UNGA79: Tinubu calls for Nigeria’s debt forgiveness

President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, called for debt forgiveness to reduce fiscal burdens on Nigeria and other developing nations.

He also asked world leaders to do more in tackling hunger and terrorism to deepen relationships among member states of the United Nations (UN) in line with the principles of inclusivity, equality and cooperation.

These were contained in Nigeria’s national statement presented by President Tinubu, who is also the chairman of the Authority of Heads of States and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) while addressing world leaders during the General Debate of the ongoing 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York, United States.

Stanley Nkwocha, senior special assistant to the president on media and communications (Office of the Vice President), in a statement, said President Tinubu, who is being represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, stated that “these will serve as surest guarantee of global action against existential challenges faced by the international community.”

The president decried the steep descent into singularity and nationalism which, according to him, are undermining the quest for peaceful and collective resolution of global challenges such as terrorism, climate change, poverty, food crises, hyper-inflation, nuclear proliferation and grinding debt burden, among others.

The Nigerian leader reminded the global community that the United Nations stands for multilateralism, which represents inclusiveness, anchored on the tripod of peace, sustainable development and human rights.

Read also: Tuggar pushes for debt relief, financial system reforms at UNGA

He expressed worries that the pillars of the organisation are at risk of being broken, as the principles of inclusivity, equality and cooperation, which the UN stands for, are being neglected.

President Tinubu stated, “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.”

The president stated this against the backdrop of nations’ decent into selfish pursuits of parochial interests to the neglect of global commitment to multilateralism that offers the surest guarantee of collective action to address the existential challenges

According to him, “Singularity and nationalism are undermining the aspirations towards the peaceful and collective resolution of such challenges.”

President Tinubu also called for reforms in the international financial architecture and a transparent multilateral trading system, expressing hope that “the adoption of the ‘Pact for the Future’ will change the narrative, reposition economies and translate into concrete measures that provide solutions to the challenges faced by developing and least developed countries.”

“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 noted.

The Nigerian leader also drew the UN’s attention to the global debt burden undermining the ability of countries and governments to meet the needs of their citizens, as well as trade barriers and protectionist policies destroying the hopes for nations, including the uncontrollable competition discouraging motivation and hampering global investments.

Specifically, he asked the UN to prioritise debt forgiveness for Nigeria and other developing countries from creditors and multilateral financial institutions.

Read also: Public debt set to rise as Nigeria awaits World Bank’s $1.7bn loan

“Similarly, we must ensure that any reform of the international financial system includes comprehensive debt relief measures, to enable sustainable financing for development. Countries of the global South cannot make meaningful economic progress without special concessions and a review of their current debt burden,” he stated.

He called for the recovery of the proceeds of corruption and illicit financial flows, maintaining that the return of such funds to countries 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 added.

“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.”

He noted further that the continued manifestation of these challenges testifies to the failings of the global community.

He lamented that billions of dollars are being committed to the prosecution of endless wars and the fanning of the embers of conflict

Speaking on Nigeria’s commitment to the global peace initiatives, President Tinubu highlighted that Nigeria has been steadfast in its commitment to the ‘deepening of multilateralism,’ just as it did 65 years ago when it joined the United Nations as the 99th Member-State.

“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.”

President Tinubu also lamented what he described as the return of unconstitutional changes of government and forceful military coups in some African countries, saying these coups attest to how fragile democracy could become when it is not supported by economic development and sustained peace and security.

Read also: Top 10 Nigerian States with the highest external debt service cost in H1 2024

This, he said, should be of utmost concern in deliberations at the high-level segments of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly, as the forceful changes of government have led to “the impatience in cities and villages at the sometimes slow and grinding turn of the wheel of democracy.”

“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,” he added.

Also speaking on insecurity, President Tinubu noted that the menace is plunging citizens into untold hardship and misery that, in turn, affect their confidence in democracy, emphasising that bringing back confidence in democratic rule and constitutional order is the duty of the international community.

“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 roll back this threat,” he said.

President Tinubu however assured that the ‘High-Level African Counter-Terrorism Meeting’ hosted by Nigeria in April 2024 and its outcome – ‘The Abuja Declaration’ – promise to provide solutions to the challenges presented by terrorists and insurgents.

He also warned against the dangers of climate change, describing it as a driver of insecurity that poses a veritable challenge to sustainable development, even as he recalled the devastating flood in Nigeria which submerged large areas of the country, “including one of our largest cities, Maiduguri, in the North-East.”

The Nigerian leader implored the international community to stick to the implementation of the commitments made at the various COP meetings, pointing out that failure to do so would amount to postponing the inevitable, as no country is immune from the effects of climate change.

The president, who observed that conflict prevention is the main reason why the UN was established, regretted that the task of preventing these conflicts has become arduous following their normalisation “when even the condemnation of violence and civilian casualties, and calls for a ceasefire, are somehow regarded as controversial.”

He listed some of the root causes of conflicts to include poverty, hunger, ignorance, inequality and exclusion, as well as other forms of injustice, just as he cited the conflict in Sudan and the war in Gaza and other Palestinian territories.

“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. Justice is antithetical to revenge,” he stated.

President Tinubu further insisted on bold reforms in the UN Security Council with a view to giving Nigeria and other African countries permanent seats at the council, stressing that it has since become imperative for the UN to strengthen its relevance and credibility in a rapidly changing world.

He said, “Some permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have offered encouraging, if tentative indications of support on the issue of reform of the Council. We welcome the change in tone and urge an acceleration in momentum to the process.

“The Security Council should be expanded, in the permanent and non-permanent member categories, to reflect the diversity and plurality of the world. We fully support the efforts of Secretary-General Guterres in this regard.

“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.”