President Bola Tinubu advocated for radical reforms of the United Nations, warning that without prompt restructuring the world body risks falling into irrelevance as crucial world events continue to bypass its influence.
Speaking at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday through Vice President Kashim Shettima, Tinubu criticized the UN’s record, citing ongoing conflicts and humanitarian crises in regions such as the Middle East as “stains on our collective humanity.”
He cautioned that the organisation’s credibility was being eroded by the disparity between words and deeds, while holding up Nigeria’s economic reform as a template for other developing countries.
“In spite of all our diplomatic niceties, the slowness of progress has led some to abandon the multilateral model,” Tinubu said. “The most significant events are now taking place outside this hall, and the most sought-after voices are no longer heads of state.”
The President laid out four principal demands for reform, and foremost among them is Nigeria’s call for permanent membership of the UN Security Council. “The UN will regain its relevance only when it reflects the world as it is, and not as it was,” he said.
Tinubu also demanded an binding global mechanism to regulate sovereign debt, which he described as “an International Court of Justice for money,” in order to enable emerging economies to escape dependence on raw material exports. Debt relief, he stressed, had to be requested “not as charity but as a path to shared peace and prosperity.”
On global peace, Tinubu reaffirmed Nigeria’s support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, stating that Palestinians “are not collateral damage in a civilisation searching for order.”
He also reaffirmed Africa’s front-row seat in the future of strategic materials, demanding fair share from critical minerals and investing in domestic processing to reduce imbalance and global tensions. On technology, he requested closing the digital divide, insisting that “AI must stand for Africa Included.”
Back to Nigeria’s own internal reforms, Tinubu acknowledged the hardships being faced by citizens but maintained that the removal of subsidies and currency controls were necessary steps to re-engineer the economy. “The transition process is painful,” he said, “but I have faith in the power of the market to transform.”
On security, he underlined that defeating terrorism requires more than arms. “In generations-long wars, it is ideas and values that deliver the ultimate victory,” he stated.
Recommitting Nigeria to peace, multilateralism, and human rights, Tinubu concluded with a stark warning: “We must make real change, change that works, and change that is seen to work. If we fail, the direction of travel is already predictable.”
