Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, has challenged what he described as the marginalisation of African voices inglobal nuclear discussions.

He insists that the continent must play a meaningful role in debates on nuclear weapons, energy and international security.

Speaking at a Foreign Policy Lecture Series, themed: ‘Nuclear Weapons: From Instrumentis Belli to Causas Bellorum’, organised by NIIA in Lagos, Osaghae criticised perceptions that nuclear issues were too important to be left to African countries, arguing that Africa had both the right and responsibility to contribute to decisions that affect global peace and security.

According to him, Africa had been excluded from critical international conversations for too long, even though the continent is affected by the consequences of global conflicts and nuclear-related tensions.

He recalled that South Africa, the only African country to have developed nuclear weapons, dismantled its nuclear programme during the transition from apartheid, describing the move as a significant contribution to global nuclear disarmament efforts.

Research Professor, NIIA, Femi Otubanjo warned that global efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons must not generate the conflicts they were intended to prevent.

Drawing on the words of nuclear strategist Bernard Brodie, Otubanjo said the primary purpose of military establishments in the nuclear age should be to prevent wars rather than fight them.

“The task before mankind is to ensure that the desire to limit nuclear weapons proliferation does not generate conflicts that may escalate into a nuclear war,” he said, adding that nuclear weapons “must remain latent instruments of war; they must never be allowed to become causes of war.”