PeacePro Seeks Nationwide Apologies to Heal Nigeria’s Historical Wounds
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PeacePro Seeks Nationwide Apologies to Heal Nigeria’s Historical Wounds
By Kaosara Olayemi Oladimeji
The Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) has Friday released a new national reconciliation blueprint calling for broad apologies across Nigeria’s regions, ethnic blocs and religious groups.
Presenting the document in Abuja, the Executive Director of PeacePro, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, said Nigeria must confront its history honestly if it hopes to build lasting peace.
He said the country has spent decades “patching over deep scars” instead of addressing the roots of its divisions.
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“True reconciliation begins with truth, acknowledgment and the courage to say, ‘we are sorry’,” Hamzat said. “An apology is not weakness; it is leadership.”
The blueprint lists a series of symbolic apologies that PeacePro believes can open the door to national healing.
It urges the South East to apologise to the Niger Delta over political actions that increased tensions leading to the 12-Day Revolution.
It also asks the region to apologise for the 1966 coup, which altered Nigeria’s political path.
The North, according to the document, should apologise for the pogroms against the Igbo, a tragedy that remains one of the most painful chapters in the country’s history.
It also calls on the Federal Government to apologise to Nigerians over insecurity, corruption and years of governance failures, as well as to the South East for losses suffered during the Civil War.
PeacePro further recommends that Fulani leadership apologise to victims of banditry and herders-related violence, which have destroyed communities across many states.
It adds that the major ethnic groups, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo owed minority groups apologies for political and cultural marginalisation.
The blueprint also touches on interfaith relations, urging Christians and Muslims to apologise to each other for intolerance.
It says both faith communities should extend apologies to traditional worshippers who, for decades, faced exclusion and discrimination.
Hamzat said the proposals were not designed to stir anger but to promote healing.
“This is not blame; this is leadership,” he said.
“No group is guiltless. Every community carries its pain. Every side contributed to where we are today.”
He said Nigeria is at a turning point and must choose between repeating old mistakes or charting a new path through honesty and reconciliation.
