Bartholomew's Notes

From the Nigerian Tribune:

The former Oyo state Action Congress (AC) gubernatorial aspirant and the immediate past Finance and Budget Planning Commissioner in Lagos state, Dr. Ismael Adebayo Adewusi, has been given the award of Youth Ambassador for World Peace.

The title, of course, was conferred by the Universal Peace Federation. Local Director of Project Ola Akinmolayan explained:

“The essence of the award is to involve people who will assist in changing the battered orientation of many of our youths and to develop their intellect, skill acquisition and mode of life through educative workshops and seminars. Our objective is to seek a common ground of shared principles aimed at promoting reconciliation, overcoming barriers and building a world of lasting peace.

“At this time that the youth of our nation and world need to have exemplary leaders as role models, we are carefully selecting such leaders and appointing them as Youth Ambassadors for Peace. One of the role models in this category is Dr. Adewusi”, the organisers said.

Meanwhile, The News Today reported from the Philippines last month:

Another feather on the cap was added to Mayor Jerry Treñas after he was named as Ambassador for Peace by the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) for his “exemplary contributions in the building of peace.”

…With such honor, Treñas will join UPF’s global network of Ambassadors for Peace worldwide “to bring civil society solutions to global problems.” UPF is a global network of individuals and organizations committed to peace building through dialogue, education and service.

What neither paper mentions, however, is the person behind the UPF: none other than Reverend Sun Myung Moon. The UPF has persuaded hundreds (perhaps thousands) of locally prominent politicians – including some former heads of states – and high-achievers from around the world to accept “Ambassador” status, and so lend credibility to Moon. The above are just two recent examples; I’ve blogged some others here, here, here, and here. It’s a remarkable achievement which apparently no-one else has much noticed.

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