Former President Goodluck Jonathan used a requiem mass for the late Chief Audu Ogbeh to deliver a message that was part personal testament and part political sermon. At a ceremony in Abuja to honour the elder statesman, Dr Jonathan declared that he does not hold grudges, even when hurt, and urged politicians to practise forgiveness for the sake of national cohesion and development.
The remarks illuminate a rare strain of public humility in a political culture often defined by rivalry and recrimination.
A personal tribute with political resonance
Dr Jonathan’s comments came at a requiem mass held in memory of Chief Audu Innocent Ogbeh, a farmer, playwright and politician whose career spanned several decades and crossed party lines.
Ogbeh served as National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party from 2001 to 2005 and later returned to public office as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development under President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2019. His death in August 2025 prompted outpourings of respect across the political spectrum.
In his tribute Jonathan recalled a friendship that dated back to his time as deputy governor of Bayelsa State, noting that Ogbeh treated him as a close friend at a time when deputy governors were often dismissed as spare tyres.
He described Ogbeh as humble, generous and resolute in leaving the past behind — traits Jonathan said he shared.
“If you hurt me today, I will forgive you. I don’t carry grudges against people. I believe the past is past — and I move on,” the former president told attendees.
Why the declaration matters
On the surface the remark is a personal value statement. But spoken at the funeral of a man who moved between major parties and who served under administrations of very different political persuasions, the line carries weight.
Ogbeh’s own arc — PDP chairman in the early 2000s, later a minister in an APC government — is an object lesson in cross-party service and pragmatic nationalism.
That trajectory underscores Jonathan’s point that political life in Nigeria, fractured as it is, can still accommodate reconciliation and collaboration.
More than symbolism, the refusal to nurse grudges has measurable political consequences. Nigeria’s democracy has matured unevenly. Episodes of vendetta politics and the instrumentalisation of state power against rivals have often deepened factionalism.
A former president who publicly models concession and restraint — Jonathan famously conceded defeat in 2015, setting an important precedent — reinforces a norm that can reduce the incentive for revenge politics and encourage orderly transitions and national stability.
The Ogbeh example: farmer, politician, bridge builder
Audu Ogbeh’s public life was notable for its variety. He taught and wrote plays, ran farms and twice took ministerial appointments in different political eras. He chaired the PDP at a turbulent time and then later accepted a role in an administration of a rival party.
Observers noted that Ogbeh’s public persona was shaped by a combination of intellectualism, plain speaking and a farmer’s temperament — a willingness to get one’s hands dirty and to prioritise practical outcomes over partisan purity.
That combination made him useful across divides and, crucially, helped him retain personal friendships across party lines.
That pattern matters because cross-cutting personal networks between politicians can act as informal stabilisers. When senior figures maintain lines of communication, personal slights are less likely to calcify into institutional ruptures.
Jonathan’s public insistence that he will forgive those who hurt him is therefore not just an ethical choice. It is a political tactic for preserving working relationships that can be converted into governance outcomes.
A reality check on forgiveness in Nigerian politics
To be clear, public forgiveness is no panacea. Power struggles in Nigeria often involve entrenched interests, resource control and regional fractures that forgiveness alone cannot resolve. Forgiveness without accountability can also leave grievances unaddressed and weaken public trust.
The challenge for leaders who preach reconciliation is to pair generosity of spirit with transparent institutions that deter abuse and deliver redress.
In short, letting the past go should not mean ignoring wrongdoing. It should mean building mechanisms that reduce the recurrence of harm. (This is a point often raised by scholars of transitional politics and was implicit in many commentaries after Jonathan’s 2015 concession.)
Political theatre or genuine conversion?
A sceptic might read Jonathan’s words as calculated public theatre — an attempt to burnish a post-presidential brand or to appeal to moderate sentiment ahead of future political manoeuvres. Yet the consistency of Jonathan’s public posture over the years, particularly his decision to accept defeat in 2015 and depart office peacefully, gives his words credibility.
When a former head of state with a national profile speaks of forgiveness at the funeral of an elder statesman, some of that sincerity rubs off on public discourse.
The practical test
The true test of the ethic Jonathan described will be whether it informs behaviour across party ranks.
Will political actors emulate Ogbeh’s willingness to cross lines of loyalty in the national interest?
Will leaders use forgiveness as a strategy to defuse crises and open space for compromise rather than as a cover for impunity?
For now the requiem mass offered a brief tableau: two senior men, once on different sides of fierce debates, praising a life of public service and refusing to be consumed by enmity.
Those gestures can be seeds. Whether they grow depends on whether the next generation of politicians chooses to water them.
In conclusion, at a time when Nigeria faces pressing economic and security challenges, the politics of personal grievance compounds national difficulty. Dr Goodluck Jonathan’s public refusal to hold grudges and his eulogy for Chief Audu Ogbeh provide a corrective line in the public record.
Forgiveness without forgetfulness, paired with institutional reform and accountability, could help shift incentives away from recrimination and towards cooperation.
The requiem mass that inspired the statement was a reminder that, in Nigerian politics, relationships matter as much as rhetoric. If politicians heed that lesson, the country stands to gain. If they do not, the ritual of forgiveness will remain merely ceremonial.
