Vice President Kashim Shettima has said that Africa’s continued exclusion from permanent membership of the United Nations (UN) Security Council undermines the fairness and legitimacy of the global governance system.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s support for urgent reform of the United Nations, noting that the nation would remain a dependable partner in efforts to rebuild trust among nations, defend international law and address hunger, violence and exclusion.
Shettima stated this during a meeting with United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York.
He commended the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, for his consistent support for a more representative Security Council, particularly his declaration that a 21st-century Council without permanent African representation is 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,” the VP was quoted as saying in a statement by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha.
Senator Shettima maintained that Nigeria would continue to support reforms that make international institutions more representative, responsive and credible, stressing that global decisions must better reflect contemporary geopolitical and demographic realities.
He also praised Guterres for defending international law and human dignity amid widening global conflicts and rising 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,” he said. “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.”
The Vice President warned that diplomacy must not lose sight of the human consequences of war and instability.
“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 commended Mohammed for her contributions to multilateral diplomacy and sustainable development, describing her service as a source of pride to Nigeria.
“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 said.
He added that the credibility of the international system would eventually depend on its ability to respond fairly to human suffering and provide all regions with a meaningful voice in global decision-making.
“Civilisation endures only when the suffering of a stranger becomes a claim on our conscience,” Shettima said.
Earlier, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General expressed gratitude to Nigeria and the administration of President Bola Tinubu for the support to the UN as an institution and to her office as the deputy scribe of the global body.
“It’s deep honour to have your esteemed delegation here to come and surprise me. I am truly honoured and grateful,” she was quoted as saying.
“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.”
The Vice President was accompanied on the visit by governors Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Hyacinth Alia of Benue, Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers, and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jimoh Ibrahim, among other top officials.
Nigeria last Thursday reiterated its call for permanent representation on the Security Council of the United Nations, demanding at least two permanent seats for Africa with veto powers and five non-permanent seats for the continent.
While addressing delegates at the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, it said that the world of 2026 cannot “remain captive to the distribution of power in 1945”.
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