Pope Francis on Thursday  expressed concern about “the increasingly concrete threat of a world war at a New Year’s reception for foreign ambassadors to the Holy See.

The head of the Catholic Church called on diplomats to engage in dialogue, even with difficult interlocutors.

Dialogue he said is the only way to break the chains of hatred and vengeance that bind and to defuse the explosive power of human selfishness, pride and arrogance, which is the root of every destructive determination to wage war.

He said his wish for 2025 was for the war in Ukraine to end, and repeated his appeal for a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict.

The 88-year-old pontiff also warned of the dangers of the spread of fake news, which not only distorts facts but also perceptions.

“This phenomenon generates false images of reality, a climate of suspicion that foments hate, undermines people’s sense of security and compromises civil coexistence and the stability of entire nations,” he said.

Since 2013, Pope Francis has been the leader not only of some 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, but also the head of the Vatican City State.

The smallest state in the world maintains diplomatic relations with 184 countries.

An elderstatesman and legal icon, Chief Afe Babalola, has bagged the 2024 Best Nigerian Patriot Award for his outstanding performance in humanitarian activities, provision of quality education as well as promotion of peace.

The award was given at an induction ceremony and technical workshop for the inauguration and certification of UN Ambassadors for Peace on Thursday in Abuja.

The event with the theme, “Effective Approach to Anger Management and Tolerance as Panacea for Global Peace and Sustainable Development,” was organised by the Association of UN Ambassadors for Peace (ASUNAP).

The award was organised in collaboration with The Mighty One Empowerment Foundation (TEMOEFA) to support the United Nations efforts in promoting global peace and ethnic tolerance.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that no fewer than 10 persons were also inducted and certified as UN Ambassadors for Peace.

A former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, who received the award on behalf of Babalola, said the association had done considerable research to come up with the nomination.

“It is one thing for individuals to be playing some roles, but it’s another thing for these roles to be recognised and to be appreciated by the society.

“As a scholar and a researcher, I know that when you do a thorough research into what individuals have contributed in this particular area, one would see that it would be difficult to find someone who has contributed more than Are Afe Babalola.

“This is quite evident from his forays into different areas of national life and continental life of Africa,” he said.

Adeniran called on Nigerians to key into the humanitarian gestures carried out by Babalola.

According to him, if more Nigerians embrace peace and conflict resolution, a lot would be achieved for the country and for humanity.

“This is because there is nothing as precious as peace; without peace, you will not have a stable polity.

“Without peace, there will be no development and love among the people.

“You will not be able to advance to the level where you can say you have reached the optimum.

“The ultimate goal of society is to actualise the potential of citizens, and to be able to get the very best for people.

“I will certainly encourage and plead with Nigerians to key into this, to do their very best, starting from the local, family, community and societal level,” he said.

Also speaking, the Global Director of Interfaith for ASUNAP, Emmanuel Emeka, said the event was aimed at recognising Nigerians in order to promote peace in the society.

Emeka said the association had holistically and comprehensively taken the data of Babalola’s performance, his impact in Nigeria and beyond and found him worthy of the award.

He said that voting was conducted across the nooks and crannies of the country, adding that his name came up with the highest number of votes among nominations.

He said the newly inducted ambassadors would be involved in conflict resolution and peacemaking.

In a keynote address, the Guest Speaker, Prof. Casmiar Obialom, charged the ambassadors not to give war a chance.

He noted that the cumulative effect of not implementing a Mrshall Plan of Action to abate the incidence of impunity had been the root cause of conflicts in society.

Among Nigerians inducted into the association were retired Brig.-Gen. Nuhu Milah, retired Commandant Anthony Nwegbo, Prof. Abiodun Ajibade, Maxwell Abubu, Mrs Comfort Arinze and Dr Raphael Gajere.

Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno State has inaugurated three boards in the health sector and ordered a comprehensive overhaul of the state’s healthcare system to address pressing challenges.

The boards inaugurated on Thursday at the Council Chamber of the Government House, Maiduguri, include the Borno State Hospital Management Board, the Borno State Primary Healthcare Development Board and the Kashim Ibrahim University Teaching Hospital Management Board.

Speaking during the ceremony, Zulum said that reforms are necessary to strengthen the delivery of healthcare services, particularly at the primary level.

He added that “we are currently witnessing pressure on our secondary health facilities because primary healthcare is weak.

I want you to assess all hospitals individually and identify challenges related to staffing, equipment and medical supplies so that we can address the issues holistically.”

The governor also directed the boards to work toward resolving the problem of inadequate facilities, staffing and essential medical supplies.

Zulum also inaugurated the Borno State Local Government Service Commission Board, which comprises a chairman and four permanent commissioners.

He emphasised that the reforms and inaugurated boards are part of his administration’s commitment to providing accessible and efficient healthcare to the people.

Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo, the Chairman of the Kashim Ibrahim Teaching Hospital Management Board and Alhaji Modu Alhaji Musa, the Chairman, Local Government Service Commission, expressed gratitude for the honour given to them to serve and pledged to justify the confidence reposed in them.