It was the turn of President Muhammad Buhari of Nigeria to address the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday, 21st September, 2022. Addressing the August international audience has become an annual ritual since inception of the United Nations (UN) in 1945 and it provides an avenue for member nations to project their foreign relations policy thrust principally. UNGA also provides a platform for ventilating grievances and drawing global attention to national plights in order with to attract international sympathy and cooperation. The UNGA platform has no doubt played these roles to varying degree of success over the years and has hosted many statesmen that delivered epoch speeches that influenced world views and international actions. Similarly, not a few world leaders used UNGA platform to stage mild dramas that sometimes brought comic relief to audiences accustomed to boring speeches. UNGA has equally witnessed some maverick leaders in their elements that employed Its platform to vent their frustrations with certain nations and their leaders as well as their anger over seeming ineffectiveness of the World body to guarantee or uphold sovereign rights of weaker nations against the overbearing and sometimes bullying attitudes of stronger nations. In whatever light one sees the United Nations (UN) or its plebiscite organ known as UNGA, the world body provides a platform for international audiences to listen to, and gauge the quality with focus of various national leaderships. Consequently, nations or quasi-sovereign entities that are granted opportunities to address the world body often painstakingly summarize their national visions and grievances; including their takes on critical global issues into pungent speeches that are delivered with or without the customary gesticulations, fist punching or voice modulation that leaders employ for effects. On most occasions, well articulated and poignantly delivered speeches never failed to impress; even if only for their political values or comic effects. For example, the late Colonel Mu’amad Gadaffi of Libya had on several occasions used UNGA to unsettle some
world leaders that he perceived as ‘oppressors’ of weaker nations. On one particular occasion, he in a fitful display of his frustration with the UN, shredded the Charter of the world body openly while standing on UNGA podium perhaps to show how meaningless he considered the document. Similarly Yasser Arafat, the late leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) had on numerous occasions used UNGA platform to engage his Jewish cousins and their allies in eye blinking contests. He was also able to use the platform to rally global support for his Palestinian cause. Nigeria once had a memorable engagement with UNGA in 1975 when the late Military Head of State, General Murtala Muhammed delivered what many still regard as a Pan-African speech on Angolan sovereignty till this day. Although it caused him his life, the message of the late Nigerian Head of State altered the ideological preferences of the West on independence and democratic governance in Angola to the chagrin of the Yankees. I doubt if Nigeria has ever been that vociferous at the world assembly again. Nevertheless, our successive leaders had taken their turns on UNGA podium to deliver their speeches that at least reinforced the legitimacy of their incumbency. Aside from that, no Nigerian leader has spoken so incisively and poignantly since late Gen Murtala’s speech. So, it was yet the turn of Nigeria’s sovereig representative to tell the world how the country is faring and its take (if any) on issues that currently occupy global attention. Rightly and deservedly so, President Muhammad Buhari mounted the rostrum to speak on our behalf. He first affirmed his believe in democracy as the most progressive and inclusive form of governance; its many alien features and flaws notwithstanding. According to our President, Nigeria has wobbled and faltered on its current democratic adventure since 1999 but averred that despite the bumpy journey, democratic governance and principles are developing roots in Nigeria. Our President undertook before the global audience to further deepen democracy in Nigeria by ensuring credible, transparent, free and fair elections in Nigeria come 2023 before he steps aside. This was a cheering news for all Nigerians and indeed his global democratic audience that listened to his speech. President Muhammad Buhari also drew attention of the world to ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine with regard to its negative socio-economic effects on the rest of the world. He noted that Nigeria like other African nations that are still in developmental throes, including Asia to some extent, are worst hit by current global galloping inflation, acute food shortages and skyrocketing energy costs, among others on account of the war. He urged the UN to facilitate a speedy and amicable resolution of the cause(s) of the war in order to mitigate current global human suffering that the war has induced and restore peace once again to our planet. Again our President hit a bull’s eye on that. On climate change, President Buhari acknowledged the devastating effects of climate change globally. But rather than cite the flooding that is currently ravaging parts of Nigeria; particularly Northern Nigeria where he hails from, our President chose to cite the drought in Somalia and flooding in Pakistan as examples to drive home his point. Indeed, he was right as there is severe drought in parts of Somalia currently resulting in famine, diseases and humance fatalities. Also, the recent huge flash floods in part of Pakistan that resulted in many deaths and destruction of properties were climate induced. So, our President was right to have spoken on behalf of those countries. May be he forgot that many villages and farmlands were submerged in raging floods in Yobe, Sokoto, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Lagos, Ogun and other Nigerian States as at the time he was dwelling on Somalia and Pakistan in his speech. Perhaps our President did not also consider the Nigerian climatic catastrophes important or debilitating enough compared to those of the countries on whose behalf he spoke. Don’t get me wrongly please as I am only guessing a probable reason for our President’s choices. I was neither in his benevolent mind nor around when his speech writers were doing the needful. Therefore I cannot blame Mr President too much on that.
I was however peeved on President Muhammad Buhari’s political detente in his speech where he reminded the world about the plights and suffering of Palestinian people that have been groaning under Israeli occupation and siege for decades now. Our President did not also forget the plight of Rohingya people and the need for the world to end the suffering of this homogenous but Stateless group of people that are constantly being been dehumanized, killed, abused and rejected everywhere they go as if they are not human beings. Indeed, the world needed to be reminded about all these because it seems the Palestinian people have been left lately to face their callous fate alone and in silence. Similarly, the Rohingyas face ultimate extinction unless the world does something urgent and drastically to resettle them in their own homestead. However, are Nigerian peoples faring any better than these countries or peoples given current pervasive poverty, hunger and insecurity in the country? Are vast swathes of land on which many villages, hamlets, farms etc. are located not currently under siege and occupation by insurgents, terrorists, bandits, armed robbers, kidnappers, human ritualists etc. in Nigeria? Need not our President have reminded the world that many Nigerians are either being killed, maimed, tortured or deprived of their means of livelihood by invading bands of criminals daily in our country? Why then did our President choose to become Somalia, Pakistan and Palestine’s mouthpiece all in one breath while ignoring the plight of his own people on whose behalf he spoke? Does it mean that President Muhammad Buhari expended all those huge public resources to carry a large delegation and retinue of aides to UNGA only to speak on behalf of other countries and the Rohingyas? This to me is the height of betrayal, insensitivity and executive impunity. I don’t know if our President’s farewell speech at UNGA lends credence to some conspiracy theories that have postulated all along that President Muhammad Buhari and his APC party are only interested in pursuing narrow ethno-religious agenda rather than rescuing Nigeria as they promised? I enjoin my fellow countrymen and women to look carefully at our President’s choice of examples during his recent speech at UNGA and his party’s choice of a Muslim-Muslim Presidential cum Vice-presidential ticket for 2023 elections and see what these convey. Our President is quick to send financial and material aids to Afghanistan and Niger Republic but looks away from the humanitarian disasters currently happening in Congo DRC, Central African Republic and elsewhere in Africa where Muslims do not predominate the population. Haba! This is too open na, and belies any claim of Statesmanship in President Muhammad Buhari’s dealings with Nigerians. It baffles me why Nigeria is yet to be blessed with the types of visionary and pragmatic leaders that we see elsewhere up until this very moment. And it does not seem as though our country will get one any time soon judging by the quality and antecedents of politicians that are currently jostling to succeed President Muhammad Buhari. I am so sad about the whole thing; including the delusional impudence that Nigerian politicians display before a hapless and disillusioned Nigerian electorate.
Factually, I was nonplussed when our President affirmed before the world assembly that his 21 September, 2022 speech at UNGA was his last; with the twilight of his wasted two tenures fast approaching in the horizon. He assured the world body that a new Nigerian leader shall take his place in the annual ritualistic talking-shop assemblage to speak on the behalf of Nigerians. I tried without success to envision in my mind if the new leader is going to be remarkably different from the outgoing one. I doubt and if any change is to occur, the prospects look grimmer and more bleak than we have endured thus far. I hope the Nigerian electorate will understand this and vote more wisely in 2023. Let Nigerians elect a leader that will speak about Nigeria and for Nigerians; and not on behalf of some distant fellow earthly pilgrims. Until it is the turn of a new Nigerian leader to address UNGA on our behalf again, and on behalf of UNGA global audience that listened to President Muhammad Buhari’s speech of 21 September, 2022 I like to say to our departing President, ‘fare thee well’ as you vacate Aso Rock by 29 May, 2023. May our President be in good health and find strength with more time to speak on behalf of his clan and fellow earthly pilgrims wherever they are on planet earth after 29 May, 2023, Amen.
Ogacheko Opaluwa is a Freelance Journalist and Current Affairs Commentator. He contributed this piece from Addis Ababa.
