On behalf of the
Nigerian delegation, I wish to congratulate His
Excellency Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki on his election as
the President of the General Assembly at its sixty-
fourth session. I have no doubt that the Assembly will
benefit from his wealth of experience and wisdom. Let
me therefore affirm the full support and solidarity of
my country. Similarly, I wish to commend the
President of the Assembly at its sixty-third session, His
Excellency Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, for the
able and effective manner with which he conducted the
affairs of that session.
Last year when we gathered here, we were
hopeful that the world would soon put behind it the
devastating impact of the various global crises in the
energy, agriculture and financial sectors. However, in
spite of the efforts by the international community, the
developing world is yet to experience any serious
relief. There is no doubt that more than ever before the
international community needs to fulfil its
commitments to the developing world if more than half
of humanity is to avoid an imminent calamity.
In this connection we welcome and applaud the
efforts of the United Nations, in particular the outcome
of the United Nations Conference on the World
Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on
Development held in New York last June . We call for
the support and implementation of the recommendations
of the conference and hope they will receive the
unconditional support of the developed nations.
Equally important is the need for global efforts to
boost food security. We need to increase food
production, whether for domestic consumption or for
export, which requires collaboration among investors,
organizations and Governments. It is relevant here to
reiterate our call for the removal of the enormous
agricultural subsidies that developed countries continue
to give their farmers, a practice that defies the logic of
a free market economy and remains unfair to millions
of poor peasant farmers across the world.
As we approach the countdown to 2015, a
convergence of many factors, including the global
economic crisis, is threatening not only the
achievement of the targets for the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), but also the substantial
gains already made. Unless we act fast, our dream of
lifting the vast majority of humanity out of extreme
poverty, hunger and disease will remain an illusion.
Donors and recipient countries alike should make more
effort to fulfil their commitments under the
programme. For our part, we are determined to do all
we can in order to attain the MDG targets, and we are
calling on the international community to continue to
provide support.
The African Summit on Roll Back Malaria, which
was held in Abuja in 2000, adopted the Abuja
Declaration and the Plan of Action to reduce malaria
by 50 per cent in Africa by 2010. To achieve this goal,
African countries affected by malaria were expected to
devote 15 per cent of their public expenditures to the
health sector.
Although considerable efforts have been made by
the affected countries, as well as by donor agencies, the
goal of Roll Back Malaria has not been realized.
Malaria remains by far the biggest killer disease for
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children under 5-years old in Africa. This should weigh
heavy on the global conscience.
Africa is committed to the goal of eliminating
malaria, and to this end, Nigeria intends to host the
Abuja-Plus Ten Summit on Roll Back Malaria in 2011.
We would therefore appreciate the support of the
Secretary-General, not only to make the proposed
summit possible, but also to facilitate the realization of
its objective.
The quality of participation at the just concluded
2009 Summit on Climate Change was a testimony to
the global realization that climate change has truly
become seen as a genuine existential threat to
humanity. I commend the Secretary-General for his
consistent engagement with this most important issue
of our time, and call on all Member States to rededicate
themselves to reversing the worst effects of this
phenomenon.
For us in Africa, as the continent where,
unfortunately, 15 of the world’s 20 countries most
vulnerable to the impact of climate change are situated,
we hope that the outcome of the fifteenth Conference
of the Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change coming up in
Copenhagen later this year will be an acceptable
response to this global threat.
Even in the middle of this tale of global economic
and financial woes, there is a silver lining. We are
gratified and greatly encouraged by the increasing
rapprochement between the United States and Russia
on nuclear disarmament. The idea of a nuclear-free
world, the architecture of which is now being put
together, has great appeal for many of us.
Such an outcome, probably achievable in our
lifetime, would not only result in a safer and better
world, but would free resources for use in sectors that
would benefit humanity. Nigeria encourages all nuclear
Powers to identify with this great initiative, this dream,
and to embrace any and all initiatives that promote the
achievement of the goal of a world free of nuclear
armaments and the apocalyptic nightmare.
It is in this connection that Nigeria applauds the
conclusion and bringing into force of the Pelindaba
Treaty, the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty,
which bans the testing, manufacturing, stockpiling,
acquisition and possession of nuclear weapons in
Africa. This is a commendable testimony to Africa’s
total rejection of the proliferation, and indeed the
existence, of nuclear weapons. We call on all other
regions to follow suit. The Review Conference of the
Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons coming up next year provides an
opportunity that should not be missed.
While we applaud this development, let us not
forget that there are weapons still being produced that
have killed far more people than nuclear arms in the
tragic history of humanity. I speak, in particular, about
the production of small arms and light weapons and
their illicit export to regions like my own, Nigeria and
West Africa, where these small arms and light weapons
have become the real weapons of mass destruction —
destroying many lives of innocent children, men and
women, destroying property, economies and dreams —
as well as the undermining of national and regional
efforts at development.
We are all aware of the close link between such
weapons and organized crime, drug trafficking and, in
the case of Nigeria, piracy and oil smuggling in the
Niger Delta. The proliferation of such weapons in West
Africa is fast turning the region into a major transit
point for illicit drugs, thus also facilitating the growth
of criminal syndicates, some with enough firepower to
challenge a nation’s military forces. This cannot be just
a West African problem. It should be seen as a global
threat.
This is why we continue to call on the
international community to demonstrate greater
commitment to keeping this threat in check by
implementing existing initiatives, as well as developing
new and legally binding ones, where necessary, geared
towards achieving the goal of preventing, combating
and eradicating illicit trade in small arms, and
regulating the transfer of conventional weapons in
general. The full implementation of the United Nations
Programme on Small Arms would be a very good
beginning.
Although over the past decade, West Africa has
made considerable progress by way of building or
strengthening democratic structures in our various
countries, the job is far from done, and this is not the
time to rest on our laurels. Peace and security
challenges remain daunting in some parts of the
subregion. As current Chairperson of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
43 09-52604
Mr. Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua sent a special envoy, in
fact a former Head of State, the former President of
Nigeria, to President Mamadou Tandja of the Republic
of Niger with a view to establishing a line of
communication with him in favour of a peaceful
resolution of the political problems of our esteemed
neighbour to the north. A delegation of ECOWAS
Foreign Ministers undertook a similar visit with the
same objective. Our role is largely mediatory, but we
are waiting with cautious optimism for the democratic
imperative in the Republic of the Niger to be upheld.
The situation in Guinea-Bissau is somewhat more
cheerful. Guinea-Bissau held successful elections last
July and, as members may already be aware, President
Malam Bacai Sanhá was sworn in on 8 September.
Because of the strong commitment on the part of all
stakeholders in Guinea-Bissau, this peaceful transition
to democratic, constitutional rule has taken place. We
are indeed very proud of what the Government and the
people of Guinea-Bissau have been able to achieve.
Guinea-Bissau can now look forward with hope to a
peaceful and bright future, and Nigeria will continue to
stand side by side with that country as it charts its
destiny for the future.
In Guinea-Conakry, where elections have again
been slated for next January, we continue to impress on
the authorities the need for the country to return to
democratic rule through manifestly transparent, free
and fair elections. We hope that these efforts will yield
dividends in the form of an elected civilian government
early next year. Our own experience and history in
Nigeria leave us with no other choice than to remain
unwaveringly and unambiguously on the side of the
consolidation and maturation of constitutional
democracy and to strongly repudiate even the slightest
prospect of democratic reversal in the subregion. It is
our national interest to do so.
ECOWAS has proven over and over again its
willingness and capacity to come to the aid of its
members in their hour of need. In that spirit, we will
continue to make our best efforts to ensure that peace
and stability reign in the region and to facilitate the
realization of the objectives implied in the
Community’s name. We continue, as usual, to count on
the support of the United Nations system.
Nigeria continues to make great strides in our
efforts to build a peaceful, stable and prosperous
nation, able to provide the best possible life for its
citizens and able to fulfil its international commitments
and obligations. We have made great progress in laying
a solid foundation for democracy, and we are seeking
to build on this foundation to grow an economy that
will see Nigeria take its rightful place among the
world’s economic powerhouses. However, there are
challenges. Some we can deal with by ourselves.
Others require the help, support and cooperation of our
friends and allies and of the United Nations family.
Those who have been watching events in our
country in the past few months will testify to the
progress we have made in the Niger Delta in finding
durable solutions to the political, social and
environmental problems of one of the most
strategically important regions of our country. Today,
relative peace has returned to the Niger Delta, largely
on the back of an amnesty deal which the Government
and erstwhile militants forged and are implementing
together. The return of peace to the region would
provide the platform for meeting the aspirations of the
people, as well as allowing the resumption of full
economic activity there.
Nigeria is a signatory to the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and to the majority of
other international and regional human rights
instruments, and we continue to remain focused and
committed on the issue of human rights.
In our endeavour to overcome the constraints
brought about by the present gap between our nation’s
increasing demand for power to drive its development
and the available supply, we join others in pursuit of
reliable, cheap and environmentally friendly alternative
sources of energy. In this regard, we are gratified by
the support and assistance that we, as a non-nuclear
State, continue to receive from the International
Atomic Energy Agency in exploring alternative sources
of electricity generation, as well as in the areas of
radiation control, waste management and training. We
will continue to collaborate closely with the Agency, as
well as to rely on the assistance of our allies and
friends.
Nigeria welcomes the ongoing reform and
democratization of the United Nations system and
notes the progress made in the intergovernmental
negotiation process. We encourage all parties to
continue the negotiations with renewed vigour with a
view to achieving the desired objectives. Of particular
importance to Nigeria is the enlargement and
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democratization of the Security Council. It is
unacceptable that Africa, with 53 countries, is not
represented in the permanent seat category of the
Council. We call upon Member States to demonstrate
the necessary political will to bring about the long-
awaited reform, in order to make the Security Council
more legitimate, more democratic and more transparent
and inclusive.
Nigeria’s commitment to the United Nations and
the international system has been demonstrated over
the years. This commitment accords with the
provisions of our Constitution, which enjoins us, inter
alia, to promote international cooperation for the
consolidation of universal peace and to promote
respect for international law and treaty obligations. Our
international behaviour has always been guided by
those noble foreign policy objectives.
Nigeria has been the fourth-largest contributor in
the world to peacekeeping operations, and the role we
have played — and will continue to play — in
peacekeeping in the subregion, the African continent
and, with the United Nations, around the world is a
clear testimony to our unflinching commitment to
joining hands with others, especially the United
Nations, in laying solid foundations upon which human
prosperity can be built. This is why we welcome the
new strategy by the United Nations to strengthen the
partnership between troop-contributing countries and
the United Nations, especially in the provision of
adequate resources and the capacity to strengthen
regional peacekeeping initiatives.
Finally, as usual, Nigeria will continue to draw on
its vast experience and commitment in its efforts to
contribute to the realization of the objectives and
values of the United Nations. We assure all our allies
and friends that Nigeria will continue to be a
responsible global member of the United Nations,
subscribing to all the norms, conventions and values of
this human family and providing leadership, especially
on issues concerning West Africa and indeed the rest of
the world.