“Forgiveness is moving on well and make no mistake about it, it isn’t about forgetting, it’s about freeing. It’s about PEACE!”
BY ATA IKHIDDE
It stunned many. No one saw it coming. It was a curveball. The accusations were heavy, careless, and deeply libellous, the kind of claims that only a court of law can untangle and from which a name can truly be cleared.
Yet yesterday, the Senate President, Senator Godswil Akpabio chose a different court. A higher court. The court where angels are the solicitors, and where it is not what the mouth declares that carries weight, but what the heart knows to be true. In that court, no one hides. Every man stands naked before the Great Judge, the only Wise One. Scripture speaks of it in 1 John 2:1, reminding us that Jesus Christ Himself is our Advocate.
In the days after his birthday, the Senate President was noticeably quieter than usual. The celebration was subdued. When asked why, he spoke of Nigeria, of her people, and especially of children in bushes, staring down the barrels of guns aimed at their temples. But it was clear that more lay beneath the surface. There were other burdens on his mind: betrayal, treachery, and lies carefully brewed from hell’s kitchen, where falsehood is the main ingredient, while chloroquine like bitter lentils is the soup forced down your throat.
To endure such accusations is to feel unimaginable pain. It’s like sting, a cocktail of venom – scorpion, bee, and black mamba all combined. The hurt settles deep, unsettling the mind. The heart heavy from the poison. This is one weight you are not ready to drag into the new year. You have the best lawyers, they have weighty briefs on your behalf. But as skilled and as equipped as they maybe, they don’t have the ability to carry your heart. That is the real burden. Not the falsehoods. You want to let go. You want Peace. But you don’t know how. And on the morning of New Year’s Day, your Pastor Priest says these exact words from the pulpit; “Let go of the past, no matter what it was. All of us carry some luggage of pain and hurt. You have to let go if you want to move on.” And at that moment you have an epiphany.
LESSONS FOR US
(1) To forgive is not to excuse what was done; it is to evict pain from squatting illegally in your heart. The past is a teacher, not a jailer. Learn the lesson, then leave the cell. Holding on tightens the knot, but release loosens it. A quiet mind makes stronger decisions, while bitterness clouds judgment, but clarity restores it.
(2) Letting go cuts the anchor that keeps one stuck. Carrying pain is like lifting extra weight up the mountain of life. Listen to the advice of my grand mother Ma Jenny, “Put down the Calabash of pain and the journey is lighter”. There is wisdom in mending the heart instead of keeping records, because true closure comes from choosing calm over chaos. Forgiveness closes open wounds, and time heals better when wounds are cleaned.
(3) Release the rope, and the tug ends. The door opens when your grip goes limp. Choose healing over open wounds. Forgiveness is moving on well and make no mistake about it, it isn’t about forgetting, it’s about freeing. It’s about PEACE! And it’s the greater person who always says Lord God I leave it all in your hands!
