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Hon. Kalu Calls For Nigeria To Be Given A Permanent Seat On The UN Security Council
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives; Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has made a call to World powers for Africa, especially Nigeria, to have a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, emphasizing the necessity of redefining multilateralism to meet the urgent requirements of emerging nations.
Hon. Kalu, speaking on behalf of Nigeria at the Heads of Parliament meeting held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA, in advance of the 6th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Geneva, Switzerland, in July under the auspices of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), emphasized that the Global North is driving the current multilateral approach, leaving the Global South to face immense developmental challenges.
Reports state that the process of several nations cooperating to handle shared issues, advance shared interests, and create common standards is known as multilateralism. This strategy entails collaboration between three or more nations, frequently via reputable organizations like the UN, to accomplish win-win results.
In essence, multilateralism—as opposed to bilateralism—offers a framework for nations to work together on international concerns like human rights, economic development, and climate change.
Speaking about the “challenges faced by countries in the world and how parliaments can help ameliorate them through multilateralism,” Kalu urged more developing countries to be represented in decision-making rooms and for discussions to be tailored to their particular problems.
The Deputy Speaker cited the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as an example, pointing out that although the goals are intended to address global challenges, they might not be in line with the aspirations of developing nations, who are still having difficulty achieving economic growth and industrialization.
To ensure that multilateral goals are genuinely global, Kalu, who promoted Nigeria’s perspective on the matter, emphasized the necessity of increasing the number of voices in the room to include more members of the Global South.
He said, “We need to define what we want to achieve with multilateralism. The current dynamic of multilateralism is driven by the Global North, while the Global South is facing pressing developmental issues.
“My people in Nigeria have a saying that you cannot shave a man’s head in his absence. If you want developing countries to embrace multilateralism, give them more seats in rooms where developmental conversations are held and tailor the conversation to embrace and address their challenges.
“Using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as an example. We have 5 years to go to attain the SDGs. I agree that the SDG goals were designed to address global issues, but a critical appraisal will indicate that some of the issues the SDGs seek to address are not yet what developing countries wish to prioritize, as they are yet to scale the hurdle of industrialization and economic growth. Therefore, expecting them to embrace aspirational SDG targets may be a challenge.
“Let us define what we choose to achieve by multilateralism and expand the voices in the room to accommodate more of the global South so that the aspirations will be truly global.”
Shortly after the conference, Kalu clarified his points by adding that if the inclusiveness and cooperation tenets are not included, the idea of multilateralism will remain theoretical.
“I was addressing the presiding officers from all over the world who gathered to have this preparatory meeting for the World Conference of Speakers coming up in July. This is our 3rd meeting.
“I reminded them that the concept of multilateralism that all of us are talking about would remain a theoretical concept if it’s not shaped in line with the principles that should guide it: principles of inclusivity and cooperation. The goal should be peace and prosperity in the world; for us to be able to achieve that, you need to ensure that at all times, those principles that guide the concept of multilateralism should be upheld to the highest level.
“When you do a critical analysis of how we’ve operated multilateralism, you find out that the practice of equality is not there. The Global South, which Africa falls under, is not treated as equal when it comes to the table of making global policies that will benefit the world.
“If you break it down further, you find out that inclusivity is key to multilateralism. Africa at the moment is not part of the permanent seat in the Security Council of the United Nations.
“If we must preach multilateralism, I think it’s about time we talked about the amendment of Article 108 of the UN Charter to give more space for Africa to be involved.
“I believe that the goals that multilateralism is supposed to chase, certain areas around the globe should be designed differently.
“Africa, with the burden of debts that has lingered for several years is not expected to perform on the achievements of the SDG goals just like any other continent around the world. These were some of the things I shared with the body of speakers around the world at this New York conference of the United Nations,” Nigeria’s Deputy Speaker said.
Additionally, Kalu thanked the heads of national parliaments throughout the world for the meeting, the Secretary-General Martin Chungong, and the IPU President Rt. Hon. Tulia Ackson.
Gentle Reminder: Be careful how you use your authority and influence, be wise, and treat others with respect.
Chychy Jonas
