NIGERIA’S QUEST FOR A PERMANENT SEAT IN THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL

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CHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTION1.1 Background of the StudyThe united nations in the last few years undergone serious reforms among which is theresolution to increase the membership of the non permanent members of the security council inwhich the African continent has been allotted two slots Nigeria was a serious contender of one ofthose slots in which it was able to get. Currently no African state is a permanent member of thesecurity council and this is a major reason why Africa was allotted two slots in the nonpermanent members of the security council been that Africa is the second most populatedcontinent in the world behind Asia.One of the biggest achievements of Nigeria in her fifty four years of independence is being anon permanent member of the Security Council. The current reform of the United Nations isgolden opportunity which Nigeria cannot afford to miss. Being a member of this exclusive clubwill be recognition of the country s strength, economic and strategic importance and politicalmaturity. Despite all her short comings, Nigeria has emerged biggest democracy on the Africancontinent. The return of the country to the part of democracy after years of successive militaryregime has increased its legitimacy in internal affairs. Nigeria has contributed immensely toomany peace keeping operations around the world.If these and other credentials are to yield the desired result the country must contend with theslow pace of economic recovery, the challenges posed by other serious African contendersparticularly Egypt and South Africa.
In the 21st century, the world has indeed become a ‘’global village’’ what happens in oneremote corner of the world is quickly known by others at the farthest and remotest corner. Theconsequences also spread fast and given the asymmetrical nature of the world, they havedifferent and varying impact. This accounts for the reason why United Nations permanentmembers are reluctant towards the admission of an African state as permanent member of theSecurity Council because of the existence of so many short comingHISTORY OF THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCILThe year was 1945 was the second war enveloping much of the globe in the last 30 years wascoming to an end. In this environment, representatives from China, Great Britain, the Soviet Union,and the United States met at the Dumbarton Oaks mansion in Washington D.C. for the initialdiscussions that would lead to the creation of the United Nations. The representatives were well awareof the guiding principles of the League of Nations, and also of its multiple failures. Though many feltthat the League of Nations had the capacity to discuss significant international affairs, the body wasnot constructed in a manner which was able to produce successful measures to deter aggression andprevent conflict. Firstly, the United States, by now a prominent global power, did not join theorganization, although the organization was originally the Woodrow Wilson’s, the president of theUnited States at the time, idea after World War I. This handicapped the League from the beginning bypreventing it from achieving maximal financial backing and international political support. Secondly,there was no clear division of duties between the League’s Assembly and Council committees. Thus,tasks were often mismanaged. Additionally, all resolutions required a unanimous vote to pass, a rarityin the arena of international politics. Since there was no clear sense of collective security, individualMember States of the League continued the policy of pursuing narrowly defined interests of their owncountry’s foreign policy. In 1945, the nations represented at Dumbarton Oaks were mindful of these,…
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMExisting literature A.S Akpotor and P.E Agbeka in his book ‘ Nigeria’s quest for a permanentseat in the security council’ and Sokore Collins ‘ Nigeria’s UN Seat Bid And the TsunamiGyration Gang’ have attempted to present both the advantages and the disadvantages that areinherent in Nigeria’s bid for a permanent seat of or at the UNSC. These they have done withoutpaying adequate regards to the complex implications, which may not necessarily be negative,that the bid could attract to Nigeria. Really Nigeria’s attempts at assisting the United Nations infinding solutions to some of the numerous politico-security challenges that had happened insome regions of the international system, and her contribution to several of Africa countries,present her as about the best African candidate for a permanent seat at UNSC. However, thegroundswell of anomie within her confines and the grave ignominy in which she is held by someof her neighbors, no thanks to the fraudulent activities of some of her citizens in diasporas andsome of the elites that are wont to siphon and launder funds from the governmental coffers, seemcapable of hurting her candidature. In view of this, one notes that the existing literature havemostly paid attention to the advantages and/or disadvantages that her candidature wouldengender, with distasteful disregard for the implications therein. Without grappling issues withextant literature therefore, this study seeks an interrogation of the fallouts that would beengendered by Nigeria’s candidature for a permanent seat at UNSC.
1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDYDuring the course of this work it will research on the enlightenment of Nigerians on whatwe stand to gain by being a member of the permanent seat of the UN Security Council. Itsimplications on our finances and the responsibility this post is going to impose on Nigeria as anation and also as the ‘Giant’ of Africa. It will be analyzing the reasons why Nigeria is likely toget the seat despite the fact that it’s competing against strong nations such as South Africa andEgypt.1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONSThe scope of my research would seek to answer the following questions;1. Is there any likelihood that the UNSC would be restructured in order to accommodate newpermanent members?2. Is Nigeria’s quest for a permanent seat a way to go for Africa or is such aspiration meant tosatisfy some egocentric interests?3. Will Nigeria’s acceptance into the Security Council solve the problem of insecurity in Africa,and in particular, that within her confines?4, Will Nigeria play a better role in the Security Council than other nations in Africa?1.5 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDYThe specific objectives of the study are to:a) Identify the reasons that underlie the sudden clamor for the democratization of thepermanent membership of the United Nations Security Councilb) Examine the complex dimensions of relations that Nigeria’s bid for the hallowedmembership might be engendered

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