The United Nations General Assembly at 80 felt, in many ways, like a testing ground. World leaders came to New York with speeches and asks, but for countries like Nigeria, the gathering was also an opportunity to sell a story about where the country stands and where it wants to go.
In speeches delivered on the floor and in side events, Nigeria’s messages clustered around three aims: a stronger voice in global governance, renewed economic partnerships, and urgent reform of the international financial architecture so developing countries can breathe easier.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, representing the president, carried a bold, practical agenda. He asked for sweeping United Nations reform, made the case for Nigeria’s permanent place on a reformed Security Council, and pressed for fairer returns from the trade and processing of Africa’s mineral wealth.
Crucially, the statement also argued for sovereign debt relief and new mechanisms to ease debt burdens for emerging economies that have struggled with rising servicing costs. Those calls reflect the reality that debt and unequal global rules shape the range of options available to African policymakers.
On the sidelines, Nigeria’s foreign minister pressed a linked message: deepen economic ties, especially with strategic partners, and channel real investment into productive sectors. Amb Yusuf Tuggar has been urging U.S. businesses and other investors to look closely at Nigeria’s energy, agriculture, tech, and finance opportunities. He highlighted the need for global tax and financial reforms that can unlock fairer financing and investment flows. From observation, Nigeria’s diplomatic push in New York was therefore twofold: asking for global institutions to change and seeking private partners to invest in Nigeria now, not tomorrow.
But speeches at UNGA are only stage setting. The larger test is how Aso Rock converts those words into action at home. The global context makes urgency plain. Public and sovereign debt burdens are at historic heights across much of the world, and developing countries face rising debt servicing that crowds out spending on health, education, and infrastructure. International agencies and think tanks have been pointing to the problem. The policy challenge is to pair Nigeria’s case for relief with credible domestic reforms that make relief effective and long-lasting rather than a one-off strategy.
Here is a message to our representatives at UNGA.
Use the United Nations stage to bring home partners who deliver both money and technology so we can add value here instead of selling raw materials. The call for fairer mineral deals only works if investors see predictable laws, open procurement, and clear incentives for processing at home. Invite them into gas-to-power and petrochemical projects that promise local jobs and real transfer of skills.
Match your promises abroad with strict financial discipline at home. If Nigeria requests debt relief, it should demonstrate transparency in its financial records. Publish debt registers, spell out the terms of any new loan and close loopholes in procurement so money does not disappear. Donors and multilateral partners are more ready to help when they see credible accounts, less waste and a plan to raise more domestic revenue.
Make a policy that fits Nigeria, not one copied straight from elsewhere. What works in other countries may not work here. Industrial policy should build on local value chains, regional markets and the specific strengths of our states. That means adapting plans to local realities and combining public investment with private partners, where the state helps to lower early risks.
Turn the interest you win at UN events into concrete projects. When ministers speak, they should bring a short list of ready ideas that partners can fund at scale: a gas line to power manufacturing hubs, a certified agro-processing corridor for exports or a digital trade pilot linking small businesses to diaspora markets. Pilot projects like these change applause into jobs and investment.
Reach out to the Nigerians in diaspora and strengthen domestic capital markets. Channelling diaspora savings, pension funds and insurance pools into long-term infrastructure bonds will give us patient capital at home. When people trust domestic instruments, we rely less on risky foreign loans and avoid costly currency exposure.
We need to continue to push for fair debt rules and more transparent creditors that are shared across the Global South. At the General Assembly, propose faster restructuring mechanisms, clearer creditor transparency and international rules that favour processing at home rather than selling raw goods. Those proposals will carry weight only if they come with clear roadmaps and domestic reforms showing Nigeria will use any new space responsibly.
The country asked for reforms and relief while offering investment opportunities. That is the right posture. But the time for stirring rhetoric must be followed by measurements, milestones, and accountability. Push for debt relief and UN reform while delivering signed project memoranda, transparent budgets, and pilots that show the world a different Nigerian story – one of partnership, value addition, and steady institutional reform.
If Nigeria succeeds at both levels, the diplomatic push and domestic follow-through, the UN stage will have served its purpose. Speeches will have become pipelines of investment and paths to policy change. If not, the applause in New York will remain an echo. The real audience, after all, is at home: Nigerians who need jobs, power, hospitals, and schools. That practical reality should be the yardstick by which every UN speech is judged.
