Vice President Kashim Shettima has called for reforms to the United Nations Security Council, arguing that Africa’s absence from permanent membership weakens the fairness and legitimacy of global decision-making.
Shettima made the remarks during a meeting with UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed in New York, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
The Vice President reaffirmed Nigeria’s support for changes that would make international institutions more representative and responsive to present-day geopolitical and demographic realities.
He also praised UN Secretary-General António Guterres for supporting greater African representation on the Security Council. Guterres has described the absence of permanent African representation on a 21st-century council as “unjust and indefensible.”
“A continent cannot be summoned to bear the burdens of the international order and then denied an equal hand in directing it,” Shettima said.
Shettima had earlier used Nigeria’s national statement at the UN General Assembly to advocate a permanent seat for Nigeria on the Security Council. He argued that maintaining rules established in 1945 without adapting them to current global realities was no longer sustainable.
The Vice President also commended Guterres for his position on international law and human dignity as conflicts and geopolitical tensions continue in different parts of the world.
“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,” Shettima said.
He stressed that international diplomacy should remain conscious of the impact of conflicts on ordinary people, including families displaced by violence and children affected by hunger.
“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 added.
Shettima also praised Amina Mohammed for her work in multilateral diplomacy and sustainable development, describing her contribution to the United Nations as a source of pride for Nigeria.
He said Nigeria would continue working with international partners to promote trust between nations, defend international law and address challenges including hunger, violence and exclusion.
According to the Vice President, the credibility of the international system will depend partly on whether it can respond fairly to human suffering while giving different regions a meaningful role in global decision-making.
“Civilisation endures only when the suffering of a stranger becomes a claim on our conscience,” he said.
Earlier, Mohammed expressed appreciation to Nigeria and President Bola Tinubu’s administration for supporting the United Nations and her work as Deputy Secretary-General.
She said she was grateful for the support she had received from the Nigerian government and described the relationship as one that extended beyond her role at the UN.
Shettima was accompanied during the visit by Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq, Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal.
Also present were Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jimoh Ibrahim, alongside other senior government officials.
