Kashim Shettima calls for UN Security Council reform, urging permanent representation for Nigeria and a more inclusive global governance system
Kashim Shettima calls for UN Security Council reform, stating that Nigeria’s rightful inclusion as a permanent member is key to strengthening global peace, development, and human rights.
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The Nigerian Vice President made this call on Wednesday during the general debate of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Representing President Bola Tinubu, Shettima laid out Nigeria’s roadmap for a more equitable international order.
According to him, institutional reform is long overdue, and Nigeria’s case for a permanent seat is not merely symbolic but a demand rooted in fairness and global representation.
“The United Nations will recover its relevance only when it reflects the world as it is, not as it was,” he said, pointing out that Nigeria, now with over 236 million people, was a colonial subject absent from the global table when the UN was founded.
Nigeria, he noted, is not only Africa’s most populous country but also a stabilising force in regional security and a longstanding contributor to global peacekeeping, having participated in 51 of the UN’s 60 operations since 1960.
Kashim Shettima calls for UN Security Council reform in the wider context of multilateral equity.
He voiced support for the N80 Initiativeoherence, efficiency, and effectiveness amid global crises and financial strain.
He argued that developing nations must be allowed not only a voice but a seat at the table, especially in decisions that directly affect them.
Shettima also outlined other steps essential to achieving global peace and development. He called for urgent sovereign debt relief, improved access to trade and finance, and policies that ensure countries rich in natural resources—especially in Africa—benefit directly through local processing, investment, and job creation.
He warned that exporting raw materials without value addition only fuels inequality and instability, using Africa’s mineral-rich landscape as an example of both potential and neglect.
Touching on technological inclusion, the Vice President stressed the urgency of closing the global digital gap, quipping that “A.I. must stand for ‘Africa Included’”.
He warned of a growing divide where cynicism and disinformation are spreading in digitally
Addressing global insecurity, Shettima remarked that no country can build a peaceful world in isolation, saying:
“Sovereignty is a covenant of shared responsibility, a recognition that our survival is bound to the survival of others.”
He described Nigeria’s continuing fight against insurgency and violent extremism, underlining that military victories alone are not enough.
Instead, it is the battle of values and ideas that ultimately secures peace across generations.
“In wars that span generations, it is values and ideas that deliver the ultimate victory.”
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Shettima reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to multilateralism, stressing that the global community must pursue reforms not as slogans but as a powerful instrument for restoring trust and credibility in international institutions.
