Nigeria deserves Permanent Seat at UN Security Council, says Kalu

As far as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, is concerned, Nigeria deserves a permanent seat at the United Nations (UN).

Kalu, who represented Nigeria at the Heads of Parliaments meeting on Tuesday at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, United States of America, USA, preparatory for the 6th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Geneva, Switzerland, in July under the auspices of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), emphasised the need to redefine multilateralism to accommodate the pressing needs of developing countries.

Kalu stressed that the current multilateral approach is driven by the Global North, leaving the Global South to face significant developmental challenges.

He urged the United Nations to give Africa, especially Nigeria, a permanent seat at the Security Council.
According to reports, multilateralism refers to the practice of multiple countries working together to address common challenges, promote shared interests, and establish common standards.

This approach involves cooperation among three or more countries, often through established institutions such as the United Nations, to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.

Essentially, multilateralism as opposed to bilateralism provides a framework for countries to collaborate on global issues, such as climate change, economic development, and human rights.

Speaking on the ‘challenges faced by countries in the world and how Parliaments can help ameliorate them through multilateralism’, Kalu at the meeting that involved global parliaments advocated for increased representation of developing countries in decision-making rooms and tailoring conversations to address their unique challenges.

Using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as an example, the Deputy Speaker noted that while the goals aim to address global issues, they may not align with the priorities of developing countries, which are still struggling to achieve industrialisation and economic growth.

Kalu, who advanced Nigeria’s position on the issue, therefore emphasised the need to expand the voices in the room to accommodate more of the Global South, ensuring that multilateral aspirations are truly global.

“Let us define what we choose to achieve by multilateralism and expand the voices in the room to accommodate more of the global South so that the aspirations will be truly global”.

Elucidating his points shortly after the meeting, Kalu added that the concept of multilateralism would remain a theoretical concept if the principles of inclusivity and cooperation are excluded.

“When you do a critical analysis of how we’ve operated multilateralism, you find out that the practice of equality is not there. The Global South, which Africa falls under, is not treated as equal when it gets to the table of making global policies that will benefit the world,” he said.

“If you break it down further, you find out that inclusivity is key to multilateralism. Africa at the moment is not part of the permanent seat in the Security Council of the United Nations.

“If we must preach multilateralism, I think it’s about time we talked about the amendment of Article 108 of the UN Charter to give more space for Africa to be involved.

“I believe that the goals that multilateralism is supposed to chase—certain areas around the globe should be designed differently.”