VC Adedimeji canvasses for hope, compassion as ASE marks Peace Day

T The Vice Chancellor of the African School of Economics (The Pan-African University of Excellence), Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji, has urged Nigerians and the world at large to embrace hope despite the chaos that is increasingly becoming the order of the day.

He stressed that as dark as the horizon may be, human beings cannot afford to lose hope that one day, there will be peace and justice in the world and that good will replace evil on the planet.

Prof. Adedimeji, a Fellow of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice, made this submission in his address, “A World Without War”, delivered on the occasion of the Special Lecture organised by the University on Monday as part of the activities marking the 2025 International Day of Peace.

The Vice Chancellor noted that significance of Peace Day has gained more resonance in today’s world that is being devastated and divided by war. According to him, “We are living witnesses to racism and genocide committed with impunity as the world pretends that human lives only matter on the basis of their skin pigmentation and religious beliefs. And as the United Nations Secretary General, António Gutterres, said in his message to commemorate this year’s edition, ‘We must silence the guns. End suffering. Build bridges. And create stability and prosperity.’”

The Fellow of the World Institute for Peace stressed that Nigerians should remain purposeful and peaceful because the entire water in the ocean cannot sink a ship except and until the ship allows the water inside it. Accordingly, the prevalence of negativity in the world won’t change individuals who refuse to allow hubris and hatred inside them.

He illustrated his point with the scenario that unfolded during the Cold War when the East Berliners threw thrash across the Berlin Wall but the West Berliners returned their action with sweets and candies thrown across the wall, with a note, “Each one gives what they have.” He encouraged Nigerians have and keep peace so that they can give it. “Let’s have compassion and light so that we can illuminate the world,” he added.

In his lecture delivered on the occasion, a former Nigerian ambassador to Mozambique, with concurrent accreditation to Swaziland, Madagascar and Mauritius, Albert Omotayo, decried the state of the world, which he said is full of complexities, paradoxes and the unknown saying that the world itself has not really changed much except that man has progressed in evil, increasingly becoming less human and more brutish in his ways.

Ambassador Omotayo described how various philosophers have described the concept of God citing authorities like Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, St. Augustine, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Immanuel Kant and others pointing out that the divergence of their views shows how the idea of God has remained central to humanity’s search for meaning, truth and moral grounding.

While advocating forgiveness as a means of coping with the complexities of this world at a personal level, he traced the challenges that confront humanity regarding conflict and war to the beginning of creation stressing that the world still have a lot of work to do now to achieve world peace in future.

Highlights of the occasion included the presentation of award to Ambassador Omotayo by the Vice Chancellor of African School of Economics, assisted by the Registrar, Mrs Emilomo Ogunboye, and goodwill messages by guests, including the Assistant Director of Corps, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Raymond Yusuf and the Founder, Path to Peace Foundation, Mr Abubakar Akande.