Living in a peaceful but dangerous world

When Almighty God created mankind in His image, He blessed and directed them to fill the earth and subdue it. He gave man the power to dominate all that was created but stated unequivocally that “thou shall not kill”.  Since these orders were issued, man has not only dominated his environment, but has demonstrated inhumanity to his fellow men through all manners of killings. This is borne out of man’s quest for power, extraterritorial ambition and greed amongst others. The politicization of religion by some fanatics has worsened matters as they encourage their followers to kill forgetting that their creator has no religion. Consequently,“in the name of God”some parts of the world are now peaceful while others are violent. It appears there is a conspiracy of silence as some powerful leaders of the world including the “parliament of man” cannot come out clearly to condemn acts of barbarism demonstrated by individuals or groups. This perhaps may be due to the veto power enjoyed by some member nations of the “parliament of man”. It may be argued that members of the “parliament of man” have made efforts to find lasting solution to these incessant killings but were told by belligerents that “it is a family affair”.

The world with an area of 149,000,000 Km is inhabited by about 7.2 billion people.The UN High Commission for Refugee reported that there are currently 45.2 million people displaced worldwide. According to the Agency, “war is responsible for the high number of refugees and internally displaced people.” While some people are pursuing activities that will bring prosperity to them, others are busy fighting wars and killing one another.There are times when war is inevitable especially when diplomacy, dialogue and use of other instruments of national power fails. It was Felix De Weldon who theorised that “if wars are conceived in the hearts of men, it is in the hearts of men that defenses of peace will have to be conceived”.  By implication, man is expected to think through all options to ensure peace instead of Killing of innocent souls which have now become the specialization of some individuals known as insurgents or rebels.

Since the 9/11 terrorist attack most parts of the world have witnessed one form of crisis or the other such that we are now leaving in a peaceful but risky world. Sun Tzu the Chinese Philosopher and warrior once said that “There is no instance of a nation benefitting from a prolonged warfare’’. This is because both the political and military objectives of fighting the war may not be achieved if the war takes too long a time. You only know when a war starts but the end is not within the control of those who started it. For developing nations at war, huge resources that would have added to their collective wealth have been used in procuring weapons. Only God knows the quantity of small and light weapons that are exchanging hands on a daily basis in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Within our country in “peacetime”, it is reported that “Some 1,224 people have been killed in Boko Haram (BH) related attacks since May 2013 when a state of emergency was declared in a few states of the North Eastern Zone of the country namely: Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.” The casualty according to the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) includes civilians, military personnel as well insurgents killed by security forces repelling attacks. For how long will the BH engage the nation in a war that is of no strategic value to the economic development of our great country? Why has Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Hamas and other terrorist groups not shown any respect for sanctity of lives? What do members of these infamous groups want from their brothers and sisters? Why has civil aircraft with many passengers become targets because Russia and Ukraine are at war?

We are all humans and we should live together in peace. China, India and Myanmar are celebrating 60th anniversary of establishment of the 5 Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. China has been committed to an independent foreign policy of peace and has developed friendship and cooperation with all countries on the basis of 5 principles of peaceful coexistence These 5 principles include:” respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-aggression, non-interference, equity and mutual benefits and peaceful coexistence”. If these principles have been adhered to by these three countries, why is it difficult for other nations to coexist peacefully?

As if all these wars and conflicts were not sufficient, the world has been battling with different forms of diseases such as HIV and suddenly EVD. The latter came in through Liberia and health workers worldwide are now strategizing to ensure that these deadly diseases do not wipe out the human race.SierraLeone, Guinea,Nigeria and other countries are now battling to disarm the deadly virusAvailable data suggests that “the virus that has now killed more than 1,400 and infected more than 3,000 arose as a distinct strain in 2004. It further asserts that EVD descended from the 1976 Zaire variant, which usually emerges in Central Africa”.I am sure that since 2004 Africans have been hoping that one day the virus will not exist again. The way things are now, hope cannot be our strategy for survival. It was John F. Kennedy who said that “our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet, we all breath the same air, we all cherish our children’s future and we are all mortals”.If we cherish our future and that of our children, it is incumbent on us to collectively make the world a better place to live. We deserve a peaceful world.

M.A. Johnson