President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged the United Nations to embrace sweeping reforms or risk slipping into irrelevance, warning that the body’s credibility is being eroded by its inability to address global crises effectively.
Speaking through Vice President Kashim Shettima at the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Wednesday, Tinubu made a forceful case for institutional restructuring, global debt management reforms, and greater representation for Africa.
He said Nigeria deserves a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, stressing that the UN must reflect today’s realities rather than outdated global power structures.
“Nigeria must have a permanent seat at the UN Security Council. This should take place as part of a wider process of institutional reform. The United Nations will recover its relevance only when it reflects the world as it is, not as it was,” Tinubu declared.
The President criticized the UN’s “careful diplomatic language” and slow progress on issues such as nuclear disarmament, small arms proliferation, fair access to trade and finance, and peace in conflict zones. He described the situation in the Middle East as a “stain on our collective humanity,” reiterating Nigeria’s support for a two-state solution as the most dignified path to lasting peace for Palestine.
Tinubu also called for the creation of an international financial court to manage sovereign debt, likening it to “a sort of International Court of Justice for money.” He said such a system would free developing nations from “the economic straitjacket of primary production of unprocessed exports.”
On Africa’s role in the future of global stability, the president emphasized that the continent’s rich deposits of strategic minerals must benefit its people through investment, local processing, and job creation. “When we export raw materials, as we have been doing, tension, inequality, and instability fester,” he warned.
Addressing technological change, Tinubu echoed the UN Secretary-General’s call that “A.I. must stand for Africa Included,” stressing the need to close the digital divide and ensure equitable access to emerging opportunities.
He also highlighted Nigeria’s ongoing economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies and currency controls, describing them as painful but necessary steps to rebuild resilience.
On security, Tinubu said Nigeria’s fight against terrorism has shown that values and ideas—not just military tactics—are key to defeating extremism.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to peace, development, human rights, and multilateralism, but cautioned that failure to act decisively on reforms could push the world away from the UN system.
“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,” Tinubu warned.