Archbishop of Canterbury writes special letter to Obasanjo

Obasanjo reading the letter from Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby

By Adejoke Adeleye

Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Justin Welby has written a special letter to Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo marking his 83rd birthday.

Obasanjo turns 83 years on Thursday.

The letter, written in Welby’s handwriting was presented to him by Bishop Precious Omuku on the occasion of his 83rd birthday at the Penthouse of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the Senior Bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury.

The letter, which was dated February 20, 2020, noted that the former President, despite his age, has continued to serve the course of peace globally.

The two paragraphed letter reads: “I write to wish you many happy returns of the day on 5th March. At an age when many retire, you continue to serve the course of peace across the world, and especially in Africa.

May God grant you blessing, wisdom, the assurance of salvation and confidence in His love for you in Cross and Resurrection in the peace of Christ.”

Reacting to the letter, Obasanjo said he would not rest on his oars until global peace was achieved.

Obasanjo, who described the letter as “a special birthday gift” said that the request to continue to serve for peace was a challenge for him.

“It is a challenge to do more than what we have done. You realise that everywhere we are, there is always an opportunity to work for peace and an opportunity to work for justice, which is foundation for peace.

“There is plenty of work to do. My prayer is that God will give us the wherewithal to do more,” Obasanjo said.

He commended the Director of the Centre for Human Security and Dialogue (CHS&D), Prof. Peter Okebukola, for organizing “this surprise occasion. Every birthday is a special day, but this particular one is particularly special. I thanked Archbishop and the initiator of this surprise occasion, Prof. Okebukola.”