Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has shared details of his recent spiritual journey to the United States and Rome, describing it as a period of reflection and intercession for Nigeria’s unity, healing, and leadership renewal.
In a statement titled “My Visit to the USA, Rome: Taking Nigeria’s Situation to God,” Obi explained that after addressing the Friendship Club in the United States on 4 October and speaking at the 1st Ubuntu African Youth Assembly in Washington on 5 October, he travelled to Rome to join his wife for a Jubilee Year pilgrimage. The Jubilee Year, observed every twenty-five years by the Catholic Church, is a period of renewal, forgiveness, and thanksgiving.
Obi said he and his wife dedicated their prayers to Nigeria, expressing gratitude to God for sustaining the nation through decades of challenges since independence. They also sought divine forgiveness and appealed for the emergence of leaders guided by truth, compassion, and commitment to the common good.
“As Nigerians, we must each continue to do our part with honesty, diligence, and love for the healing and progress of our country,” Obi stated, adding that faith should inspire responsible action rather than passive fatalism.
The former Anambra State governor recounted passing through the Holy Doors of the four major Papal Basilicas in Rome—St. Mary Major, St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. John Lateran, and St. Peter’s Basilica—praying for God’s mercy on Nigeria. He was received by Cardinal James Harvey at St. Paul’s Basilica and later attended a Papal General Audience at St. Peter’s, where he heard a message from Pope Leo XIV on hope and perseverance.
Obi and his wife also met Nigerian pilgrims in Rome, sharing in their prayers for a “renewed and better Nigeria.” He concluded his reflection with optimism, affirming his belief in divine providence and declaring that “a new Nigeria is possible.”
