President Bola Tinubu, during his meeting in New York with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, expressed that Africa will no longer tolerate wealthy and powerful nations using human rights advocacy to hinder developing economies from addressing those who unlawfully drain and smuggle the continent's abundant mineral resources. Tinubu stressed that African nations will take decisive action to prevent Western countries from exploiting human rights rhetoric to facilitate the smuggling of Western-made weapons, which ultimately benefits the world's wealthiest economies at the expense of African stability and prosperity. He emphasized the need for effective collaboration to address these issues.
Tinubu also called for a transformation of the United Nations, urging it to shift from being primarily a platform for global discussions to becoming a center for coordinated action. He highlighted the inefficiency of directing a significant portion of resources to administrative costs, which undermines the organization's mission to help the world's poorest nations. Tinubu expressed his commitment to democracy and development in Nigeria and Africa, acknowledging his own experience with poverty and the need to eradicate it.
In response, UN Secretary-General António Guterres acknowledged the ongoing reform within the UN system to address institutional weaknesses and ensure more decision-making power for developing nations. He recognized the challenges related to debt and concessional funding for middle-income countries and emphasized the importance of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Guterres also pledged full support from the UN system to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in light of recent military coups in the West African sub-region. He expressed high expectations for President Tinubu's leadership and emphasized Nigeria's crucial role in the sub-region, highlighting that Nigeria's success is essential for the success of all of Africa.