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President Bola Tinubu has urged world leaders to strengthen multilateralism and expand inclusivity within the United Nations (UN), including granting Nigeria and other African nations permanent seats on the UN Security Council.
Speaking during the General Debate of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Tuesday night, Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, he said, “Some permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have offered encouraging, if tentative indications of support on the issue of reform of the Council. We welcome the change in tone and urge an acceleration in momentum to the process.
“The Security Council should be expanded, in the permanent and non-permanent member categories, to reflect the diversity and plurality of the world. We fully support the efforts of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in this regard.
“Africa must be accorded the respect that it deserves in the Security Council. Our Continent deserves a place in the permanent members category of the Security Council, with the same rights and responsibilities as other permanent members.”
He welcomed indications of support from some permanent members of the Security Council for reform and urged accelerated progress on this issue to strengthen the UN’s relevance and credibility in a rapidly evolving world.
The president emphasized the need for collective action to address global crises such as terrorism, climate change, poverty, and economic instability.
He criticized the growing trend of nationalism and unilateralism, which he said undermines efforts to solve global challenges.
The president stressed that the pursuit of individual national interests is obstructing the collective goals of peace, sustainable development, and human rights, pillars on which the UN was founded.
He stated: “Today, these pillars of our organisation are threatened. They risk being broken by the relentless pursuit of individual national priorities rather than the collective needs of the nations that are assembled here today.
“While commitment to multilateralism offers us the surest guarantee of global action to address the existential challenges we face, singularity and nationalism are undermining the aspirations towards the peaceful and collective resolution of such challenges.
“From last year’s summit, and indeed from previous years, we have carried over the numerous challenges of terrorism, armed conflict, inequality, poverty, racial discrimination, human rights abuses, food crises, hunger, irregular migration, piracy, global pandemics, hyper-inflation, nuclear proliferation, grinding debt burden, climate change, and a host of other vexations.
“The continued manifestation of these challenges testifies to our failings rather than to any lofty achievements on our part. Billions of dollars are being committed to the prosecution of wars and the fanning of the embers of conflict.”
He called on the international community to act decisively on terrorism, armed conflict, inequality, food insecurity, migration, and climate change.
Billions of dollars spent on conflicts, he argued, have yielded few results and exposed the failures of the global system.
Tinubu expressed concern over the rising threat of military coups in Africa, pointing to their link to economic underdevelopment.
He argued that these coups attest to how fragile democracy could become when it is not supported by economic development and sustained peace and security.
This, he said, should be of utmost concern in deliberations at the high-level segments of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly, as the forceful changes of government have led to “the impatience in cities and villages at the sometimes slow and grinding turn of the wheel of democracy.
“Our people need employment. They need decent livelihoods. They desire good and affordable education and healthcare for their children and families. They need to live in healthy, safe and secure environments. They need hope and they need opportunity,” he added.
He emphasized the need for stronger democratic institutions supported by economic growth, education, healthcare, and employment opportunities to address citizens’ frustrations.
Addressing global economic inequality, the Nigerian President urged reforms in the international financial system to better serve developing countries.
He advocated for debt relief for nations burdened by crushing debts, noting that such concessions are essential for the economic progress of countries in the Global South.
“Countries of the Global South cannot make meaningful progress without comprehensive debt relief measures. Special concessions and a review of the debt burden are crucial,” Tinubu stated.
He also called for a more transparent and equitable multilateral trading system that would benefit developing nations.
Moreover, he pushed for the recovery of illicit financial flows and assets stolen from developing countries, urging stronger international cooperation to return such funds.
Tinubu underscored the devastating impact of climate change, describing it as a key driver of insecurity.
He highlighted recent floods in Nigeria that submerged large areas of the country, including the major city of Maiduguri.
Tinubu called on world leaders to stick to their commitments from previous climate summits, warning that failure to act now would have dire consequences.
“No country is immune from the effects of climate change. We must honor our commitments or risk postponing the inevitable,” he warned.
On insecurity, Tinubu reiterated that terrorism, insurgency, and violent extremism remain existential threats, not only to Nigeria but to global peace and stability.
He pointed to Nigeria’s efforts in PP counterterrorism and highlighted the importance of the “Abuja Declaration” from the High-Level African Counter-Terrorism Meeting held in April 2024.
Tinubu called on world leaders to recognize the urgency of collective action to tackle the interconnected crises of climate change, security, and economic inequality, warning that failure to address these challenges would only lead to further instability and suffering globally.
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