NIGERIA has used the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81) to press for a broader restructuring of the international system, combining its demand for greater African representation in global decision-making with calls for relief from the debt pressures confronting developing countries, stronger cooperation against transnational security threats and greater access to technology and climate finance.
Delivering President Bola Tinubu’s national statement at the General Debate in New York, Vice-President Kashim Shettima argued that the institutions responsible for addressing global peace, security and development must better reflect the realities of the 21st century.
He linked Nigeria’s position on United Nations reform to concerns over Africa’s exclusion from permanent decision-making structures, the financial constraints limiting development in poorer countries, and the increasingly cross-border nature of security threats.
Call for Permanent African Seats
At the centre of Nigeria’s diplomatic message was its demand for at least two permanent seats for Africa on the UN Security Council, with veto powers for as long as the privilege remains available to existing permanent members.
Shettima said the present composition of the Council no longer reflected contemporary geopolitical realities and weakened the legitimacy of decisions taken in the name of the international community. “The world of 2026 cannot remain captive to the distribution of power in 1945,” he said.
Nigeria also called for five non-permanent seats for Africa, in line with the continent’s longstanding common position as expressed in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration.
Under the African Union’s preferred reform model, Africa would have at least two permanent seats with the same privileges enjoyed by existing permanent members, including veto rights while such rights remain in place, as well as five non-permanent seats.
Shettima argued that Africa should no longer remain outside permanent representation when issues affecting the continent continue to occupy substantial attention on the Security Council. He said institutions claiming authority to act for humanity must adequately reflect the people on whose behalf decisions are taken.
The demand also formed part of Nigeria’s broader appeal for renewed confidence in multilateralism at a time of widening geopolitical divisions.
Debt Burden Threatens Development Ambitions
Nigeria’s appeal for reform extended beyond political representation to the international financial system, with Shettima warning that heavy debt-servicing obligations were diverting scarce resources in developing countries away from education, healthcare and infrastructure.
He called for urgent changes to the global financial architecture, including wider access to concessional financing and more sustainable debt arrangements that recognise the development needs of poorer countries.
For Nigeria, the issue is closely connected to the ability of developing countries to pursue industrialisation, expand energy access and tackle poverty while responding to climate change.
Shettima rejected the proposition that developing countries must choose between economic development and climate action. He argued that countries should be able to industrialise and improve living standards while pursuing lower-carbon development pathways.
He said this would require adequate climate financing and technology transfer from countries with greater financial and technological resources.
The Vice-President noted that Africa accounts for less than four per cent of global emissions but bears a disproportionate share of the consequences of climate change, including floods, droughts and extreme temperatures.
Nigeria consequently reaffirmed its commitment to the Paris Agreement while stressing the need for a climate transition that takes account of developing countries’ economic and energy realities.
Technology Placed at Centre of Nigeria’s Development Agenda
Emerging technology was another component of Nigeria’s development argument at the Assembly. Shettima said Nigeria “will not let fear dictate its technological future”, presenting artificial intelligence as a tool whose impact would depend largely on human choices and public policy.
He said Nigeria was expanding digital public infrastructure, accelerating broadband deployment and supporting technology entrepreneurship as part of efforts to capture opportunities created by emerging technologies.
The technology agenda was presented alongside domestic economic reforms, with the Vice-President identifying disciplined macro-economic management, stronger institutions, private-sector growth and strategic public investment as pillars of Nigeria’s development approach.
He also stressed that international financing arrangements should provide developing countries with sufficient fiscal space to invest in people and productive infrastructure.
The argument placed technology, financing and development within the same broader framework: developing countries need the resources and policy space to participate meaningfully in an evolving global economy.
Links Global Security to Cooperation Across Borders
Nigeria also drew on its experience confronting Boko Haram, ISWAP and other armed groups to warn that national borders could not shield countries from threats that operate across them.
Shettima said terrorism, cyber threats and other transnational dangers exploit gaps between countries and cannot be effectively addressed through isolated national responses.
He acknowledged the necessity of military operations but said lasting security could not be achieved through military action alone. In his formulation, sustainable peace also requires education, economic opportunity, accountable governance and respect for human rights.
Nigeria’s own experience, he said, demonstrated the need for regional and international cooperation. Through ECOWAS, the African Union and Gulf of Guinea mechanisms, the country continues to participate in mediation, counter-terrorism, maritime security and efforts to strengthen democratic governance.
Shettima also recalled Nigeria’s contributions to peace operations in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Darfur, Mali and The Gambia, presenting them as evidence of the country’s longstanding engagement with security challenges beyond its immediate borders.
Conflicts Abroad Have Wider Consequences
The Nigerian position also challenged the idea that conflicts occurring far from a country’s borders have no consequences for it.
Shettima warned that conflicts could disrupt trade, increase humanitarian pressures, drive displacement, strengthen extremist networks and produce wider economic and security shocks.
He identified Sudan and other conflict-affected theatres as requiring urgent diplomatic attention because of their humanitarian, economic and geopolitical consequences.
Nigeria therefore renewed its call for dialogue, mutual respect, collective responsibility and the peaceful settlement of disputes under the UN Charter. Shettima also warned against rising nationalism and weakening commitment to multilateral cooperation.
He said persistent conflicts demonstrated the continuing need for the principles that underpinned the creation of the United Nations after the Second World War, arguing that disputes should be addressed through diplomacy rather than arbitrary power.
A Broader Case for a More Inclusive Global Order
Taken together, Nigeria’s interventions at the General Assembly presented reform of global institutions, development financing, climate action, technology and international security as interconnected issues.
Shettima argued that prosperity and security could not be treated separately, warning that inequality and underdevelopment could reinforce instability, just as conflicts could undermine development.
Nigeria’s position was therefore framed around an international system that gives developing countries greater representation in global decision-making, sufficient financial space to invest in development, access to technology and climate resources, and stronger mechanisms for dealing with threats that cross national borders.
The Vice-President reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to the UN Charter, international cooperation and multilateralism, saying the country remained committed to an international order in which diplomacy takes precedence over coercion and international law guides relations among states.
He maintained that the ultimate test of government policies remained their impact on citizens, while differences among nations should not obscure their common responsibility to preserve peace and create conditions for sustainable development.
Nigeria’s agenda at the 81st General Assembly thus combined a demand for a greater African voice in global governance with a call for reforms that would give developing countries greater room to finance development, respond to climate change, harness emerging technologies and confront security threats collectively.
