Nigeria, 2014

Let me begin, Sir, by

expressing the best wishes of the Government and the

people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Mr. Kutesa’s

assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly

at its sixty-ninth session. His election is a fitting

tribute to his invaluable and inspiring contribution to

international diplomacy. I would also like to express

my warm appreciation to his predecessor, Ambassador

John Ashe, for the astute and steadfast manner in which

he steered the affairs of the sixty-eighth session of the

Assembly. I thank Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon not

only for his relentless commitment to the work of the

United Nations, but especially for his tireless efforts

to address the challenges of world peace and security.

We are meeting at a time when the world looks with

expectation towards 2015, which marks the end of the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the launch

of their successors, the sustainable development goals

(SDGs). We must ensure, at all levels, that the SDGs

reflect the goals and aspirations of all the regions of the

world. Indeed, if the SDGs are to drive development and

also meet the aspirations of developing countries for

poverty elimination and sustainable growth, collective

ownership of the emerging process must be our

priority. We in Africa expect that the new SDGs will be

people-centred. They must promote peace and security,

structural economic transformation, inclusive growth,

food security for all, environmental sustainability and

the shared benefits of science and technology. Indeed,

the gains of the MDGs must be incorporated into the

emerging mechanism.

We applaud the wide-ranging recommendations

of the report of the Intergovernmental Committee

of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing

on domestic resource mobilization, international

development assistance, private sector finance and a

supportive global enabling environment. My country is

honoured to have been accorded the privilege, jointly

with Finland, of leading that work as co-Chair of the

Intergovernmental Committee of Experts, as mandated

by the Heads of State and Government at the United

Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in

Rio. Along with the work of the Open Working Group

on sustainable development goals, the report provides

a solid basis for intergovernmental negotiations on the

post-2015 development agenda. Nigeria is aware of

the need to create an enabling environment for rapid

development. We are committed to strengthening

institutions and improving governance systems, in

order to ensure an efficient use of resources and the

process itself.

The year 2015 also marks the seventieth anniversary

of the establishment of the United Nations. Even

though the Charter of the United Nations underlines

the imperative to spare succeeding generations from

the scourge of war, the world continues to witness the

ravages of war and human suffering. Today’s terrorism,

manifested sometimes in insurgency, is vicious and

aimless. Its consequences are agonizing, marked

by a tendency to annihilate victims and completely

destroy infrastructure and properties. The involvement

of foreign fighters remains a common feature of

terrorist groups, whether Al-Qaida in the Maghreb,

Al-Shabaab in Somalia, Boko Haram in Nigeria or the

newly emerging Islamic State (IS). The new dimension

introduced by IS — namely, the goal of conquering

territory and establishing its destructive ideology — is

a major challenge that must be collectively halted before

it becomes the norm. That challenge focuses renewed

attention on the need to review the existing tools for

United Nations peacekeeping operations.

The violent and criminal activities of Boko

Haram have continued to pose a potent challenge to

the Government and people of Nigeria. Through a

wave of terror, assassinations, bombings and now

abductions and kidnappings, predominantly in the

north-east of the country, Boko Haram is attempting

to truncate development in those areas through murder

and mayhem. In April, our innocent daughters were

abducted from a secondary school in Chibok, in the

north-east. That callous and criminal act has attracted

empathy for Nigeria across the globe.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all

the countries and organizations that have expressed

solidarity with us and have continued to support our

determined efforts to free our daughters. Although it

has been over three months since they were abducted,

we have never relented in our efforts to see them safely

free. Together with our partners, we are working

assiduously to free our daughters and reunite them

with their families. To that end, I wish to thank the

Government of France for organizing and hosting the

special summit on security in Nigeria that was held in

Paris in May. I also wish to express my appreciation

to the Governments of Cameroon, Chad, the Niger and

Guinea for their committed efforts in support of the

fight against Boko Haram. The outcome of the French

process and the follow-up in London, Washington, D.C.,

and Abuja have helped to galvanize regional action and

are already yielding positive results. Let me underline

today that we shall not waver until we end this mindless

war on the innocent and bring all the perpetrators to

justice. We will triumph over terrorism.

The failure of the Security Council to agree on

unanimous action over pressing challenges to global

peace and security in Syria and Iraq and the conflict in

Ukraine, as well as with regard to the renewed aggression

between Israel and Palestine, has strengthened the case

for Security Council reform. Today’s challenges can

be resolved only by a Security Council whose working

methods engender transparency, inclusivity and

common ownership through equitable representation

of all regions in the decision-making process. It is

imperative that we take advantage of 2015, which also

marks the fiftieth anniversary of the 1965 reform, to

make concrete progress on reforming the Security

Council. We believe that there needs to be a fast-track

process in line with the initiative of Mr. John Ashe,

President of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth

session, for establishing a working group on reform.

Indeed, the Security Council requires the collective

resolve of all Member States to ensure that 2015 brings

decisive progress.

Even as Africa, and in particular West Africa,

battles conflicts and terrorism, with progressive

results, the region is being devastated by the outbreak

of the deadly Ebola virus. While Nigeria was able to

respond effectively to control the spread of the disease,

the situation in Liberia and Sierra Leone requires

sustainable collective global action if it is to be

contained. Through the concerted efforts of our health-

care professionals, the World Health Organization and

our international partners, we have been able to contain

the virus, and we can confidently say that Nigeria today

is Ebola-free.

However, we have continued to support efforts

to contain the spread of the disease in Sierra Leone,

Liberia and Guinea. In addition to a direct donation

totalling $3.5 million, we have provided training and

capacity-building support to the three countries. It

is pertinent to stress the need for the international

community to properly appreciate the magnitude of

the Ebola challenge. Indulging in isolationist and

discriminatory tendencies, as some countries are doing,

will only worsen an already critical situation. To prevent

the disease from becoming a global catastrophe, the

United Nations must accord it the maximum priority

it deserves.

Certainly, there has been much discussion on

limiting ozone layer depletion since the commencement

of negotiations under the United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change in 1994. However, the

extent of progress in key areas, particularly in limiting

the contribution of man-made activities to greenhouse

gas emission, has yet to be determined.

Nigeria appreciates the indispensable role of the

United Nations in its search for solutions to all those

challenges: terrorism, global peace and security,

the environment, and forging sustainable economic

development. We have been and will remain a reliable

and active partner, especially as we collectively work

to resolve the new and emerging threats to global peace

and security. The world must come together and win the

war against terror.

On 29 May 1999, Nigeria ended its military rule after

the inauguration of a democratically elected President.

Come February 2015, the country will conduct its fifth

post-military-rule general election. In keeping with

my election as President by the people of Nigeria, we

shall conduct elections based on global best practices to

further strengthen our democratic institutions.