Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation has described the passage of the
two-time Prime Minister and immediate past President of Israel, Shimon
Press as very sad.
The foundation in a statement issued on
Thursday in Lagos noted that those who came in close contact and had
personal relationship with the global statesman will only be comforted
with his legacies.
“We at the Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation,
along with all well-meaning members of the global community who knew
Shimon either personally or as a world statesman, are sad at his
transition. However, we are heartened by the legacies he has left on the
sands of time.”
The foundation noted that Peres was a
distinguished leader and exceptional role model who affected the world
immensely adding that his contribution to the Oslo Peace Accord that
called for the two states solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict
focused on the peaceful coexistence of the Israeli and Palestinian
people.
The statement said Shimon Peres who was a Fellow and a
member of the International Board of Fellows of the Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe
Foundation delivered the keynote address at the 5th Session of the
annual lecture series in year 2003.
“His message, which was
reflected during his career as an esteemed public servant within Israel,
the Middle East as well as the world at large, was one of peaceful
co-existence. We, at the Foundation continue to be immensely honoured
that His Excellency, Shimon Peres’ first visit to Nigeria was at the
invitation of our Foundation. Although we will miss our great friend,
mentor and valued member of the Foundation, we draw from the averment of
our mentor, Emmanuel Onyechere Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe, that personality
survives death. We hold it as a testament of faith that the life of
Shimon Peres will remain an encyclopaedia of study in academia and
social life.
