Nigeria, 2010

I welcome this opportunity

to address this Assembly for the first time since I was

sworn in as President of my country, Nigeria, on 6 May

this year.

I extend sincere congratulations to Mr. Joseph

Deiss on his well-deserved election as President of the

General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session. Allow me

also to congratulate his predecessor on the skilful way

in which he conducted the affairs of the Assembly

during its sixty-fourth session. I also commend the

Secretary-General for the quality of his leadership. I

assure the President of the General Assembly of the

support and cooperation of the Nigerian delegation

throughout his tenure.

This session coincides with the fiftieth

anniversary of the independence of 17 African

countries, including my country, Nigeria. It is true that

the United Nations played an important role in the

acceleration of decolonization, in part through the

adoption of many resolutions supporting the right of

nations to self-determination. The independence and

subsequent admission of many of these countries into

the United Nations has greatly enhanced the

Organization’s legitimacy, thereby advancing the noble

goals of its Charter.

Nigeria was one of the countries to emerge from

colonialism in 1960 into a whole new world of

independence and sovereignty to take on the task of

nation-building and to play the international role that

destiny had conferred on us. Our participation in the

United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Congo

seven days after gaining our independence was the

direct and deliberate fulfilment of the international role

that we had set for ourselves as a people. Since then,

we have participated in numerous United Nations

peacekeeping missions, as well as in similar regional

endeavours. Nigeria has been and will continue to be

an active participant in the work of the United Nations,

striving therein to promote national, regional and

global objectives.

Despite many years of independence, many

countries still face the daunting challenges of nation-

building. It is in this connection that the Millennium

Summit of 2000 adopted a set of goals to be realized

by 2015. The outcome of the events related to the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that took

place recently here in New York inspires a real

appreciation of the enormous scope of the task ahead

for many countries, including ours. The urgency of the

action needed to address the situation has been clearly

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and unambiguously underscored in the intervening

discussions.

Even though we have achieved significant

improvements in the eradication of polio and other

child-related diseases, Nigeria still has its own fair

share of challenges to overcome. Progress on MDGs 4

and 5, which relate to the reduction of maternal and

child mortality, has been relatively slow. The weakness

of the primary health care system and limited referral

institutions remain crucial challenges in the health care

sector.

On the positive side, Nigeria has recorded

remarkable progress in the provision of universal basic

education, and we are also in the process of

harmonizing baseline data that will assist us in the

proper monitoring and evaluation of all MDG projects.

The Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS,

Tuberculosis and Malaria continues to be a prime

mechanism for addressing Millennium Development

Goal 6. Accordingly, Nigeria will remain both a donor

nation to and a recipient of the Fund. Having actively

participated during the first and second replenishments

with total contributions of $20 million, Nigeria will

make further contributions of $10 million during the

third replenishment. We will also call for the Muskoka

commitment to be met now, and the Global Fund to be

expanded to include MDGs 4 and 5 in support of the

Secretary-General’s Every Woman, Every Child

initiative.

Good governance, strict adherence to the rule of

law and respect for human rights remain fundamental

tenets of my administration. The consolidation and

safeguarding of our democracy are a task on which we

are beginning to see positive results. The smooth

succession of power since Nigeria’s return to

democratic rule in 1999, including my own ascension

to the presidency of our country after the demise of my

predecessor, is evidence of the commitment of all

stakeholders to democratic governance in the

knowledge that political stability is imperative to the

economic development of any nation.

As we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of our

independence in a few days, we remember the

sacrifices of the founding fathers of our nation, as well

as our own responsibility to present and future

generations. In fulfilment of these aspirations, we are

firmly committed to holding free, fair and credible

elections during the 2011 general elections. In this

regard, we have taken the steps necessary to ensure the

success of the process. I assure the Assembly that

every vote will count in Nigeria.

We are also working to strengthen our

institutional structures for combating corruption,

financial crimes, and other vices, such as human and

drug trafficking. We are reforming the financial sector

to make it more accountable and transparent. This will

ensure that our country enjoys political stability, social

harmony and economic growth.

In support of our commitment to the global effort

to combat terrorism, we continue to strengthen and

expand our institutional capacities to tackle all forms

of extremism. In fact, we currently have two bills — a

counter-terrorism bill and an anti-money laundering

bill — before our National Assembly, and I am

confident they will be enacted into law before the end

of the current legislative year.

Soon after I assumed the leadership of my

country as acting President, I was invited by the

President of the United States of America to a mini-

summit on nuclear disarmament in Washington, D.C.,

in April this year. Like all previous Nigerian leaders, I

share the American President’s vision of a world free

of nuclear weapons, and I will continue to collaborate

with him and all humankind for the realization of this

laudable goal. Our support for and active participation

in the adoption of the Pelindaba Treaty is evidence of

our commitment to the total elimination of nuclear

weapons. This conforms with our status as a signatory

to the major treaties on nuclear disarmament.

At the same time, small arms and light weapons

have destabilized the African continent, fuelled and

prolonged conflicts, and obstructed relief programmes.

They have also undermined peace initiatives, increased

human rights abuses, hampered development and,

perhaps more worrisome, fostered a culture of

organized crime and violence. We note, however, that

the illicit trade in and proliferation of small arms and

light weapons do not receive adequate attention.

Nigeria calls on the United Nations to take firm action

to control the proliferation of small arms and light

weapons by adopting an arms trade treaty.

It is estimated that there are approximately 100

million of these weapons in sub-Saharan Africa alone.

These weapons have been identified as having killed

more people in the African continent than any other

type of weapon. However, unlike for nuclear, chemical

25 10-54959

and biological weapons, there are no global treaties or

legally binding instruments for dealing with the

challenges posed by small arms and light weapons. It

must be underscored that the dumping of these

weapons in Africa and their free use are among the

greatest challenges facing African leaders today. These

weapons encourage impunity, transborder crime, armed

robbery, piracy, kidnapping and the rape of innocent

women. In general, their presence hampers economic

growth because no one wants to invest in a nation or

region that is prone to crisis. We know of

approximately 300 companies that produce and trade

such small arms and light weapons in approximately 50

countries around the world. And we believe that it is

time for the United Nations to come on strong if it

truly wants to help Africa get out of the woods.

In my capacity as Chairman of the Economic

Community of West African States, I am pleased to

report that we have made substantial progress in

bringing peace and stability to countries in the

Community that were until recently embroiled in

political crises. This has greatly improved the situation

across the subregion, which in turn has enhanced the

peace and security that are critical to development. We

will continue to build on these achievements to

consolidate stability and engender prosperity in the

subregion.

Nigeria chose the theme of preventive diplomacy

for an open debate it convened during its presidency of

the Security Council in July 2010 (see S/PV.6360) to

highlight the importance that it attaches to conflict

prevention. It is obvious that preventing conflicts is a

cheaper option for maintaining peace and security than

peacekeeping. I urge the United Nations to devote

renewed attention to preventive diplomacy. The

increasing financial burden of peacekeeping and the

high human cost of conflict are good reasons for the

United Nations to pursue with vigour the adoption of

preventive diplomacy in the spirit of the provisions of

Chapters VI and VII of the Charter of the United

Nations.

For Nigeria, a major contributor of troops to

peacekeeping operations around the world, it is

essential that the rules of engagement be reviewed to

prevent high casualty rates among contingents. It

deeply saddens us to see troops wearing the United

Nations colours being waylaid and murdered because

of the rules of engagement.

The theme for the sixty-fifth session of the

General Assembly — “Reaffirming the central role of

the United Nations in global governance” — is timely

and appropriate. The need for the United Nations to

provide leadership in addressing problems and

challenges of a global nature is imperative. We urge the

Organization to quicken the pace of reform, not only to

better reflect current global realities, but also to ensure

that it enjoys genuine legitimacy. Good governance

requires participation by all nations and all peoples of

the world.

The early reform and, in particular, expansion of

the Security Council will accord the United Nations

greater effectiveness in global good governance. The

exclusion of the African States from the Council’s

permanent membership category can no longer be

justified.

I would like to reaffirm Nigeria’s abiding faith in

the role of the United Nations in the pursuit of our

common goals for the benefit of all humankind. We

therefore pledge our continued support for the

Organization, in order to strengthen it, as a way of

identifying with the ideals for which it stands.

In conclusion, I wish to thank all Member States

for their kind words of condolence and sympathy in

honour of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua at

an Assembly meeting last May (see A/64/PV.86). Even

though he is gone, his legacy lives on, as my

Administration continues to implement the

programmes we had jointly designed during his time as

President of our country and while I was second-in-

command. May his soul rest in peace.