Vice President Kashim Shettima has renewed Nigeria’s call for comprehensive reforms of the United Nations, insisting that Africa’s continued exclusion from permanent membership of the UN Security Council is unjust and weakens the credibility of the global governance system.
Shettima spoke during a meeting with the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Hajiya Amina Mohammed, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
The Vice President said Africa should no longer be denied a permanent voice in the world’s most powerful decision-making body, stressing that global institutions must reflect present-day realities and give every region fair representation.
He praised UN Secretary-General António Guterres for consistently supporting reforms of the Security Council, especially his position that a 21st-century Council without permanent African representation is “unjust and indefensible.”
According to Shettima, “A continent cannot be summoned to bear the burdens of the international order and then denied an equal hand in directing it.”
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to supporting reforms that would make international institutions more representative, responsive and credible.
The Vice President also commended Guterres for defending international law and human dignity despite growing global 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.
Shettima urged world leaders not to lose sight of the human cost of wars and insecurity, saying diplomacy must always put people first.
“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.
The Vice President also applauded Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed for her contributions to global diplomacy and sustainable development, describing her service at the United Nations as a source of pride for Nigeria.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s support for multilateral cooperation, Shettima said the country would remain a reliable partner in promoting peace, restoring trust among nations and protecting the dignity of vulnerable people.
“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 stated.
He further stressed that the future credibility of the international system would depend on its ability to respond fairly to human suffering while ensuring every region has a meaningful voice in global affairs.
“Civilisation endures only when the suffering of a stranger becomes a claim on our conscience,” he said.
Earlier, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Nigerian government for their unwavering support to the United Nations and her office.
She described the visit by the Nigerian delegation as a great honour.
“It’s deep honour to have your esteemed delegation here to come and surprise me. I am truly honoured and grateful,” she said.
She added: “I want to thank, through 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.”
Shettima was accompanied on the visit by the governors of Kwara, Benue, Rivers and Zamfara states, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Hyacinth Alia, Siminalayi Fubara and Dauda Lawal, respectively, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, and other senior government officials.
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