- Olusegun Obasanjo attributes global crises to human greed, emphasizing the importance of preserving diversity and multiculturalism as divine gifts
- He calls on humanity to add love, kindness, and compassion to the diverse world, working towards peace and shared prosperity
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has attributed the global escalating crisis to human greed. He observed this during his keynote address at the 2023 World Culture Festival organized by the Art of Living Foundation at the National Mall in Washington DC, USA.
In a press release by his special assistant on media, Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo emphasized the importance of cherishing and preserving diversity and multiculturalism, which he believes were divinely designed for humanity by God.
He noted that although God has blessed humanity with a world characterized by diversity and multiculturalism, human imperfections such as greed, selfishness, and dishonesty have led to various issues, including war, violence, insecurity, poverty, criminality, and evil in different forms worldwide.
Obasanjo refuted the notion that these problems should be blamed on diversity or multiculturalism. He stressed that the root causes lie in human’s persistent pursuit of power, position, popularity, prestige, and prosperity at any cost.
The former president highlighted that diversity is a gift from God, stating, “God is God of diversity and not of sameness.” He expressed that the world would be monotonous and devoid of wonder if it were entirely homogeneous. Instead, God created a diverse and wondrous world in which humanity can appreciate and find happiness.
Obasanjo urged people to work towards adding love, kindness, brotherhood, humanity, and compassion to the world of diversity that God has provided. He emphasized that achieving these goals is essential for creating a world characterized by peace, common security, stability, growth, shared prosperity, inclusivity, and realising God’s kingdom on earth.
In conclusion, Obasanjo’s address emphasized the need for humanity to recognize and celebrate diversity as a divine gift and to strive for a more harmonious and inclusive world collectively.