By Ibironke Ariyo
The Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Malam Ali Muhammad Ali, has supported the move by Nigeria to aspire for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.
Ali said Nigeria’s aspiration for a permanent seat in a reformed UN Security Council is a legitimate and urgent call to address decades-old imbalances in the global governance system.
Ali made this known at the public presentation and launch of the book, “Nigeria’s Aspiration for a Permanent Seat in a Reformed United Nations Security Council” authored by Brig.-Gen. Abubakar Alkali on Thursday in Abuja.
He described the publication as timely and a significant contribution to the ongoing global discourse on reforming the UN Security Council.
“This publication couldn’t have come at a better time. The book provides fresh perspectives on the structure and membership of the United Nations Security Council and interrogates long-standing imbalances in the global system.
“It traces the issue of decolonisation of African states and argues that this historical context remains relevant to the current call for reform.
“The publication carefully examines both the prospects and challenges confronting Nigeria’s quest for a permanent seat in a reformed Security Council,” Ali said.
He noted that the central thrust of the book was Nigeria’s legitimate demand for equitable representation in the world’s foremost security body.
“It is a legitimate and urgent call by Nigeria to address the decades-old imbalance that continues to affect emerging countries, particularly those in the global South.”
Ali commended the author for his bold intervention in an important national and international discourse, noting that his wealth of experience and credentials uniquely qualified him to write authoritatively on the subject.
“So much has been said about the author and his qualifications. He is eminently qualified to write and do justice to this subject matter,” Ali said.
Presenting the book to the audience and the general public, Ali congratulated Alkali for making what he described as a bold and timely contribution to knowledge.
He also announced that the book would sell for N10,000 per copy and disclosed that NAN had committed to purchasing five copies in support of the publication.
“It is my privilege to present this book, Nigeria’s Aspiration for a Permanent Seat in a Reformed United Nations Security Council, to this distinguished audience and to the general public.
“I congratulate the author for his bold and timely contribution to knowledge. The News Agency of Nigeria will take five copies, while I will disclose the amount privately,” he added.
Ali expressed optimism that the publication would enrich policy conversations on global governance reforms and further strengthen advocacy for a more representative and equitable UN Security Council.
Dr Husseni Abdu, who reviewed the book, described it as a masterful and original contribution to scholarship that significantly strengthens Africa’s and Nigeria’s case for equitable representation in global governance.
Abdu said that the book offered a distinctively African and Nigerian perspective on the decades-long debate surrounding the reform of the UN Security Council.
He said the book interrogated one of the longest-running debates in the post-Second World War international system, the reform of the UN Security Council and the question of permanent membership.
He said the author employed major theories of international relations, including Political Realism, Liberal Institutionalism, Constructivism and Critical Post-colonial perspectives to interrogate the issues surrounding Security Council reforms.
Also speaking, the author, Brig.-Gen. Abubakar Alkali, said the publication was conceived in 2019 during his doctoral studies at Cardiff University, United Kingdom.
Alkali said that it was inspired by years of scholarly engagements, empirical research and interactions with diplomats at the United Nations.
He said that one defining moment during the writing of the book was his renewed understanding of the complexity of international diplomacy and the conviction that reform of the Security Council, though difficult, remained achievable.
He described the UN Security Council as the world’s primary guardian of international peace and security, noting that its powers under the UN Charter include authorising the use of force, imposing sanctions and deploying peacekeepers to conflict areas when necessary.
He, however, explained that the publication was neither intended as the final word on Nigeria’s aspirations for permanent membership of the Security Council nor a definitive blueprint that would close ongoing debates on reforms.
Rather, he said, the book represented his modest contribution to a larger global conversation among scholars, diplomats and institutions on the future of international peace and security.
“The decisions and resolutions of the UN Security Council ripple across international borders, economies and generations.
“Given its crucial mandate, the growing concern over its present structure and membership composition, particularly permanent membership, cannot be ignored,” he said.
The author expressed concern that in spite of Africa’s representation in the Council’s non-permanent category, the continent had no permanent member, a situation he described as extraordinary considering its demographic and political significance.
“Africa, with a population of about 1.6 billion people and 54 United Nations member states, represents approximately one-third of the organisation’s membership.
“This situation raises fundamental questions of legitimacy, inequitable membership composition and imbalanced power relations within the hierarchy of the United Nations Security Council,” he added.
According to him, the reform of the United Nations Security Council is necessary in order to conform to the realities of contemporary times.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Yakubu Uba