Tobi Soniyi in Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari and the Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation have extended Nigeria’s condolences to the government and people of the State of Israel over the passing of former President and Prime Minister, Shimon Peres.
A statement issued in Abuja yesterday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Buhari joined the global community and world leaders in mourning the former two-time Prime Minister and President of Israel, whose visionary leadership, voice of wisdom and unparalleled experience of diplomacy in the Middle East would continue to resonate in the long search for peace in the region.
The statement read: “As a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 alongside Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, the President believes the statesmanship and patriotism displayed by Peres in signing the Oslo Accord, the subsequent treaties for a two-state solution, was most quintessential, and should be followed through so that the younger generations will inherit peace and harmony.”
Looking into the towering national and global records of the late Israeli statesman, Buhari said Peres served firmly, faithfully and dutifully in building a modern Israeli state, and also rose to the occasion when the world desperately needed a heart of love, magnanimity and understanding to heal the wounds of hostility in the region.
Buhari joined the world in celebrating the warm memory of gentleness, goodness and kindness that Peres left behind for other leaders to emulate in serving their country and working for humanity.
On its part, the Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation described the passage of Peres as very sad.
The foundation in a statement issued yesterday in Lagos noted that those who came in close contact and had personal relationship with the global statesman will only be comforted with his legacies.
“We at the Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation, along with all well-meaning members of the global community who knew Shimon either personally or as a world statesman, are sad at his transition. However, we are heartened by the legacies he has left on the sands of time.”
The foundation noted that Peres was a distinguished leader and exceptional role model who affected the world immensely adding that his contribution to the Oslo Peace Accord that called for the two states solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict focused on the peaceful coexistence of the Israeli and Palestinian people.
The statement said Peres who was a Fellow and a member of the International Board of Fellows of the Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation, delivered the keynote address at the fifth session of the annual lecture series in year 2003.
“His message, which was reflected during his career as an esteemed public servant within Israel, the Middle East as well as the world at large, was one of peaceful co-existence. We, at the foundation continue to be immensely honoured that Peres’ first visit to Nigeria was at the invitation of our foundation. Although we will miss our great friend, mentor and valued member of the foundation, we draw from the averment of our mentor, Emmanuel Onyechere Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe, that personality survives death. We hold it as a testament of faith that the life of Shimon Peres will remain an encyclopaedia of study in academia and social life.”
