Nigeria deserves seat in UN Security Council – Amb Tuggar

• Advocates removal of veto power

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, has said there is a need to democratise the United Nations (UN) Security Council, saying Nigeria, with its population, economic size and strategic role in Africa, has earned the right to be part of the UNSC.

He made the assertion while speaking on a panel, with the theme, “Securing an Insecure World,” according to a statement by his media aide, Alkasim Abdulkadir.

Joining Tuggar on the panel were the Secretary of the NATO, Jens Stoltenberg; Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, HH. Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud; Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Elina Valtonen; Senator from Delaware United States, Christopher A. Coons; the  president, World Economic Forum, Børge Brende, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Federal Foreign Office of Germany, Annalena Baerbock.

The parley was in Davos, Switzerland, on the sideline of the just concluded World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting.

The panel discussants dwelled on persistent conflicts, the intensifying climate crises, the fragile global economies and the potential risks of new technologies that were creating a complex global security environment.

It provided an opportunity to interrogate what the true state of global collective security looked like today and how leaders can strengthen it for the future.

Tuggar said the values of democracy – such as the rule of law – should be replicated in the world’s highest decision organs.

He said the UN Security Council as constituted was not living up to its purpose.

“What we have to do is collectively practise what we preach. The values that we uphold – democracy, rule of law – need to be practised, and we need to see them being practised in the very decision-making bodies or entities for the planet

“So, to begin with, the UN Security Council needs to be democratised. Clearly, it is not fit for purpose.

“We should do away with the veto powers on the UN Security Council. Clearly, it is clumsy and not working. Again, when you look at the global security architecture, it is impacted by such undemocratic entities that influence decisions.

“We have a situation where, in the past, during the bipolar world, there was neutral ground for diplomats to engage, allowing diplomacy to resolve issues, preempt conflicts, and diffuse them. Unfortunately, we don’t have that anymore.

“We are increasingly seeing a situation where diplomats and diplomacy are taking the backseat and disagreements are being securitized,” the minister said.

Tuggar expressed dismay that security chiefs and defence policymakers are taking the front seat in world security issues.

“Of course, for the guy with the hammer, everything is a nail,” he said.