And there are departures that leave a library of lessons behind…Obasa
The passing of Colonel Peter Kolawole Obasa (Rtd.), the THIRD Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, is one of those moments.
With profound sorrow, but with gratitude to Almighty God for a life of remarkable service, intellectual depth, discipline, integrity and fulfilment, THISDAY Life Lessons mourns the passing of one of its cherished members and contributors.
Col. Obasa was not merely a participant in the Life Lessons platform. He was one of the lives that gave the platform meaning.
Since joining the platform established in 2018, he remained remarkably engaged with its conversations and ideals. He had earlier shared his life lessons with THISDAY before agreeing to sit down with Ayo Arowolo, Executive Editor of THISDAY Life Lessons, for a deeply reflective two-part conversation about his life, experiences, values and the lessons he had gathered across the decades.
What was particularly remarkable was that age never appeared to diminish his intellectual appetite.
At an age when many people might understandably retreat from intellectual engagement, Col. Obasa remained curious, thoughtful and mentally alive. Obasa conversations were rich with history, experience, reflection and ideas. He demonstrated that growing older need not mean growing intellectually distant from the world.
Indeed, his mind remained a place of vigorous conversation.
He had lived through extraordinary chapters of Nigeria’s history. He had served the nation. He had experienced moments of triumph and moments of profound personal adversity. Yet, perhaps one of the most powerful lessons he left with us was not about the positions he occupied, but about the way he chose to respond to the difficult things that happened to him.
He spoke openly about his experience of imprisonment.
But there was no bitterness.
There was no campaign for vengeance.
There was something far more powerful:
forgiveness.
Col. Obasa openly forgave the man responsible for his incarceration.
That was not a small lesson.
It was a lesson in freedom.
He understood that sometimes the greatest victory over an unpleasant chapter of one’s past is not revenge, but the refusal to allow that chapter to continue occupying one’s heart.
He carried his history without allowing his history to carry him.
And that is one of the reasons his contribution to THISDAY Life Lessons was so valuable.
WE WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO ONE MORE CONVERSATION
There is something especially poignant about his passing.
Col. Obasa had recently suffered a slight domestic accident. Even then, we remained in touch, and he had agreed to be our guest on the THISDAY Life Lessons platform towards the end of September.
We were looking forward to another conversation.
Another opportunity to listen.
Another opportunity to learn from a man whose life stretched across generations of Nigeria’s history.
That conversation will no longer take place in the way we imagined.
But perhaps there is another way to understand it.
The conversation has already happened.
It happened through the stories he shared.
It happened through his two-part conversation with Ayo Arowolo.
It happened through his contributions to THISDAY Life Lessons.
It happened through the questions he entertained, the experiences he recalled and the wisdom he generously shared.
And now, it will continue through the memories of everyone who had the privilege of listening to him.
A LIFE OF SERVICE. A MIND THAT NEVER RETIRED. A HEART THAT FORGAVE.
Col. Peter Kolawole Obasa leaves behind a legacy that goes beyond the offices he occupied.
He leaves behind the example of a man who served.
A man who endured.
A man who continued to think.
A man who continued to learn.
A man who continued to contribute.
And, perhaps most importantly, a man who found the grace to forgive.
That is the kind of life that belongs in a Life Lessons community.
And that is why THISDAY Life Lessons was privileged to call him one of its own.
We thank God for the years.
We thank God for the wisdom.
We thank God for the memories.
We thank God that, even in his advanced years, He granted Col. Obasa the intellectual strength and generosity to continue sharing his experiences with another generation.
And we thank God for the privilege given to THISDAY Life Lessons to sit at the feet of such a remarkable Nigerian.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and the entire Obasa family.
May they find comfort in knowing that their father, grandfather and great-grandfather did not merely live a long life.
He lived a life from which others could learn.
And perhaps that is one of the finest definitions of a life well spent.
Colonel Peter Kolawole Obasa (Rtd.)
You came.
You served.
You endured.
You taught.
You forgave.
And you left us with lessons.
May your soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Obasa.
Obasa ALL OF US AT THISDAY LIFE LESSONS
Thank you, Col. Obasa, for allowing us to learn from your life.
