As Plateau State commemorate the Day of Forgiveness, a day set aside to drive the process of healing and reconciliation in the State, the Executive Governor of Plateau State, Rt. Hon. Simon Lalong has urged the Citizens of the State to always remember that they all have a choice to think and act in a way that will make love among them prevail and tackle those who are bent on dividing them.
He made this known at the 2022 Forgiveness Day which held at the Peace and Forgiveness Garden Jos, Plateau State.
He said the State belongs to all who should work towards holding, nurturing and developing it.

Gov. Lalong said since the day was birthed, the people have continued to embrace one another and work assiduously in putting the ugly past behind them.
He disclosed that the goal of his administration since coming to office has been to restore the State to its solid foundation of peace, justice, equality, tolerance and hospitality.
According to him, this Year’s theme “Forgiving the Past to Reconcile the Future” is apt.
He stressed that violence has negative implication to the people and the State at large.
“There is no doubt that two decades of recurring violent conflicts in various parts of our State did unimaginable damage to our collective psyche and fractured age-long peaceful intra and inter group coexistence which stunted our development and growth. This resulted in deep seated-level of mutual distrust, suspicion and hate that characterized social relations between people of different ethno-religious groups across Plateau State”
” It is in a bid to mitigate this situation that we set aside this day as a symbolic effort of using forgiveness which is a very powerful tool in pulling down the walls of differences that we may have against one another. It is our firm belief that until and unless we learn to forgive, we may never really understand the blessings of God”
“We can either choose to live in hate and resentment, or to forgive the wrongs done to us in order to forge a new social compact that will guarantee a beautiful future for our children and generations unborn”
“I am happy that as we mark this year’s Forgiveness Day, there are very positive stories of achievements in the process of healing since we came into office in 2015. Having taken steps and developed mechanisms in the form of institutions that are working round the clock to ensure the return of peace to our dear State, many communities that were hot beds of crises are now calm and working together to forge a better condition”
“This feat could not have been possible without the role of the Plateau Peace Building Agency, the Traditional Institution, Security Agencies, Civil Society, the citizens as well as other non-state actors who have continued to work tirelessly to rebuild the peace through trust and confidence building, dialogue, advocacy and community resilience” he disclosed.
He lauded the security agencies for their relentless support to the government in the reconciliation and healing process in the State.
According to him, the security agencies have remained professional and committed in the performance of their duty of confronting criminal elements as well as providing a conducive atmosphere for dialogue and reconciliation to thrive.

He appreciated the Traditional Rulers for ensuring that there is peace in their domain.

Gov. Lalong appealed to politicians to tow the same line of the Traditional, religious and community bodies to anchor their political messages on love, peace, forgiveness and reconciliation.

He charged the citizens and the media to desist from the dissemination of messages that are capable of stirring anger and inciting the people to violence, revenge and unforgiveness.

He said using the social and traditional media to spread hate speech, incitement and intolerance is further damaging the prospect for attaining a peaceful State.

In his remarks, the Director General of the Plateau Peace Building Agency (PPBA), Mr. Joseph Lengmang said “it is sometimes very difficult for people to comprehend the fact that in order for us to heal, then we must first, forgive all those who have hurt or offended us. This is something we must accept to do even unconditionally as clearly stated in holy Scripture-Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. And so this day teaches us that forgiveness involve some efforts which can help us break free from the shackles of the past, so we can in turn rediscover or restore happiness back to our lives”
“Our history in the last 20 years, has been checkered with very ugly occurrences in the form of ethno-religious and inter-communal conflicts and in some cases terrorism. The enemies of our state both from within and without have not relented in pitching us against each other. The consequences in terms of the destruction of human lives and property and also the breakdown of hitherto healthy inter-communal relationships can only be better imagined” he said.

According to him, this year’s Forgiveness Day is intended to encourage the people to set aside old grudges, move past frustrations and hurts as well as open a new chapter in their individual and collective journey towards peace and tranquility.

“I urge us all to be open minded and expect to hear and see things that may not necessarily settle well with our individual perceptions of the other and nor our sentiments. I sincerely hope that we would be able to learn to forgive even unconditionally, love sincerely, and let go of the past and move towards a safer, secure and stable future” he posited.

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Forgiveness Day: Gov. Lalong Charges Plateau Citizens to Love One Another and Fight Divisive Elements