President Tinubu’s Full Speech during General Debate at UN Assembly

Delivered at the General Debate of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 19, 2023 by His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

Mr. President, Prime Ministers, Cabinet Secretaries, Secretary-General, Honorable Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Exec. Sec.

I’d like to extend my personal congratulations on being elected President of the United Nations General Assembly for the current session on behalf of the people of Nigeria.

We appreciate the competent leadership of your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Csaba Korosi.

We also applaud the efforts of United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres to find global solutions to pressing problems.

My first time speaking in front of the UN General Assembly. Allow me to speak a few words on this year’s subject on behalf of Nigeria and Africa.

A lot of promises have been made, but our problems are still here. Poor leadership has held Africa behind. However, our ability to advance has been severely hampered by unfulfilled promises, unfair treatment, and plain exploitation on the part of foreign powers.

Given this extensive background, this year’s subject should have significance for Africa in particular.

Countries got together after WWII to try to fix their war-ravaged economies and infrastructure. With the establishment of the United Nations, a new international order was created to serve as a symbol and defender of humanity’s highest goals and aspirations.

Countries realized it was to their benefit to aid others in escaping the ruins of war. Aid that was both consistent and substantial helped war-ravaged nations rebuild and thrive.

Trust in international organizations was at an all-time high, and people generally felt optimistic about the future of peace and cooperation around the globe.

Africa has been demanding the same kind of political commitment and dedication to resources that characterized the Marshall Plan not just recently, but for several decades.

We are well aware that post-war Europe faced quite different economic conditions and causes than those currently facing Africa.

We are not requesting that everyone follow the same procedures. We need a partner who is just as dedicated to working together as we are. In order to realize the 2030 agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, we must increase international engagement with African nations.

I’d want to emphasize five main themes.

First, if this year’s theme is to have any effect at all, international organizations, other governments, and private sector actors in those countries will need to recognize African development as essential not only to Africa’s future but to their own.

Economic growth, industrialization, employment opportunities, and the distribution of wealth have all been stymied in Nigeria and Africa for a variety of historical reasons.

Nigeria must provide its people with work and hope for a better future if it is to live up to its responsibilities to them and the rest of Africa.

We need to set an example as well.

In my first days as president, I ended Nigeria’s wasteful and corrupt gasoline subsidy and scrapped the country’s toxic exchange rate system in an effort to boost economic growth and investor confidence. There will be other growth and employment driven measures coming soon.

I’m aware of the temporary difficulties that may arise as a result of reform. To lay the groundwork for long-term development and investment and create the economy that our people deserve, however, we must go through this period of uncertainty.

We are eager to work with organizations who are not offended by the idea of Nigeria and Africa playing more prominent roles on the international stage.

The issue is not whether or not one can do business in Nigeria. The question is how willing the rest of the world is to conduct business with Nigeria and Africa on a level playing field, where both sides benefit.

We demand assistance in the form of direct investment in key industries, the expansion of their ports to accommodate a greater variety and volume of African exports, and substantial debt forgiveness.

Second, we must uphold democratic rule as the most reliable safeguard of popular will and prosperity. Any civilian political structure that is skewed and fosters injustice is just as immoral as a military coup.

The wave that is currently sweeping over Africa shows no preference for coups. It’s a call for new approaches to old issues.

We are in talks with the military commanders of Niger. By addressing the political and economic issues facing that country, as well as the violent extremists who attempt to sow instability in our area, I hope to contribute to the re-establishment of democratic governance in my role as Chairman of ECOWAS. I want to be friends with everyone who believes in this cause.

Now I’ll move on to the third and final major point. Our entire region has been fighting violent extremists for years. A shady passageway of merciless trade has emerged amidst the chaos. Everything along the way is for sale. People of all sexes and ages are treated as property.

And yet, every year, hundreds of people try to cross the Sahara and the Mediterranean in quest of a better life. Meanwhile, fanatics and mercenaries with deadly weapons and reprehensible beliefs are flooding in from up north.

This destructive trade threatens regional security and safety. There will be less need for Africans to risk their lives sweeping the streets and floors of other countries if our economies improve. We’re also going to make dismantling terrorist organizations a top priority here at home.

However, this threat can only be totally contained if the international community increases its efforts to halt the influx of weapons and violent individuals into West Africa.

Protecting the continent’s mineral-rich areas from looting and violence is the fourth vital component of international cooperation. Many of these neighborhoods have descended into ghettos of poverty and exploitation. Despite the considerable presence of the United Nations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this problem has persisted for decades. The DRC is owed a lot by the global economy, yet she receives relatively little in return. 31. The destruction wrought in mineral-rich regions knows no international boundaries. We now have Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic on the list.

Nigeria is not immune to the issues. Thousands of people have been conscripted into unlawful service by foreign corporations, aided by local criminals with aspirations of becoming petty warlords, in order to harvest gold and other resources. Millions of money earmarked for national development are instead funding criminal organizations. If nothing is done to stop them, they pose a serious threat to national security.

Given the magnitude of this wrong and the stakes at play, many Africans are wondering if it happened on purpose.

To counter this modern day looting of Africa’s wealth, member states must join forces with us to dissuade their businesses and citizens.

Fifth, Nigeria and the rest of Africa are taking a heavy hit from climate change. Once fertile terrain in northern Nigeria is slowly being eaten away by the desert. Our southern region is being battered by worsening coastal flooding and erosion. The rainy season causes widespread destruction and human displacement in the middle.

I am saddened by the tragic fatalities in Morocco and Libya just as I am by those here at home. Everyone in Nigeria is rooting for you.

Africa will resist climate change, but only on our own terms. The necessary level of public support can only be attained if this campaign is in sync with wider economic initiatives.

By spotlighting corrective measures that also benefit the economy, we will work to achieve political agreement in Nigeria. Building a Green Wall to prevent desert expansion, stopping the widespread use of wood-burning stoves, and creating jobs in water management and irrigation are all examples of projects that help achieve both economic and climate change goals.

If developed economies were more willing to invest publicly and privately in Africa’s preferred programs to combat climate change, the continent would see significant successes.

Another way in which this would prove the existence and efficacy of international cooperation.

CONCLUSION

Before I end, I’d like to stress that Nigeria’s goals are consistent with the overarching ideals of this international organization, which are peace, security, human rights, and development.

Africa has benefited greatly from nature’s generosity, which has bestowed upon it an abundance of territory, resources, and inventive, hardworking people. However, humanity’s penchant for cruelty has brought persistent suffering to Africa’s doorstep.

Ending global poverty is central to the mission of the United Nations and the theme of this year’s General Assembly. The encroachment of corporations and individuals from more powerful countries into the economies of weaker ones must stop. People’s votes should be taken seriously. Our beautiful, compassionate, and forgiving world needs our protection.

We aim to be neither a dependent nor a patron to Africa. Putting people in even tighter chains is not something we want to do.

Instead, we wish to be liberated from the wrongs of the past and to be able to live freely under Africa’s wonderful sky. We want to see our people flourish in a free and fair society.

Please join us on this journey as genuine allies and companions. Africa is neither a threat to be avoided nor a pity to be felt. Africa has the key to the world’s prosperity and stability.