Nigeria has warned that powerful national defences alone cannot protect countries from terrorism, cyber threats and other dangers sustained across international borders.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima gave the warning while delivering President Bola Tinubu’s national statement at the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday.
Drawing from Nigeria’s prolonged battle against Boko Haram, ISWAP and other armed groups, Shettima called for stronger international cooperation against transnational security threats.
He argued that modern threats exploited gaps between countries and could not be effectively defeated through isolated national responses.
Nigeria’s experience, he said, demonstrated that security challenges sustained across borders required corresponding regional and global cooperation.
Shettima told the Assembly that military operations remained necessary but could not, by themselves, deliver lasting victory over violent extremism.
He said sustainable security must also rest on education, economic opportunity, accountable governance and respect for human rights.
The Vice-President linked the argument to Nigeria’s wider advocacy for collective security and effective multilateral institutions.
He said Nigeria remained ready to work with neighbours and international partners to confront terrorism and other destabilising threats.
Through ECOWAS, the African Union and Gulf of Guinea partnerships, he said Nigeria continued to participate in mediation, counter-terrorism, maritime security and efforts to strengthen democratic governance.
Shettima also recalled Nigeria’s long record of contributing personnel and resources to peace operations across Africa.
He cited engagements in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Darfur, Mali and The Gambia as examples of Nigeria responding to instability beyond its national borders.
The Vice-President said such engagements reflected the country’s conviction that conflicts in one country could generate consequences for neighbours and the wider international community.
He warned world leaders against assuming that distant wars carried no costs for countries geographically removed from them.
Shettima argued that conflict could disrupt trade, increase humanitarian pressures, drive displacement, strengthen extremist networks and create wider economic and security shocks.
He, therefore, called for renewed commitment to dialogue, mutual respect, collective responsibility and international law.
Shettima reaffirmed Nigeria’s support for the peaceful resolution of disputes under the UN Charter.
He identified Sudan and other conflict-affected countries as requiring urgent diplomatic attention because of the consequences for civilians and regional stability.
The Vice-President also warned against rising nationalism and weakening commitment to multilateral cooperation.
He said the continuing conflicts around the world recalled the fundamental reason the United Nations was created after the devastation of the Second World War.
According to him, Nigeria remains committed to an international order where disputes were addressed through diplomacy rather than arbitrary power.
Shettima linked international security to development, maintaining that deprivation and institutional weakness could undermine the durability of military gains.
The Nigerian delegation also called for stronger global institutions capable of coordinating responses to terrorism, cyber threats and other challenges that did not respect national borders.
The address came as the General Assembly’s 81st General Debate entered its third day, with Shettima speaking fourth during Thursday’s afternoon session.
Nigeria said its experiences with insurgency had reinforced its belief that peace required both effective security measures and conditions that denied violent groups opportunities to recruit and operate.
Shettima, therefore, urged greater international solidarity, regional leadership and sustained investment in the social foundations of peace. (NAN)
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