The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar has said it is natural for Nigeria to assume a position of permanent member of the Security Council of the United Nations.

The Minister in an interview with an online news platform, The Cable News, on Nigeria’s plans at next United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), said the country would continue to lobby to be elected one of the permanent members in the much agitated reform of the United Nations.

At present, the Security Council of UN, the most important decision making organ, has five permanent members of United States, United Kingdom, Russia, China, and France, which each having a veto power, and ten elected non-permanent members, who serve two-year nonconsecutive terms and not afforded veto power. These seats are shared between global regions. Africa has three seats; Asia-Pacific, two; Eastern European, one; Latin American and Caribbean, two; and Western European and others, two. There’s also an Arab seat which alternates between the African and Asian blocs by informal agreement.

Nigeria has served as a non-permanent member multiple times, with the most recent being in 2015. But over the years, the country has sought to secure a permanent seat of its own, a shared ambition with other regional powers such as Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, and South Africa.

Tuggar, in the interview, said Nigeria has a strong case to get a permanent seat and that it was against the agitation by some that the permanent seat that may be reserved for Africa should be rotated among African countries.

He said: “Some figures show that 70 percent, some even say more, of the issues being discussed in the UN Security Council have to do with Africa,” listing the multiple ongoing conflicts in Sudan, eastern Congo, and the Sahel.

Tuggar said it was absurd that decisions were made regarding these issues without a defining voice of the African nation. He pointed to Nigeria’s record as the only country on the continent with a near-permanent status in the African Union (AU)’s peace and security council. “It’s a natural progression,” he said.

Though the minister expressed optimism that Nigeria’s ambition is building momentum among the P5 countries, he said some African nations are demanding that the permanent seat be rotational. Tuggar dismissed the arguments.

He noted that: “That’s neither here nor there because it comes back to what we have at the moment, where you have five permanent members, and then you have ten seats that rotate among other countries. Even now, Africa has rotational seats. So, what’s the point, then, if they are pushing for that?”

“Nigeria is not in support of that. We’re saying based on the fact that we represent the continent, we represent it well, we were strong advocates and worked diligently to free Africa from the yoke of racist regimes. If you talk about Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, and Guinea-Bissau, we championed that. We made huge sacrifices to see that to fruition.

“The fact that we are also the largest country in Africa, the most populous, we’re going to be the third most populous nation in the world. If truly, the United Nations is representative of the people on the planet, how can you not have the third most populous country, and this is just in 25 years, representing?”

Though the UN has since nodded to calls for reform, analysts fear that the odds of substantial change are remote. Amending the UN Charter requires an affirmative vote and domestic ratification by two-thirds of UN member states. This includes all of the security council’s permanent members. It is unlikely they would take measures to curb their own influence.

The annual gathering began on September 9 in New York. This year, UNGA will be marking its 80th anniversary and has named the theme “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights.”

However, it is not until September 23 that all eyes will be fixated on the body’s proceedings. This is when the high-level general debate, when world leaders deliver major speeches, will start and continue through September 29.

Key topics like development, security, climate change, women’s empowerment, and global health are expected to take centre stage.

According to reports, President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to attend and deliver his address during the afternoon session on September 24, making him the 17th world leader to speak on Day 2 of the general debate.

However, his slot could change if he does not attend in person as Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, was reported to have said Nigeria has assembled a “strong” delegation to be led by Vice President Kashim Shettima, and that the nation’s message to the world would be firmly rooted in the forum’s theme for the year.. (AriseNews TV)