By USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, the first Africa-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet
Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, has reiterated at the current 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York that there is a need for a reform of the UN Security Council. He stated that Africa should be represented with a permanent seat to enhance global stability.
He said “Nigeria continues to call for the reform of the United Nations Security Council to give just representation to Africa on a permanent basis for inclusivity and deepening of global peace and security.”
Badaru noted at the Summit of the Future during the dialogue on ‘Enhancing Multilateralism for International Peace and Security’ that “Since our first deployment in the Congo in 1960, Nigeria has contributed to 41 peacekeeping missions globally.” He added that more than 200,000 Nigerian troops has served in UN operations in different parts of the world: “Nigeria has remained unequivocal in its commitment to international peacebuilding and security, since the first engagement of its troops in the Congo in 1960…. Under regional and sub-regional cooperation, Nigeria has been involved in peacekeeping operations in Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Sudan, and Sierra Leone, among others.”
Badaru used the opportunity to amplify the case for UN Security Council reform, arguing that Africa’s exclusion from permanent membership of the council undermines global peace efforts. He called for the strengthening of African military capacity to fight terrorism, the operationalisation of the African Standby Force (ASF) and the establishment of a Counter-Terrorism Centre of Excellence in Africa. “We recognise the need for Africa to build strong and professional armies, in order to, among other things, defeat terrorism.
“Nigeria calls for the operationalisation of the African Standby Force (ASF), and provision of requisite support and resources to ensure the upgrade, take-off and effectiveness of a Centre of Excellence in Africa on issues of counterterrorism,” he argued.
Regarding the problem of transnational crime, he said there should be urgency to combating illegal arms trafficking in the Sahel region of Africa.
“We seize this opportunity to urge the international community to renew efforts to stem the tide of small arms and light weapons in conflict, especially within the Sahel region where unfettered access by non-state actors to illicit arms and light weapons continues to foster insecurity and instability,” he said.
