B/Haram: Borders can’t shield nations from global threats, Nigeria tells world

n n

Nigeria has warned that powerful national defences alone cannot protect countries from terrorism, cyber threats and other dangers sustained across international borders.

n

Vice-President Kashim Shettima gave the warning while delivering President Bola Tinubu’s national statement at the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday.

n

Drawing from Nigeria’s prolonged battle against Boko Haram, ISWAP and other armed groups, Shettima called for stronger international cooperation against transnational security threats.

n

He argued that modern threats exploited gaps between countries and could not be effectively defeated through isolated national responses.

n

Nigeria’s experience, he said, demonstrated that security challenges sustained across borders required corresponding regional and global cooperation.

n

Shettima told the Assembly that military operations remained necessary but could not, by themselves, deliver lasting victory over violent extremism.

n

He said sustainable security must also rest on education, economic opportunity, accountable governance and respect for human rights.

n

The Vice-President linked the argument to Nigeria’s wider advocacy for collective security and effective multilateral institutions.

n

He said Nigeria remained ready to work with neighbours and international partners to confront terrorism and other destabilising threats.

n

Through ECOWAS, the African Union and Gulf of Guinea partnerships, he said Nigeria continued to participate in mediation, counter-terrorism, maritime security and efforts to strengthen democratic governance.

n

Shettima also recalled Nigeria’s long record of contributing personnel and resources to peace operations across Africa.

n

He cited engagements in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Darfur, Mali and The Gambia as examples of Nigeria responding to instability beyond its national borders.

n

The Vice-President said such engagements reflected the country’s conviction that conflicts in one country could generate consequences for neighbours and the wider international community.

n

He warned world leaders against assuming that distant wars carried no costs for countries geographically removed from them.

n

Shettima argued that conflict could disrupt trade, increase humanitarian pressures, drive displacement, strengthen extremist networks and create wider economic and security shocks.

n

He, therefore, called for renewed commitment to dialogue, mutual respect, collective responsibility and international law.

n

Shettima reaffirmed Nigeria’s support for the peaceful resolution of disputes under the UN Charter.

n

He identified Sudan and other conflict-affected countries as requiring urgent diplomatic attention because of the consequences for civilians and regional stability.

n

The Vice-President also warned against rising nationalism and weakening commitment to multilateral cooperation.

n

He said the continuing conflicts around the world recalled the fundamental reason the United Nations was created after the devastation of the Second World War.

n

According to him, Nigeria remains committed to an international order where disputes were addressed through diplomacy rather than arbitrary power.

n

Shettima linked international security to development, maintaining that deprivation and institutional weakness could undermine the durability of military gains.

n

The Nigerian delegation also called for stronger global institutions capable of coordinating responses to terrorism, cyber threats and other challenges that did not respect national borders.

n

The address came as the General Assembly’s 81st General Debate entered its third day, with Shettima speaking fourth during Thursday’s afternoon session.

n

Nigeria said its experiences with insurgency had reinforced its belief that peace required both effective security measures and conditions that denied violent groups opportunities to recruit and operate.

n

Shettima, therefore, urged greater international solidarity, regional leadership and sustained investment in the social foundations of peace. (NAN)

n n