The Vice Chancellor of Ahman Pategi University in Kwara State, Professor Mahfouz Adedimeji, has urged Nigerians to stop hating one another and embrace love in their relationship.
Adedimeji gave this advice while presenting his lecture to commemorate the International Day of Peace at Ahman Pategi University, Patigi, Kwara State.
The Fellow of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice, said hating people is like taking poison and thinking it would harm the hated or giving another person free accommodation in one’s heart.
He, therefore, enjoined Nigerians to love one another including those who do not deserve it because it is a way of freeing their minds from negativity.
Adedimeji emphasised that peace is relevant to all people across races, cultures and disciplines, adding that: “It is therefore imperative for everyone to uphold truth, promote justice, embrace forgiveness and show love as pillars that make peace hold in the real sense.”
While tracing the origin of the United Nations International Day of Peace to 1981 when it was first marked, Adedimeji recalled that a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in 2001 fixed the Day on September 21 each year.
He noted that the theme for this year, “Stop Racism, Build Peace” was especially important in a world where people discriminate against one another and wage war, which is evident in the crises ravaging parts of Africa and the war between Ukraine and Russia.
He enjoined Nigerians and human beings at large to build bridges of peace and understanding as they stop discriminating against one another on the basis of linguistic, ethnic, social, political and cultural differences.
He stressed that given the centrality of the need for peace at all times, the fledgling Ahman Pategi University will be marking the Peace Day every year with programmes, activities and events.
Adedimeji, a former member of the Governing Council of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA), admonished Nigerians on the need for mutual understanding, tolerance, self-discipline and harmonious co-existence, stressing that peace of mind is first and foremost.
For their parts, the senior assistant registrar at the university, Mr Dennis Onwukwe, noted that the sensitisation was very impactful while Dr Abayomi Ayansola of the department of English reiterated the need for justice as a requirement for peace.
