*Photo: Vice President Kashim Shettima *
In a white flowing gown topped with his signature ‘K-Cap’, Vice-President Kashim Shettima represented Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in New York City, the United States, on Tuesday, 24 September, 2024.
At that most distinguished forum, he delivered a speech on behalf of the President on the theme “Unity in diversity, for the advancement of peace, sustainable development, and human dignity for everyone everywhere.”
The highlights below are excerpted from The Cable newspaper’s full transcript of the speech. In the speech, the Vice-President noted as follows: “The theme of this year’s General Assembly leaves us in no doubt that there is still work to be done to bridge the gap between aspirations and the realities confronting our world today. It also underscores the need to remind ourselves that the United Nations stands for inclusiveness – anchored on the tripod of peace, sustainable development and human rights. … Today, these pillars of our organisation are threatened. They risk being broken by the relentless pursuit of individual national priorities rather than the collective needs of the nations that are assembled here today.”
Underscoring the point, he noted: “From last year’s summit, and indeed from previous years, we have carried over the numerous challenges of terrorism, armed conflict, inequality, poverty, racial discrimination, human rights abuses, food crises, hunger, irregular migration, piracy, global pandemics, hyper-inflation, nuclear proliferation, grinding debt burden, climate change, and a host of other vexations. The continued manifestation of these challenges testifies to our failings rather than to any lofty achievements on our part. Billions of dollars are being committed to the prosecution of wars and the fanning of the embers of conflict…. Yet, we always recoil from bringing out the resources we need to build peace and to deliver life’s necessities to people.”
Focussing on Africa, and noting the tendency for some to be attracted to military rule, the Vice-President said: “Our people need employment. They need decent livelihoods. They desire good and affordable education and healthcare for their children and families. They need to live in healthy, safe and secure environments. They need hope and they need opportunity. They desire to live in peace and tranquility, to pursue whatever gives them happiness and contentment. When governments fail to deliver, the people are bound to question the utility of democracy and other ideals, like rule of law.”
He further opined: “It is the duty of the international community to bring back confidence in democratic rule and constitutional order, by paying more attention to the needs and aspirations of the people, rather than paying lip service to human rights, sustainable development and peace.”
Concerning the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, in particular, the Vice-President declared: “We note that most developing countries are significantly behind in the achievement of these goals, largely due to a lack of resources … to finance their implementation and the burden of unsustainable external debt.” He then declared that “we must ensure that any reform of the international financial system includes comprehensive debt relief measures… Countries of the global South cannot make meaningful economic progress without special concessions and a review of their current debt burden.”
He also asserts: “It is for this and other reasons that we reiterate the call by countries, especially of the global South, for reform of the international financial architecture and promotion of a rules-based, non-discriminatory, open, fair, inclusive, equitable and transparent multilateral trading system.”
He remarked further: “We are aware of the debilitating impacts of corruption on global prosperity and national progress. Proceeds of corruption and illicit financial flows constitute a huge chunk of resources needed for sustainable development. The recovery and return of such funds to States of origin is a fundamental principle of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. … Therefore, the international community must promote practical measures to strengthen international cooperation to recover and return stolen assets and to eradicate safe havens that facilitate illicit flows of funds from developing countries to the developed economies.
He continued: “Moreso, there is a need to work towards common global standards to regulate crypto-currency trading platforms. This is the most effective way to provide confidence in these new markets and limit the potential for instability. Our own experience in Nigeria, as in other countries, shows that new technologies, when not properly regulated, can facilitate organised crime, violent extremism and human trafficking. In our own case, the trading of crypto-currency helped fuel speculation and undermined macro-economic reforms.”
On the issue of insecurity, he said: “We cannot build durable societies with the threat of terrorism, banditry and insurgency growing in our countries and regions. Indeed, violent extremism remains an existential threat to both national and international peace, security and development. We are making concerted efforts to contain and rollback this threat. The High-Level African Counter-Terrorism Meeting hosted by Nigeria in April 2024 and its outcome – “The Abuja Declaration” – promises to provide solutions to the challenges presented by terrorists and insurgents.”
He noted further: “[W]e have also witnessed, in rich and poor countries alike, the corrosive impact of unfiltered hate speech and fake news across social media. There is much more that we could and should do, together, to strengthen those guard rails that will help release the most progressive elements of the new technologies shaping our world – and curb those more destructive tendencies. … We are particularly mindful of the imperatives of achieving the advancement of youth and women as a factor in national development, peace and security. Nigeria has developed its own National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, as well as a National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security, to ensure the participation of both women and youth in the peace and security sector.”
In addition, he observed: “Climate change is a driver of insecurity, which also poses a veritable challenge to sustainable development. A few weeks ago, large areas of my country were inundated by seasonal flood waters, including one of our largest cities, Maiduguri, in the North-East. Other parts of Nigeria also experienced similar tragedies, occasioning the loss of lives and property. … We need not remind ourselves to remain faithful to the implementation of the commitments that we all gave voluntarily at the various [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] meetings. Failure to do so is merely to postpone the inevitable. No country is immune from the effects of climate change.”
Moreover, the Vice-President declared: “Conflict prevention is the main reason why the UN exists. … Today, we are all witnesses to the heart-wrenching situation in Gaza and other Palestinian Territories. We cannot discuss war and peace, conflicts and reconciliation or humanitarian imperatives today without reflecting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has been raging since 7th October last year. … Of course, the conflict predates this period and has been simmering for a better part of half a century. What this tells us is that the international community has failed to live up to the spirit and aspirations of the United Nations to rid the world of inequality, violence and domination of one people by another.”
More categorically, he stated: “Freedom is an inalienable right and a natural entitlement that cannot be denied to any people. The Palestinian people deserve their independence. They deserve to have a home of their own on territories already recognised by this very Assembly and by international law, which is being routinely ignored. Nigeria continues to urge efforts to bring back on track the ‘two state solution’ that offers the prospect for a new beginning for the region.”
With regard to reforms, the Vice-President said: “The Security Council should be expanded, in the permanent and non-permanent member categories, to reflect the diversity and plurality of the world. … Africa must be accorded the respect that it deserves in the Security Council. Our Continent deserves a place in the permanent members category of the Security Council, with the same rights and responsibilities as other Permanent Members.”
Moreover, he remarked: “Migration is a complex and polarising issue that impacts on rich and poor countries alike. Nigeria is a country of origin, transit and destination. We are a major stakeholder in the global migration dynamic, and understand the challenges and benefits it brings. Accordingly, I wish to reiterate our support for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM). The GCM, which all of us should continue to support, represents our collective efforts at providing major safeguards for the treatment of migrants.”
The foregoing messages resonate with some of the other speakers at the 79th UNGA.
For example, the dignitary who spoke immediately after him, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, said as follows in the speech he delivered on behalf of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa: “Nineteen years ago, I had the honour of standing here and addressing this historic hall, where I touched on the pressing challenges confronting our world at the time: poverty, famine, deadly infectious diseases, civil wars, and weapons of mass destruction. These global challenges not only persist but have intensified. We find ourselves in a far more dangerous and unpredictable time due to major tectonic shifts in the global geopolitical order.”
In other words, he questioned the utility of the United Nations in its present form.The Crown Prince thus noted: “Today, we support the calls for reform of the United Nations to ensure that it reflects current geopolitical realities so that it is equipped to continue carrying out its important global mandate for decades to come.”
He continued: “In Gaza, we see Palestinians living through an unprecedented humanitarian disaster, with over 40 thousand people killed, many of them women and children. The protection of innocent life is enshrined in international law and a moral and religious responsibility. It is clear that what is required is the implementation of an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the adoption of an irrevocable path to the creation of a viable, independent Palestinian state; and it must happen now!”
In concluding, Vice-President Shettima recalled Nigeria’s joining of the organisation in 1960, and declared: “We remain committed to that ‘desire to remain friendly with all nations and participate actively in the works of the United Nations’, as expressed by our founding Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.”
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was affectionately called “The Golden Voice of Africa”, in admiration of his unforced eloquence. He had an unassuming carriage, and was widely respected for his frugal lifestyle, in spite of his exposure to the vast resources of the nation.
As Nigeria continues to seek templates of moral regeneration, it is a fitting tribute that the Prime Minister got honourable mention in the Vice-President’s speech at UNGA 79.