an opportunity to heal, correct, reconcile and move forward.
I therefore write this intervention not as a politician, not as a spokesman for the Accord Party, and not to defend words that should never have been spoken in the manner in which they were understood.
I write as a brother, a Christian, an apostolic voice, a Nigerian and a believer in the dignity of every human being.
TO THE IJESA PEOPLE
To my people, the Ijesa, I appeal for forgiveness, restraint and healing.
Words spoken in the heat of political engagement can wound deeply, particularly when they appear to threaten the life or dignity of fellow citizens.
The Ijesa people have a proud tradition of courage, industry, intellectual accomplishment, enterprise and communal responsibility. We must not allow political competition to diminish that heritage.
Where words have caused pain, let us acknowledge the pain.
Where offence has been given, let us accept the apology.
Where misunderstanding has occurred, let us seek clarification rather than permanent hostility.
And where wrongdoing is acknowledged, let us allow the possibility of redemption.
An Ijesa man does not become smaller by apologising, and an Ijesa people do not become weaker by forgiving.
Indeed, there is strength in reconciliation.
TO THE PEOPLE OF OSUN STATE
To the good people of Osun State, I appeal that we separate political contest from human dignity.
Elections will come and go.
Political parties will rise and fall.
Candidates will win and lose.
Governments will change.
But the human being remains.
No electoral contest is worth the destruction of relationships, communities or human lives.
No political victory justifies violence.
And no political defeat justifies bitterness.
The ballot is the weapon of democracy.
It must never be replaced by the bullet, the machete, intimidation or the language of violence.
Let Osun demonstrate that political disagreement can be fierce without becoming fatal.
TO THE ACCORD PARTY AND ITS MEMBERS
To the leadership and members of the Accord Party, I acknowledge the hurt and apprehension that may have followed the words attributed to Senator Fadahunsi.
You have every right to disagree politically.
You have every right to defend your party.
You have every right to demand accountability from public officials.
But I appeal to you also to receive the apology in the spirit in which it has now been offered.
The political contest is over.
The citizens have spoken through the ballot.
Whatever the outcome, no political party should become an enemy of the humanity of another political party.
APC members are human beings.
Accord members are human beings.
PDP members are human beings.
Labour Party members are human beings.
APGA members are human beings.
NNPP members are human beings.
And those who belong to no political party at all are equally human beings.
Our political identities must never become more important than our shared humanity.
TO THE MEMBERS OF ACCORD PARTY
I appeal particularly to members of Accord not to allow anger to become a permanent inheritance.
Accept the apology if you can.
Forgive if you are able.
But also remember the lesson.
Political language matters.
Political leaders must be careful.
And citizens must hold every political actor to a consistent standard.
The objective should not be to destroy the person who spoke wrongly.
The objective should be to build a society in which such words are no longer considered acceptable political language.
TO NIGERIANS
To Nigerians, I ask us to resist the temptation to turn every controversy into another battlefield.
We are already too divided.
Too suspicious.
Too wounded.
Too quick to interpret the worst intentions in one another.
Our nation needs healing.
We cannot continue to build Nigeria with the vocabulary of permanent hostility.
Today it is Fadahunsi.
Tomorrow it may be another politician.
Today it is Accord.
Tomorrow it may be APC, PDP, Labour, APGA, NNPP or another political platform.
If we establish a culture in which every mistake becomes an opportunity for destruction, we will eventually have no one left capable of reconciliation.
Accountability and forgiveness are not enemies.
We can condemn irresponsible words without condemning a human being to perpetual disgrace.
We can demand accountability while leaving room for repentance.
We can reject violence while refusing to become violent in our response.
That is the maturity democracy requires.
TO SENATOR FADAHUNSI
My brother, I have said publicly that my relationship with you makes this moment difficult for me.
I have worked with you.
I have walked with you.
I have received your support.
I know the brother behind the politician.
That is precisely why I cannot defend what should not be defended.
But neither will I deny you the opportunity to make amends.
Your apology matters.
I urge you to let it go beyond a social-media response.
Let it become a renewed commitment to responsible political communication.
Let your future words demonstrate that you have learnt from this moment.
Let your leadership show that political passion can exist without contempt for political opponents.
And let your conduct remind us that a public servant can make a mistake, acknowledge it, apologise for it and emerge from the experience a better leader.
That is not weakness.
That is statesmanship.
TO THOSE WHO DOUBT THE MOTIVE BEHIND THE APOLOGY
I have seen comments suggesting that Senator Fadahunsi’s remorse is connected to the loss of his party in the Osun political contest.
Perhaps some people believe that.
Perhaps others do not.
I do not intend to investigate the sincerity of a man’s repentance from the outside.
Only God fully knows the human heart.
But I believe there is something more important than determining the precise moment at which remorse entered the heart.
If a man has recognised that his words caused pain, let us encourage him to do better.
If his apology is sincere, let it produce reconciliation.
If his apology was prompted by political consequences, let even those consequences produce wisdom.
Sometimes God uses circumstances we do not understand to teach lessons we desperately need.
The question before us should therefore not be:
«“Why did he apologise?”»
The more constructive question is:
«“What will we all do differently because of what happened?”»
TO HUMANITY
And now, I speak beyond Nigeria.
There is a lesson here for humanity.
Political competition has become increasingly toxic across the world.
Words are weaponised.
Opponents are dehumanised.
Political identities become substitutes for human identity.
The result is predictable: societies become fractured, citizens become suspicious and violence becomes easier to justify.
We must reverse that culture.
A political opponent is not an enemy of humanity.
A person who votes differently from us is not less human.
A person who belongs to another religion is not less human.
A person who speaks another language is not less human.
A person who comes from another ethnic group is not less human.
Before party, tribe, religion, ideology or nationality, there is the human being.
And human life is sacred.
LET US RISE ABOVE THE MUNDANITIES OF POLITICS
Politics is important.
Governance is important.
Elections are important.
But politics is a means to serve humanity; it must never become an excuse to destroy humanity.
We must therefore rise above the mundanities of political competition.
Let us disagree without dehumanising.
Let us campaign without threatening.
Let us compete without hatred.
Let us lose without bitterness.
Let us win without arrogance.
Let us speak without inciting.
Let us apologise without conditions.
And let us forgive without surrendering truth.
A FINAL APPEAL
To the Ijesa people:
Let us forgive.
To the people of Osun:
Let us heal.
To Accord and all its members:
Let us accept the apology and preserve our democratic space for disagreement without hostility.
To Senator Fadahunsi:
Let the apology become a covenant for better words, better leadership and greater restraint.
To Nigerians:
Let us reject selective outrage and selective forgiveness.
And to humanity:
Let us never allow politics to become more important than human life.
The Bible teaches:
«“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”»
This is not a moment for another political battle.
It is a moment for peace.
It is a moment for reflection.
It is a moment for forgiveness.
It is a moment to recover something politics often makes us forget:
WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS BEFORE WE ARE POLITICAL ACTORS.
May this controversy therefore become more than another fleeting social-media storm.
May it become a lesson in responsible leadership.
May it become an invitation to political maturity.
May it become an opportunity for reconciliation.
And may we all, regardless of party, tribe, religion or political persuasion, rise above the temporary passions of politics to defend the permanent dignity of humanity.
For politics will pass.
Power will pass.
Elections will pass.
But humanity must endure.
Citizen Bolaji O. Akinyemi
Apostle | Nation Builder
