President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has demanded a fundamental restructuring of the United Nations, declaring that the world of 2026 cannot continue to operate under a distribution of power designed in 1945, and that Africa cannot remain absent from the permanent membership of the Security Council while filling its agenda.
The address was delivered to the General Debate of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on his behalf by the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima.
Opening, the President congratulated the President of the session on his election and assured him of Nigeria’s full cooperation, commending the Deputy Secretary-General, Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, for helping steer the organisation through storms that have sharpened awareness of the cost of inaction.
“No one among us can claim that conflicts within our borders, or in distant lands beyond them, do not cost us dearly. That is the extent of our interconnectedness and interdependence,” he said, describing the restoration of confidence in international institutions as the sacred duty of the session.
The President said the persistence of conflict recalls the purpose for which the organisation was founded.
“The persistence of conflict across the world recalls the purpose for which the United Nations was founded: to spare succeeding generations the devastation of war. We must therefore return to the founding principles of dialogue, mutual respect and collective responsibility,” he said.
“Nigeria stands by the Charter and its promise of a world in which diplomacy prevails over coercion, cooperation over isolation, and international law over the arbitrary exercise of power.”
Turning to the central demand of the address, he said reform must begin with the Council itself.
“The reform of this institution must begin with the reconstitution of the Security Council, for the world of 2026 cannot remain captive to the distribution of power in 1945. Africa cannot continue to fill the Council’s agenda while remaining absent from its permanent membership.”
He set out the demand in the terms agreed by the continent.
“Nigeria demands, in accordance with the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, at least two permanent seats for Africa, with all the rights and responsibilities of permanent membership, including the veto for as long as it exists, and five non-permanent seats in total.”
“The authority to speak for humanity carries an obligation to represent it,” he said.
He grounded the claim in the country’s record.
“Nigeria is ready to shoulder greater responsibility, based on commitments it has honoured and sacrifices it has made over decades in the service of peace,” he said.
“From Liberia and Sierra Leone to Darfur, Mali and The Gambia, we committed personnel and resources when international solidarity required action. Through ECOWAS, the African Union and our Gulf of Guinea partnerships, we continue to advance mediation, democratic governance, counter-terrorism and maritime security.”
He said the country’s foreign policy rests on the same conviction that guides its economic reforms, pursued through sound macroeconomic management, stronger institutions, private sector growth and strategic public investment.
“This objective links the progress of our nation to the progress of our continent, and to our responsibility to contribute to a world at peace, in justice and in prosperity,” he said.
“We recognise that governments and multilateral institutions earn trust when their decisions improve people’s lives.”
He added that none of those gains would matter if the realities beyond national borders were ignored. “We live on the only planet known to be capable of supporting human life. As long as that scientific fact remains, we cannot pretend to be insulated from conflicts either. Geography exempts no one from the consequences of a divided world.”
On climate, the President rejected the framing of development and climate action as alternatives.
“We reject the false choice between development and climate action. Developing countries must industrialise, eliminate poverty and expand energy access through low-carbon pathways supported by technology transfer, capacity building and climate finance.”
“Africa contributes less than 4 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, yet bears disproportionate consequences,” he said.
He reaffirmed the country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and to a just energy transition reflecting historical responsibility and capabilities while protecting the right of peoples to development. Under the Energy Transition Plan, he said, Nigeria is working towards net zero emissions by 2060 while expanding access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy, combining renewables, clean cooking and gas as a transitional fuel with climate-smart agriculture and nature-based solutions.
On finance, he was pointed. “Financing must be governed by the principle of equity and shared responsibility rather than being an act of charity, with international commitments translated into concessional, predictable and adequately funded mechanisms that enable developing countries to pursue climate action without compromising development objectives.”
On artificial intelligence, the President said Nigeria would not be governed by fear.
“We refuse to surrender our technological future to paranoia. Any invention can be destructive or beneficial, depending on the purpose it serves and the judgement of those who use it. A knife can take a life in the hand of an aggressor, and save one in the hand of a surgeon.”
“We can deploy artificial intelligence to wage wars, or use it to transform healthcare, education, agriculture, governance and economic productivity. Much of the anxiety surrounding artificial intelligence reflects the distrust we have allowed to grow among ourselves.”
He said Nigeria is investing in digital public infrastructure, broadband connectivity, innovation systems, research institutions and technology entrepreneurship, and invited the world “to work with our innovative, creative and enterprising young people to direct artificial intelligence towards the advancement of humanity rather than its destruction.”
On development finance, he said debt service is displacing essential spending.
“One of the greatest obstacles to sustainable development is inadequate financing. Many developing countries divert substantial resources to debt service at the expense of education, healthcare and infrastructure.”
“Nigeria therefore calls for reform of the international financial architecture, expanded access to concessional financing, and debt sustainability frameworks that recognise development needs,” he said, adding that the country supports innovative financing through private capital, blended finance, South-South cooperation and strategic partnerships for sustainable development, climate adaptation and resilient infrastructure.
He described the African Continental Free Trade Area as one of the continent’s most transformative opportunities, capable of strengthening regional value chains, expanding intra-African trade, encouraging industrialisation and attracting investment.
“Africa must move beyond its historical role as a supplier of raw materials towards greater value addition, manufacturing, technological innovation and knowledge-based growth,” he said. “Our abundant natural resources must become engines of shared prosperity rather than remaining sources of perpetual dependency.”
Turning to security, the President said threats no longer respect borders.
“No nation, however formidable its defences, can secure itself completely against dangers sustained beyond its borders. Terrorism, organised crime, cyberattacks and illicit finance exploit the gaps in our national responses, drawing strength from the divisions that weaken collective action.”
He drew on the country’s own experience. “Nigeria’s long struggle against Boko Haram, ISWAP and other armed groups has taught us that military victories require enduring foundations of education, economic opportunity, accountable governance, and societies in which rights and dignity are protected.”
“Development cannot take root while violence repeatedly uproots livelihoods. And peace cannot endure while injustice and exclusion replenish the ranks of those who threaten it.”
He called for cooperation on a matching scale. “Our shared security requires cooperation that matches the scale of the trade we aspire to. We must share intelligence, strengthen institutional capacity, cut off the financing of violence, and prevent weapons from crossing borders that our responses often fail to cross.”
He cited the Sahel as the illustration, saying instability in one region can threaten its neighbours, displace populations and disrupt trade, regional integration and democratic governance. As a founding member of ECOWAS, he said, Nigeria holds to regional solidarity and African leadership in resolving such challenges, supported by key international partnerships.
“No country can claim lasting security while the forces capable of destabilising it continue to enjoy sanctuary, resources and recruits elsewhere.”
The President called for urgent diplomacy on Sudan and other war-torn countries, citing the humanitarian, economic and geopolitical consequences.
“All parties must respect international humanitarian law and human rights law, protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian access. Negotiated settlements must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.
“Within our continent and beyond it, no claim of security can justify starving children, denying civilians relief, or erasing communities from the land they call home.”
It was in that context that he delivered the sharpest passage of the address.
“We should all be afraid of a world in which we can no longer tell the victim from the aggressor. When our investment in propaganda shields perpetrators from justice to the point that telling the truth becomes a crime, the promise of this institution stands betrayed.”
He said the country places its faith in diplomacy “because military victories alone cannot guarantee lasting peace,” and that dialogue, reconciliation and inclusive political processes must give people a stake in ending violence and preserving the agreements that follow.
The organisation, he said, must therefore strengthen peacekeeping and give greater attention to peacebuilding, mediation, institution-building and sustainable development, with preventive action receiving more resources and political attention.
The President closed on the continent’s prospects and on the fate of institutions that will not change.
“Africa is ready for the future. Our resilience, our innovation, our youth, our natural wealth and our growing markets can make us a key driver of global growth in this century,” he said, adding that developing countries are indispensable partners whose contributions to global solutions exceed their need for assistance.
“This partnership requires a United Nations that evolves with the aspirations of present and future generations. Institutions that adapt remain relevant. Those that resist change endanger themselves.”
“Our generation has the privilege of shaping the future and the responsibility of answering for it. Those who come after us will judge our courage in reforming worn-out institutions, building cooperation across divides, protecting the planet, and directing technology responsibly.”
He set out the country’s posture in a single line: “Nigeria pledges cooperation, not confrontation; dialogue, not division; hope, not fear; partnership, not isolation.”
“Restoring trust requires us to honour our commitments to one another and to manage the changes before us with justice, wisdom and compassion. The world looks to this Assembly for leadership, and our debates must lead to action worthy of that expectation.”
“A reformed, inclusive and effective United Nations is indispensable to the peaceful, just and sustainable world that future generations deserve,” he said.
“Whatever our differences, and I repeat, whatever our differences, we must remember that humanity is our oldest citizenship, and peace is the inheritance we owe every child.”
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