Foreign minister Yusuf Tuggar has called for a renewed commitment to multilateralism and candid examination of challenges threatening global peace and governance.

Mr Tuggar disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday by Alkasim Abdulkadir, his special assistant on media and communications strategy, against the backdrop of the European Union–African Union Ministerial Follow-Up Committee and the 3rd EU–AU Ministerial Meeting in Brussels.

The minister commended the EU’s support for African-led initiatives, which have helped tackle perceived challenges on the continent.

“It is at this point when discussing peace, security and governance, the foreign minister of a large African country is meant to outline for his hosts progress we have made in tackling complex issues and outstanding challenges only closer cooperation can resolve,” Mr Tuggar said.

He described such challenges as familiar but pressing issues, including the proliferation of small weapons, climate change, violent extremism, irregular migration, and the fragility of democracy, technology, trade and markets.

Mr Tuggar underscored the need for routine discussions while urging his counterparts to move beyond recitation towards genuine reflection.

He decried disruptive roles played by non-state actors, describing disinformation and unregulated digital currencies as factors that have posed existential risks to rich and poor nations.

Mr Tuggar, therefore, restated Nigeria’s belief in multilateralism and the promise of strategic partnerships.

“Nigeria believes that agencies survive only when they can adapt to circumstance, reiterating Nigeria’s call for UN reform, fairer trade and equitable markets,” Mr Tuggar said.

On internal pressure faced by African governments struggling to meet rising public expectations with limited capacity, he stressed the need for a strategic approach to ensure a lasting solution.

“It is a process that crowds serious debate and empowers political snake oil salesmen. While West Africa has witnessed several coups in recent years, the crisis of democracy is global.

“We should recognise the fears expressed in the former and the lessons in the latter. We cannot allow our responsibilities to be diluted by our rights.

“The truth is not a supermarket, to be picked or discarded according to taste,” Mr Tuggar said.

He decried double standards in global responses to hate speech and disinformation, saying, “We were told online that hate speech in Africa was the price of freedom; when it happens here, arrest follows.”

(NAN)