At the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, Nigeria delivered its boldest reform call yet: Africa must no longer fill the Security Council’s agenda without filling its permanent seats.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima on Thursday, told world leaders the current global order is obsolete.
“The reform of this institution must begin with the reconstitution of the Security Council, for the world of 2026 cannot remain captive to the distribution of power in 1945,” Tinubu declared.
“Africa cannot continue to fill the Council’s agenda while remaining absent from its permanent membership.”
Citing the Ezulwini Consensus and Sirte Declaration, Nigeria demanded at least two permanent seats for Africa with full rights — including the veto for as long as it exists — plus five non-permanent seats.
“The authority to speak for humanity carries an obligation to represent it,” he said.
Beyond Seats: Debt, Climate, Terror
Tinubu linked UN reform to economic justice. He called for overhaul of the international financial architecture, wider access to concessional financing and debt frameworks that do not sacrifice schools and hospitals for loan repayments.
On climate, he said Africa emits less than 4% of global gases but suffers the worst impact. He demanded predictable climate finance, technology transfer and equity, not charity, while reaffirming Nigeria’s net-zero target by 2060.
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On security, he warned that guns alone cannot defeat terrorism. Citing battles against Boko Haram and ISWAP, he called for intelligence sharing, cutting terror financing, and tackling poverty and exclusion.
He also demanded urgent diplomacy in Sudan, warning: “No claim to security can justify starving children or erasing communities from their land.”
