Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, has made a compelling call for urgent reforms to global multilateral institutions, stressing the need for structural change in the face of mounting global instability.
Speaking at the European Union–African Union Ministerial Follow-Up Committee and the 3rd EU–AU Ministerial Meeting in Brussels, Ambassador Tuggar challenged world leaders to move beyond rhetoric and address the root causes of insecurity, underdevelopment, and systemic inequality.
In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir, the Minister highlighted a range of pressing global challenges—including the unchecked proliferation of small arms, climate change, violent extremism, irregular migration, and weakening democratic institutions.
“The international framework that supports multilateralism is more fragile today than ever,” Tuggar warned, citing the destabilizing influence of non-state actors, disinformation, and unregulated digital currencies.
He criticized the repetitive nature of high-level discussions that fail to translate into meaningful action, asserting that global institutions must evolve or risk becoming obsolete. “Agencies only survive when they adapt,” he said. “A failure to reform has created a vacuum now being filled by instability.”
Despite these concerns, the Minister reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to multilateralism and strategic global partnerships. He cited Nigeria’s active participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), its stake in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and its leadership in ECOWAS as evidence of practical engagement and regional progress.
Ambassador Tuggar also reiterated Nigeria’s long-standing advocacy for:
Comprehensive United Nations reforms
Fair and inclusive global trade systems
Equitable access to international financing mechanisms
He further decried the inconsistency in global approaches to hate speech and disinformation, highlighting perceived double standards. “We were told hate speech in Africa was the price of freedom; when it happens here, arrests follow,” he observed.
Tuggar closed his address with a call for honesty, consistency, and moral clarity in global leadership. “Truth is not a supermarket to be picked or discarded according to taste,” he said.
His remarks come amid growing calls from the Global South for a rebalanced international order that is more inclusive, equitable, and responsive to the challenges of the 21st century.