The Asantehene has added his voice to global calls for the release of over 200 girls abducted by Nigerian Islamist group, Boko Haram.

Otumfuo Osei-Tutu II also condemned the acts of violence and intolerance initiated in the name of religion.

He has therefore enjoined all religious combatants to renounce the notion of serving the purpose of God by killing others.

Otumfuo appealed for the spirit of compassion for the innocent children, who have become victims of conflicts in Nigeria.

He was speaking at a Christian service in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi, where an Honorary Doctorate Degree was conferred on him by the Oral Roberts University in the USA.

“We continue to acknowledge the moment of difficulty through which our world is passing. Today multitudes are perishing from conflicts that a defying solutions and saddest of all, most of these conflicts are being waged in the name of religion. I make an earnest plea for an end to wars and civil strikes in the name of religion and ethnicity.

“...We'll continue to need prayers for peace on our land and our brother countries of Southern Sudan and Nigeria and wherever in Africa [that] peace is under threat".

The Asantehene called for a World Inter-Faith Dialogue, similar to the World Economic Forum, where global leaders seek solutions to the world's challenges. 

Otumfuo however observed that spiritual solutions are not enough to solve a country’s economic problems.