A former Nigerian ambassador to Mozambique, with concurrent accreditation to Swaziland, Madagascar and Mauritius, Albert Omotayo, has reflected on the state of the world and concluded that world peace may be unattainable anytime soon.
Omotayo stated this in his lecture, “God, Philosophy and World Peace”, delivered as part of the activities marking the 2025 International Day of Peace, organised by the African School of Economics (The Pan-African University of Excellence), Abuja.
He said one reason for the prevalence of war today is human beings’ failure to recognise how they got to the world.
He noted that, “ when man first appeared on earth, he was baffled by the expanse of all what he saw but didn’t understand. He then realised the need to fight to guarantee his survival.
“Long after he had survived, he thought of flourishing as well. This decision, most probably, was the beginning of man’s irreversible, eternal destiny of endless struggle or fight, for survival and flourishing.”
According to him with more people on earth and their inherited belief that they must struggle for survival and flourishing came competition.
He added that, “ Their struggle ultimately gave birth to desires, interests, clashes of interest, adventure, goal-setting, development of instruments for easier and faster means of struggle, more effective ways of increasing and preserving gains, ownership, friendship, envy, enmity, alliances, greed and others in order to consolidate and prolong their survival and flourishing on earth. “
Omotayo lamented the atrocities unfolding in Gaza and Ukraine as well as the insecurity in Nigeria and attributed the violence to the belief in struggle, dominance and flourishing at the expense of others.
He noted that chaos has afflicted man since the beginning of time and that curing it cannot be achieved within a predictable timeframe.
He recommended that individuals and societies should characteristically practise forgiveness when they fall below one another’s standard and that people should let love motivate and shape their action to others.
Earlier, in his address, titled “A World Without War”, the vice chancellor of the university, Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji, had observed that against the rationale behind the establishment of the international system represented by the United Nations, chaos is increasingly becoming the new world order.
He decried the regression of humanity and compassion and drew attention to the indifference to the genocide committed against the Palestinians in Gaza.
He expressed the hope that there would be peace one day and that human beings should imagine a world without war, noting that, “Pablo Picasso said that everything you can imagine is real as imagination can take one everywhere.”
In their goodwill messages, the assistant commander of Corps of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps( NSCDC) , Raymond Yusuf, and the founder of Path to Peace Foundation, Mr Abubakar Akande, appreciated the African School of Economics for its public engagement and pledged their support to the university in its peace advocacy and developmental initiatives for the betterment of the society and humanity at large.
They noted that this year’s Peace Day theme, “Act Now For A Peaceful World”, is a clarion call and an urgent message for everyone to embrace peace and cooperation and shun violence and war.
