Nigeria campaigns for UN Security Council seat, others at TICAD

…Intensifies efforts to reform global financial architecture

By Nkiruka Nnorom

The federal government said yesterday it was using the ongoing Tokyo International Conference on African Development, TICAD, to lobby for seats at global institutions, including the UN Security Council, the International Court of Justice, ICJ, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and International Maritime Organisation, IMO.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, who disclosed this on the sideline of the summit, the 9th in the series, also said Nigeria would use the summit to intensify ongoing efforts to reform the global financial architecture, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, IMF.

He equally said the country was leveraging TICAD to strengthen her relationship with Japan and rally support for Africa’s representation in global decision-making bodies, since, at least, 17 world leaders were expected at the summit.

Tuggar said:  “Unless we have that reform in the global financial architecture, we cannot benefit and Africa as a whole cannot benefit, so it does not benefit us if others are not also making progress.

“Some of the things that are being tabled here, because like I said, the United Nations is here, the World Bank is here, has to do with the issues of debt, debt rescheduling, and debt restructuring, and in the case of Nigeria, because it is a leading economy on the continent, we seek to do what Japan did here.”

He drew parallels with Japan’s post-war economic rise, noting how Japanese corporations expanded across Asia during the 1960s and 1970s in what became known as the “flying geese effect”.

He said:  “We’re already doing that. If you look at the continent, you’ll see that Nigeria has its banks in other countries. It is Zenith, it is GTBank, it is UBA, it is Access Bank.

“If you look at businesses, Dangote, BUA, Sahara, and many others like TGI, if we continue as a government to support that, which is what Japan did deliberately… which is what the president is committed to, that way we can create those jobs for our teeming youth, tackle the issue of unemployment, and, of course, those macroeconomic reforms of President Tinubu are already in progress and we’re beginning to feel the positive effects.”

Tuggar harped on the importance of Nigeria being on global decision-making tables “which is why we need that position in the United Nations Security Council.’’

On leveraging on the relationship with Japan, the minister noted that the summit involved the African Union, AU, the United Nations, UN, and the World Bank, creating opportunities for meaningful discussion.

“Japan, as we are aware, is the third largest economy in the world, and they have two organs of engaging with Africa. There is Japan International Cooperation Agency, which is the Japan agency that deals with overseas development assistance.

“There is the Japan External Trade Organisation, which is the Japanese organ that deals with trade abroad. And in the case of Nigeria, we have had engagements in the power sector.  There’s a transmission project going on in Nigeria being supported by this organ,’’ he said.

Tuggar said Nigeria was also trading agricultural commodities such as shea butter, cassava, and the grainacha, which is in high demand in Japan.

The minister added that hydrocarbons remained a major export to Japan, with current trade volumes valued at around $1 billion.

“We’re looking to expand that,’’ he noted.

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