President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, yesterday, asked the United Nations (UN) to prioritise debt forgiveness for Nigeria and other developing countries from creditors and multilateral financial institutions.

Tinubu charged world leaders to recommit themselves to multilateralism by deepening relations among UN member-states in line with the principles of inclusivity, equality and cooperation. He said this was the surest guarantee of global action against existential challenges faced by the international community.

Tinubu, who is Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), made the calls while addressing world leaders during the General Debate at the ongoing 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York, United States.

Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the high-level annual global event, he stressed the dangers of digressing from multilateralism.

The Nigerian president drew the UN’s attention to the global debt burden undermining the ability of countries and governments to meet the needs of their citizens. He also highlighted the fact that trade barriers and protectionist policies were destroying the hopes of nations, while uncontrollable competition was discouraging motivation and hampering global investments.

Tinubu stated, “Similarly, we must ensure that any reform of the international financial system includes comprehensive debt relief measures, to enable sustainable financing for development. Countries of the Global South cannot make meaningful economic progress without special concessions and a review of their current debt burden.”

He called for the recovery of the proceeds of corruption and illicit financial flows, maintaining that the return of such funds to countries of origin “is a fundamental principle of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.”

The Nigerian president added, “Therefore, the international community must promote practical measures to strengthen international cooperation to recover and return stolen assets and to eradicate safe havens that facilitate illicit flows of funds from developing countries to the developed economies.”

He flayed the steep descent to singularity and nationalism, which, according to him, was undermining the quest for peaceful and collective resolution of global challenges, such as terrorism, climate change, poverty, food crises, hyper-inflation, nuclear proliferation, and grinding debt burden, among others.

The Nigerian president expressed concern about the main objectives of the UN and how it could sustain the global body’s relevance and resilience, stating that the pillars of the organisation are at risk of being broken against the principles of inclusivity, equality and cooperation, which it stands for.

Tinubu explained, “Today, these pillars of our organisation are threatened. They risk being broken by the relentless pursuit of individual national priorities rather than the collective needs of the nations that are assembled here today.

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