Peter Obi Calls for Unity: ‘Nigeria Must Build a Future Based on Love, Not Hatred’
NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi says it is unjust to associate him with Nigeria’s 1966 military coup, insisting that historical prejudice should never replace informed political judgment.
Presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has called on Nigerians to move beyond the painful divisions of the past and build a future anchored on love, unity and reconciliation.
Obi made the call during an exclusive interview with Ojy Okpe of ARISE News, where he was asked how he intends to win the support of northern voters who, decades after the 1966 military coup, still associate the Igbo with the assassination of Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto.
The interviewer specifically asked what Obi would say to “a man in Sokoto” who has never forgiven the Igbo over the killing of Ahmadu Bello and is now being asked to vote for an Igbo presidential candidate.
In response, Obi acknowledged the painful chapters in Nigeria’s history, including the January 1966 coup, the July counter-coup and the Nigerian Civil War. However, he argued that the tragedies of the past should not be allowed to define the future or be used to hold individuals responsible for events in which they had no involvement.
“Yes, there were regrettable thing that happened but we must build a future based on love not hatred. Yes, things were not done properly, but those things that were not done properly, I was not involved with it. You cannot hold what happened when I was three, four years against me,” Obi said.
The former Anambra State governor said Nigeria must confront its history without allowing historical grievances to perpetuate division among its people.
According to him, the country’s inability to heal from past wounds remains one of its greatest challenges, and politics driven by resentment and ethnic suspicion will only deepen those divisions.
Obi instead called for a new national outlook focused on what Nigerians can build together rather than what has divided them in the past.
“You don't dwell on yesterday. Those who dwell on yesterday will miss tomorrow. Tomorrow is the only future we have. We need to build tomorrow. I want to build a new Nigeria that is possible,” he said.
“We must build a future based on love, not hatred. It is time to show love. It is time to show unity. That is why my presidency is about the unity of this country,” he added.
The 1966 military coup remains one of the most consequential and controversial events in Nigeria’s post-independence history. The overthrow of the First Republic led to the assassination of several political and military leaders, including Ahmadu Bello, and was followed by the July counter-coup, widespread ethnic violence and, ultimately, the Nigerian Civil War.
More than six decades later, the legacy of those events continues to influence political discourse, particularly around ethnic identity, historical grievances and trust between Nigeria’s regions.
Obi’s comments come as political activity ahead of the 2027 presidential election intensifies, with national unity emerging alongside the economy, insecurity and governance as major issues likely to shape the contest.
His response sought to separate the responsibility of individuals from the collective memory of historical events while making a broader appeal for Nigerians to overcome inherited divisions.
For Obi, the choice before the country is not whether to remember its past, but whether the past should continue to determine its future.
As he put it, “Those who dwell on yesterday will miss tomorrow.”