The Senior Pastor of Arrow Seeds International, Rev. Mike Nwimoh, has called for healing and forgiveness among Nigerians in the aftermath of the general elections in Nigeria.
Nwimoh made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.
The cleric said that healing and forgiveness were essential ingredients that the country needs to bring together Nigerians of various creed, tongue and tribe to move the nation forward.
“Nigerians must embrace forgiveness toward one another; forgiveness is to release a prisoner and then discover that you are the prisoner.
“Hatred in your heart against anyone will lead to resentment which in extreme cases, could lead to violence and murder.
“The same elites you are fighting for will deny you to maintain their reputation and send you to jail.
“Unforgiveness is similar to drinking a killer poison while expecting another person to die; it is like pulling down a bridge you have passed through and will always need in your journey of life.
“Let’s genuinely forgive ourselves and forge ahead, an eye for an eye will make everyone a blind person,” Nwimoh said.
He said that Nigeria was in need of men and women who would break the cycle of retaliation.
“Nigeria needs people who say though I have been injured and suffered for it, I will not inflict the same pain on anyone else.
“I won’t throw back the stone thrown at me.
“These are things that can help us to get started on the road to healing the mind of the wounded, and also healing the conscience of the nation,” Nwimoh said.
He noted that the general elections saw the nation divided along ethnic, religious and political lines with unspeakable utterances that were capable of tearing the it apart.
He said that those divisions were needless, adding that the challenges confronting the nation had no religious, tribal and political colouration.
“This assertion is instantiated by the current fuel crisis occasioned by the subsidy removal.
“I am yet to see any fueling station dedicated to any ethnic or religious group, where they can buy fuel cheaper and supply readily available for them.
“We all are going through the same pains,” Nwimoh said.