UNGA81: Tinubu Demands 2 Permanent Seats With Veto Power For Africa

President Bola Tinubu has demanded a fundamental restructuring of the United Nations, declaring that the world in 2026 cannot continue to operate under a global power arrangement designed in 1945.

Tinubu, in a major diplomatic push for Africa’s greater representation, specifically demanded at least two permanent seats for Africa on the UN Security Council, with full rights and responsibilities including veto power, as well as five non-permanent seats for the continent.

The President made the demand in his address to the General Debate of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, delivered on his behalf by Vice President Kashim Shettima on Thursday night.

He argued that Africa could no longer remain central to the UN’s agenda while being excluded from the Council’s permanent membership.

“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. Africa cannot continue to fill the Council’s agenda while remaining absent from its permanent membership,” Tinubu said.

He said Nigeria’s demand was consistent with the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, both of which provide the framework for Africa’s position on reform of the UN Security Council.

“Nigeria demands, in accordance with the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, at least two permanent seats for Africa, with all the rights and responsibilities of permanent membership, including the veto for as long as it exists, and five non-permanent seats in total,” he said.

“The authority to speak for humanity carries an obligation to represent it.”

Tinubu also called for an immediate end to wars and renewed adherence to the UN Charter, warning against growing resort to unilateral action and nationalism.

He said the persistence of conflicts across the world had reinforced the original reason for establishing the United Nations.

“The persistence of conflict across the world recalls the purpose for which the United Nations was founded: to spare succeeding generations the devastation of war. We must therefore return to the founding principles of dialogue, mutual respect and collective responsibility,” he said.

The President said Nigeria remained committed to a rules-based international system in which diplomacy and international law prevailed over coercion and unilateral use of power.

“Nigeria stands by the Charter and its promise of a world in which diplomacy prevails over coercion, cooperation over isolation and international law over the arbitrary exercise of power,” he declared.

He cited Nigeria’s contributions to peacekeeping and conflict resolution in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Darfur, Mali and The Gambia as evidence of the country’s willingness to shoulder responsibility for peace and stability in Africa.

According to him, Nigeria continues to deploy regional mechanisms through ECOWAS, the African Union and Gulf of Guinea partnerships to promote mediation, democratic governance, counter-terrorism and maritime security.

On the economy, Tinubu called for a radical reform of the international financial architecture, arguing that developing countries require greater access to concessional financing and debt arrangements that take their development needs into account.

“One of the greatest obstacles to sustainable development is inadequate financing,” he said, noting that debt-servicing obligations were consuming resources that could otherwise be deployed to education, healthcare and infrastructure.

He said Nigeria was pursuing its own development objectives through macroeconomic management, stronger institutions, private-sector growth and strategic public investment.

On climate change, Tinubu rejected what he described as a false choice between economic development and climate action, saying developing countries must be allowed to industrialise through low-carbon pathways supported by technology transfer and climate finance.

“Africa bears a heavy climate burden despite contributing under 4 per cent of global emissions,” he said, reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and its Energy Transition Plan targeted at achieving net-zero emissions by 2060.

Drawing from Nigeria’s experience confronting Boko Haram, ISWAP and other armed groups, Tinubu argued that security threats increasingly transcend national borders.

“No nation, however formidable its defences, can secure itself completely against dangers sustained beyond its borders,” he said.

He said terrorism and cyberattacks continued to exploit gaps in international cooperation, but that military action alone could not deliver lasting security without education, economic opportunity, accountable governance and respect for human rights.

The President also called for urgent diplomatic action to resolve conflicts in Sudan and other war-torn countries, citing their humanitarian, economic and geopolitical consequences.

On artificial intelligence, Tinubu said Nigeria would not allow fear to dictate its technological future, describing AI as a tool driven by human intent. He said Nigeria was expanding digital public infrastructure, broadband deployment and technology entrepreneurship to harness its potential.

He warned against a global environment in which propaganda could obscure accountability for aggression.

“We should all be afraid of a world in which we can no longer tell the victim from the aggressor. When our investment in propaganda shields perpetrators from justice to the point that telling the truth becomes a crime, the promise of this institution stands betrayed,” he said.

Tinubu concluded by urging member states to renew their commitment to multilateralism.

“A reformed, inclusive and effective United Nations is indispensable to the peaceful, just and sustainable world that future generations deserve. Whatever our differences, we must remember that humanity is our oldest citizenship, and peace is the inheritance we owe every child,” he added.