Former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has tasked world leaders not to discountenance the values of soft power in the search for lasting peace, stressing that military capabilities alone has not served the intended purpose of keeping the world safe.
The former President also charged nations to prioritise ed- ucation and the strengthening of family values as means of rein- forcing strong bonds of kinship that would discourage youths from taking to violent crimes.
Dr. Jonathan stated this on Monday at the opening plenary of the ongoing World Summit on peace, security and human development in Seoul, South Korea. He said: “I believe that the weapon for guaranteeing the peace the world needs today is not in our intimidating armoury and sophisticated nu- clear sites but in our hearts.
The world looks up to us as leaders to reach out to the innermost recesses of our hearts, levering our common humanity, and embrace one another in true love and sincerity to save our peoples.
“It is obvious that military capability alone has not served the intended purpose of securing our world. In Middle East and Africa, more than other parts of the world, insecurity, insurgency and terrorism has continued to get worse, despite all efforts to combat them and enforce peace by affected nations and their allies.
This is partly because we have paid more attention to our military might more than we have given to the imperative of promoting understanding, building honour and love in our families and societies.
