President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday advocated for reforming the United Nations’ policies to align with new global realities.

Mr Tinubu, represented by the Vice-President Kashim Shettima, made the call in his address to the UN General Assembly’s 80th session in New York.

He warned that the global body must embrace sweeping restructurings to avoid growing irrelevance as world events increasingly bypass its influence.

The president criticised the organisation’s record, pointing to the ongoing human suffering in the Middle East and other regions as “stains on our collective humanity”.

He cautioned that the UN’s credibility was being undermined by the gap between its words and deeds, while positioning Nigeria’s economic transformation as a model for developing nations.

“For all our careful diplomatic language, the slow pace of progress on these hardy perennials of the UN General Assembly debate has led some to look away from the multilateral model.

“Some years ago, I noticed a shift at this gathering: key events were beginning to take place outside this hall, and the most sought-after voices were no longer heads of state,” the president said.

Mr Tinubu also decried the pace of international progress on critical issues, such as nuclear disarmament and Security Council reform.

“When we speak of nuclear disarmament, the proliferation of small weapons, Security Council reform, fair access to trade and finance, and the conflicts and human suffering across the world, we must recognise the truth. These are stains on our collective humanity,” he stated.

The president positioned Africa’s natural resources as central to future global stability, emphasising the need for Africa’s control over its strategic minerals. He insisted that countries producing strategic minerals must “benefit fairly from those minerals – in terms of investment, partnership, local processing and jobs”.

“When we export raw materials, as we have been doing, tension, inequality, and instability festers,” he said.

(NAN)