AU-EU Summit: Nigeria Intensifies Bid To Secure UN Security Council Permanent Seats

...as Tinubu demands Africa-led solutions to insecurity, rejects private military firms on continen Nigeria has intensified the bid to secure permanent seats with veto-wielding authority in the United Nations (UN) Security Council for Africa, insisting that a comprehensive reform of the global governance system was long overdue. This came just as President Bola Tinubu has tasked the European Union (EU) with co-creating peace and security initiatives alongside its African partners, anchored on African-led frameworks, as a pathway to achieving sustainable stability across the continent. The Nigerian leader made the call on Monday during the first plenary session on Peace, Security, Governance and Multilateralism at the 7th African Union-European Union Summit in Luanda, Angola. Tinubu, represented by his deputy, Vice President Kashim Shettima, disclosed that over 250,000 Boko Haram-affiliated individuals had surrendered in early 2025 following the Nigerian Government’s kinetic and non-kinetic measures. He stressed that the challenges of armed conflict, illicit weapons, climate pressures, irregular migration, and political instability across Africa now demand stronger cooperation. “It is time for Africa to occupy permanent seats on the UN Security Council, with all attendant privileges, including the veto. Genuine text-based negotiations under the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) framework must now commence. It is our hope that EU Member States will support Africa’s long-standing and legitimate call for reform of the United Nations,” the President stated. He noted that addressing these challenges required renewed AU–EU focus on preventive diplomacy, inclusive governance, and long-term investment in people and infrastructure. While acknowledging that the EU has remained one of the AU’s most reliable partners since the creation of the African Peace and Security Architecture in 2002, the President recalled that Nigeria’s experience has shown that regional instability, if left unchecked, fuels terrorism, insurgency, banditry, and transnational organised crime. In addressing this, the President stated that his administration has adopted a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic measures, including the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in the Lake Chad Basin, which, according to him, remains an effective model of African-led cooperative security. He further noted that a major component of Nigeria’s strategy continued to yield positive security outcomes, adding: “As of early 2025, over 120,000 Boko Haram-affiliated individuals, including family members, have surrendered.” “Nigeria’s commitment to regional stability is further reinforced by the recent Sea-Lift Agreement between the Nigerian Navy and the AU Standby Force (ASF), enhancing Africa’s rapid deployment capabilities for peace operations and humanitarian support,” he added. Furthermore, the President commended the EU’s commitment to restoring peace in the Sahel, while recognising Europe’s understandable concern over irregular migration, much of which originates from ungoverned spaces shaped by insecurity. On the security situation, the President called for an EU initiative anchored on African-led frameworks and regional ownership to drive positive outcomes. He said, “However, recent experience has shown that externally driven initiatives, however well-intentioned, cannot succeed at pace without strong regional ownership and a grounded understanding of local dynamics. Peace and security initiatives must therefore be co-created with African partners and anchored in African-led frameworks.” On irregular migration, the President advised that the issue must be addressed in a manner that acknowledges its deep economic and demographic drivers, as criminalising mobility has only compounded insecurity across the continent and beyond.