Public Policy Analyst and Development Expert, Abba Kaka, has expressed concerns that Nigeria is not doing enough to secure a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, despite being eminently qualified for it.
Speaking in an interview with Arise News on Friday, Kaka said:“The issue of a permanent seat is very dicey, in the sense that a permanent seat at the United Nations is not a joke.
”You have to do your homework. Are we doing our homework? Right now, for the past two and a half years, we don’t have ambassadors anywhere, so who is speaking for Nigeria? That’s another issue.”
Kaka emphasised that having a permanent seat required more than just historical records; it demands concrete, strategic moves backed by effective diplomacy.
He stressed that while Vice President Kashim Shettima made an eloquent case for Nigeria at the UN General Assembly, the country’s diplomatic machinery is too weak to back such ambitions.
“In the speech, he also mentioned the issue of debt relief, as well as the permanent seat. But when you are looking for debt relief, you don’t want to show your vulnerability.
”That is a game of big numbers and big players at that level. As a student of international relations, I can also tell you that you don’t get a permanent seat just like that by wishing to get it.
”You have to have a concrete, strategic move being pushed by your diplomats. Right now, we don’t have diplomats anywhere. It is very unfortunate for two and a half years that diplomats are missing.”
Nigeria has been without ambassadors for over two and a half years, severely weakening its diplomatic presence globally.
Kaka noted that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s eloquent case for Nigeria at the UN General Assembly was undermined by the country’s weak diplomatic machinery.
He warned that countries like Egypt, South Africa, and Tunisia were capitalizing on Nigeria’s diplomatic vacuum to advance their own interests.
Kaka stressed the need for Nigeria to return to the fundamentals of effective diplomacy.
Nigeria’s demand for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council is driven by its significant contributions to global peacekeeping and its growing population.
Vice President Shettima reiterated this demand at the UN General Assembly, emphasizing the need for fairness, representation, and reform.
