The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Waidi Shaibu, has underscored the strategic importance of reforming the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), saying it remains critical to ensuring global peace.

Mr Shaibu said this on Thursday in Abuja at the public presentation of the book, “Nigeria’s Aspiration for a Permanent Seat in a Reformed United Nations Security Council”, authored by Abubakar Alkali.

Represented by the Provost Marshal (Army), Mathias Erebulu, he said it was also critical to ensuring security and equitable representation for Africa, including Nigeria.

He described the publication as an important scholarly contribution that addressed one of the defining governance questions of contemporary times.

This, he said, was the reform of the world’s foremost institution for maintaining international peace and security.

He congratulated the author for his intellectual courage and strategic foresight in producing a work that highlighted the need for reforms.

“It is through reforms that the world’s primary institution for the maintenance of international peace and security can remain legitimate and guarantee equitable and fair representation in the permanent seats to accommodate African states, including Nigeria,” he said.

Mr Shaibu noted that some might question the military’s interest in Nigeria’s quest for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

“The decisions taken by the global body directly shape the operational environment of armed forces across the world.

“It is the United Nations Security Council that authorises peacekeeping mandates, sanctions regimes and, where necessary, peace enforcement operations.

“It is also the council’s resolutions that shape the legal and political legitimacy under which multinational forces intervene to protect civilians, contain conflicts and support fragile transitions from war to peace,” he explained.

The army chief said the publication would deepen understanding of the nexus between global governance, international security and Nigeria’s foreign policy aspirations.

He added that the book would serve as valuable reference material for scholars and students of international relations while also broadening the geopolitical knowledge of military officers.

In his remarks, the author, Mr Alkali, said that the reform of the UN Security Council had become necessary and was no longer optional.

According to him, this is if the institution is to reflect contemporary global realities and effectively address questions of legitimacy, representation and equitable global governance.

He said that his engagements with diplomats and scholars, and his participation in UN seminars held in the United Kingdom and Greece during his doctoral studies, left a lasting impression that sharpened his thoughts in writing the book.

He noted that though the journey involved long nights of writing and moments of doubt, the clarity of purpose behind the work made every challenge worthwhile.

According to him, the publication deconstructs existing power relations within the UN Security Council by situating Nigeria and Africa’s quest for permanent membership within broader debates on representation.

“This includes membership composition and veto power politics that continue to shape perceptions of the council’s legitimacy,” he said.

He declined to divulge the detailed arguments contained in the publication, urging readers instead to obtain copies and engage critically with its contents.

Reviewing the book, Husseni Abdu said that the theoretical plurality represented one of the book’s major contributions, as it foregrounded the African perspective in contemporary debates on the UN Security Council reforms.

Mr Abdu explained that the book’s 10 chapters were logically organised, moving from theory and history to continental debates, national case studies and recommendations.

(NAN)