Nigeria has renewed its call for urgent reform of the United Nations Security Council, saying the continued exclusion of Africa from permanent membership undermines the fairness, credibility and legitimacy of the global governance system.
Vice President Kashim Shettima made the position known on Thursday during a visit to UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States.
Representing President Bola Tinubu, Shettima demanded at least two permanent seats for Africa on the Security Council, arguing that the existing arrangement, which has given permanent membership to the United States, China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom since 1945, no longer reflects contemporary geopolitical and demographic realities.
“A continent cannot be summoned to bear the burdens of the international order and then denied an equal hand in directing it,” Shettima said.
He maintained that it was indefensible for Africa to lack a permanent voice in decisions that shape global affairs, stressing that Nigeria would continue to advocate reforms of the UN and other international institutions.
The Vice President said Nigeria remained committed to strengthening international law, rebuilding trust among nations and addressing global challenges, including hunger, violence and displacement.
He commended UN Secretary-General António Guterres for advocating a more representative Security Council, particularly his position that the absence of permanent African representation in a 21st-century council was “unjust and indefensible.”
Shettima also praised Guterres for defending international law and human dignity amid rising conflicts and geopolitical tensions.
“You have remained a voice of reason as individual states drift from the obligations they assumed under the United Nations Charter and the rules of international law.
“You have insisted that sovereignty carries duties, that might confers no licence to injure, and that the worth of a human life cannot vary with the flag above it,” he said.
The Vice President warned that international diplomacy must remain connected to the human consequences of conflicts, instability, hunger and displacement.
“The mother searching for her child, the family driven from home and the hungry child awaiting food must never become abstractions in the language of states,” he said.
Shettima said Nigeria would remain a dependable partner in efforts to restore confidence in multilateralism, protect human dignity and tackle hunger, violence and exclusion.
“Nigeria will remain a willing ally in the work of restoring trust among nations and dignity to lives diminished by hunger, violence and exclusion. We owe our children a world in which conscience has authority and the law has meaning,” he added.
He argued that the credibility of the international system would depend not only on its ability to respond fairly to human suffering but also on whether all regions were given a meaningful voice in decisions affecting humanity.
“Civilisation endures only when the suffering of a stranger becomes a claim on our conscience,” Shettima said.
The Vice President also commended Mohammed for her contributions to multilateral diplomacy and sustainable development, describing her service at the UN as a source of pride to Nigeria.
Responding, Mohammed expressed appreciation to Nigeria and the Tinubu administration for their support for the UN and her office.
“It’s a deep honour to have your esteemed delegation here to come and surprise me. I am truly honoured and grateful.
“I want to thank you, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and you for embracing me wholeheartedly not just as the DSG but as a daughter of the soil. He has been an incredible support to me, and he has also supported this institution,” she said.
Shettima was accompanied to the meeting by Governors AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara, Hyacinth Alia of Benue, Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim; and other senior government officials also attended the meeting.
