*Photo: Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji*
Nigerians have been urged to underplay their ethnic, religious and political differences and embrace a culture of peace and harmony while breaking the barriers of conflict that may arise among them in order to make Nigeria attain its full potential.
This call was made by the Vice-Chancellor of African School of Economics, the pan-African university of excellence, Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji, on Friday in Abuja.
Prof. Adedimeji made the call while making his presentation on “Cultivating a Culture of Peace: Build Bridges, Break Barriers” at the university as part of the activities marking this year’s UN International Day of Peace.
According to the Vice-Chancellor, “Cultivating a Culture of Peace” is this year’s Peace Day theme and it is apt and relevant because that is what the world needs most. Citing UNESCO, he described the culture of peace as “a set of values, attitudes, and behaviours that promote mutual understanding, respect and non-violent resolution of conflict.” He highlighted some of the values and attitudes that Nigerians must embrace as love, patience, forgiveness, truthfulness, trustworthiness, empathy, cooperation, discipline, justice, generosity, gratitude, mutual understanding and respect for one another.
According to the Vice-Chancellor, who is a Fellow of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice, the world is undergoing turbulence with violent conflicts and their associated inhumanity ravaging many places across the world. The solutions to these problems, he said, are to work hard to unite people and communities, foster dialogue, promote mutual understanding and accept diversity.
Prof. Adedimeji emphasized the need to embrace positive mental attitude, noting that the difference between someone who sees a half-empty and a half-full bottle is attitude. He stressed that the window theory by which people seek to blame others for their woes should be replaced by the mirror theory which allows people to focus on themselves with a view to working out solutions.
The former Director of the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, thereafter enjoined Nigerians to work hard and pray while noting that there are opportunities in challenges and with difficulty there is ease if everyone is positive to embrace good values and positive attitude at all times.
The event was anchored by Elijah Nsikak while contributions were made by various participants, some of whom included Samuel Ugwu, Dede Oluwamuinumidu, Priscilla Ochanya and Pascal Mathias. The three-day event with a seminar and public lecture climaxed with a peace walk on Saturday, the International Peace Day.
