*President Bola Ahmed Tinubu urges global leaders to recommit themselves to multilateralism by deepening relations among UN member-states for collective action against hunger, terrorism, climate change, and others, seeking outright debt forgiveness for developing countries, including Nigeria

Gbenga Kayode | 绿帽献妻

As a guarantee of global action against existential challenges faced by the international community, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged world leaders to recommit themselves to multilateralism by deepening relations among member states of the United Nations (UN) in line with the principles of inclusivity, equality and cooperation.

President Tinubu who is the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of States and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) stated this in his national statement while addressing world leaders during the General Debate of the ongoing 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN Headquarters in New York, United States (US).

Represented at the global forum by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, at the high-level annual global event, Tinubu decried the 鈥渟teep descent to singularity and nationalism鈥�, especially among the developed economies.

Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice-President), Tuesday, September 24, 2024, stated the Nigerian leader also averred this development is fast undermining the quest for peaceful and collective resolution of global challenges such as terrorism, climate change, poverty, food crises, hyper-inflation, nuclear proliferation and grinding debt burden, among others.

Attaining foremost objectives of UN for relevance and resilience

The President equally reminded the world leaders that the United Nations stands for multilateralism, which represents inclusiveness anchored on the tripod of peace, sustainable development and human rights.

President Tinubu thus, expressed worry about the main objectives of the UN, and how it could sustain the global body’s relevance and resilience.

The pillars of the organisation are at risk of being broken against the principles of inclusivity, equality and cooperation which it stands for, Tinubu asserted in his address.

He further noted: “These pillars of our organisation are threatened. They risk being broken by the relentless pursuit of individual national priorities rather than the collective needs of the nations that are assembled here today.

“While commitment to multilateralism offers us the surest guarantee of global action to address the existential challenges we face, singularity and nationalism are undermining the aspirations towards the peaceful and collective resolution of such challenges.鈥�

Tinubu said: “From last year’s summit, and indeed, from previous years, we have carried over the numerous challenges of terrorism, armed conflict, inequality, poverty, racial discrimination, human rights abuses, food crises, hunger, irregular migration, piracy, global pandemics, hyper-inflation, nuclear proliferation, grinding debt burden, climate change, and a host of other vexations.

“The continued manifestation of these challenges testifies to our failings rather than to any lofty achievements on our part.

鈥淏illions of Dollars are being committed to the prosecution of wars and the fanning of the embers of conflict.”

The President further reaffirmed what he termed “Nigeria鈥檚 steadfast commitment to the deepening of multilateralism”, just as it did 65 years ago when the country “joined the United Nations as the 99th member-state.

Tinubu averred: “We remain committed to that 鈥榙esire to remain friendly with all nations and participate actively in the works of the United Nations鈥�, as expressed by our founding Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.”

On democracy, economic development, sustained peace and security

President Tinubu, in his national statement, as well lamented what he described as the return of unconstitutional changes of government and forceful military coups in some African countries.

He noted these coups apparently attest to how fragile democracy could become when it is not supported by requisite economic development and sustained peace and security.

According to him, this should be of utmost concern in deliberations at the high-level segments of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly, as the forceful changes of government have led to “the impatience in cities and villages at the sometimes slow and grinding turn of the wheel of democracy.鈥�

Tinubu said: “Our people need employment. They need decent livelihoods. They desire good and affordable education and healthcare for their children and families.

鈥淭hey need to live in healthy, safe and secure environments. They need hope and they need opportunity.鈥�

The Nigerian President also advocated reforms in the international financial architecture and a transparent multilateral trading system, expressing hope that “the adoption of the “Pact for the Future” will change the narrative, reposition economies, and translate into concrete measures that provide solutions to the challenges faced by developing and least developed countries.

“It is for this and other reasons that we reiterate the call by countries, especially of the global South, for reform of the international financial architecture and promotion of a rules-based, non-discriminatory, open, fair, inclusive, equitable and transparent multilateral trading system,” stated he.

Advocacy for debt forgiveness for Nigeria, other developing economies 聽聽

Emphasising the dangers of digressing from multilateralism, the Nigerian leader also drew the UN’s attention to the global debt burden undermining the ability of countries and governments to meet the needs of their citizens, trade barriers and protectionist policies destroying the hopes for nations, and the uncontrollable competition discouraging motivation and hampering global investments.

Subsequently, President Tinubu specifically urged the UN to prioritise debt forgiveness for Nigeria and other developing countries from creditors and multilateral financial institutions.

He said: “Similarly, we must ensure that any reform of the international financial system includes comprehensive debt relief measures, to enable sustainable financing for development.

鈥淐ountries of the global South cannot make meaningful economic progress without special concessions and a review of their current debt burden.鈥�

Tinubu also asked for recovery of the proceeds of corruption and illicit financial flows, maintaining that the return of such funds to countries of origin “is a fundamental principle of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

“Therefore, the international community must promote practical measures to strengthen international cooperation to recover and return stolen assets and to eradicate safe havens that facilitate illicit flows of funds from developing countries to the developed economies.鈥�

On security of lives and property

President Tinubu, in his address, further noted that the menace of insecurity of lives and property is plunging citizens into untold hardship and misery that.

The President noted this, in turn, is affecting the people’s confidence in democracy, as he stressed that bringing back confidence in democratic rule and constitutional order is the duty of the international community.

Tinubu stated: 鈥淲e cannot build durable societies with the threat of terrorism, banditry and insurgency growing in our countries and regions.

鈥淚ndeed, violent extremism remains an existential threat to both national and international peace, security and development. We are making concerted efforts to contain and roll back this threat.鈥�

President Tinubu, however, assured that the “High-Level African Counter-Terrorism Meeting hosted by Nigeria in April 2024 and its outcome – 鈥淭he Abuja Declaration鈥� – promises to provide solutions to the challenges presented by terrorists and insurgents.”

Climate change poses dangers to sustainable development

He also warned against the dangers of climate change, describing it as a driver of insecurity that poses a veritable challenge to sustainable development, even as he recalled the devastating flood in Nigeria which submerged large areas of the country, “including one of our largest cities, Maiduguri, in the North-East.”

The Nigerian leader implored the international community to stick to the implementation of the commitments made at the various COP meetings, pointing out that failure to do so would amount to postponing the inevitable, as no country is immune from the effects of climate change.

The President who observed that conflict prevention is the main reason why the UN was established regretted that the task of preventing these conflicts has become arduous following their normalisation “when even the condemnation of violence and civilian casualties, and calls for a ceasefire, are somehow regarded as controversial”.

Tinubu enumerated some of the root causes of conflicts to include poverty, hunger, ignorance, inequality and exclusion, as well as other forms of injustice, just as he cited the conflict in Sudan and the war in Gaza and other Palestinian territories.

The President noted: “What this tells us is that the international community has failed to live up to the spirit and aspirations of the United Nations to rid the world of inequality, violence and domination of one people by another. Justice is antithetical to revenge.鈥�

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