President Bola Tinubu has delivered a sobering message to the international community, warning that terrorists, organized criminal networks, cybercriminals, and illicit financiers are actively exploiting gaps in national security responses to expand their operations across borders.
Delivering Nigeria’s national statement at the General Debate of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Vice President Kashim Shettima, representing the President, emphasized that the scale of these emerging threats demands a paradigm shift from isolated national defenses to deepened global cooperation.
“No nation, however formidable its defences, can secure itself completely against dangers sustained beyond its borders,” Tinubu’s address stated. “Terrorism, organised crime, cyberattacks and illicit finance exploit the gaps between our national responses, drawing strength from the divisions that weaken collective action.”
Drawing from Nigeria’s prolonged and costly struggle against Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and other armed insurgencies, the President argued that kinetic military victories alone are insufficient to guarantee lasting peace. He stressed that counter-terrorism efforts must be anchored in broader socio-economic foundations, including education, economic opportunity, accountable governance, and the protection of citizens’ rights.
“Development cannot take root where violence repeatedly uproots livelihoods, and peace cannot endure where injustice and exclusion replenish the ranks of those who threaten,” the address noted.
To combat this, Tinubu issued a strong call for enhanced international security cooperation. He urged nations to proactively share intelligence, strengthen institutional capacities, disrupt the financial lifelines of violent groups, and seal the borders that illicit weapons routinely cross. “Our common security therefore demands cooperation equal to the reach of the threats before us,” he asserted.
The President pointed to the ongoing turmoil in the Sahel region as a prime example of the transnational nature of modern security threats. He warned that instability in one territory inevitably imperils its neighbors, displaces populations, and frustrates regional integration and democratic governance. As a founding member of ECOWAS, he reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to regional solidarity and African-led solutions, reinforced by principled international partnerships.
Beyond immediate security concerns, Tinubu linked stability to sustainable development, arguing that public trust in government and international institutions hinges on tangible improvements in citizens’ lives. He called for a global pivot toward prevention, urging the UN to dedicate greater resources and political attention to peacebuilding, mediation, and inclusive political processes.
“Dialogue, reconciliation and inclusive political processes must give people a stake in ending violence and preserving the agreements that follow,” the statement read.
Consistent with Nigeria’s broader diplomatic agenda, the President also used the platform to reiterate the urgent need for structural reform of the United Nations Security Council. He argued that the global architecture of 2026 can no longer be governed by the power dynamics of 1945, demanding at least two permanent seats for Africa with full veto powers, alongside five non-permanent seats. He coupled this with a call for reforms to the international financial architecture to better accommodate the developmental and debt-relief needs of poorer nations.
As transnational threats continue to evolve and intertwine with illicit trafficking in weapons, drugs, and human beings, Tinubu’s address served as a clarion call for unity. By urging nations to choose cooperation over confrontation and diplomacy over division, Nigeria has positioned itself not just as a victim of regional instability, but as a proactive architect of a more resilient, equitable global security framework.
Promise Idoko is Junior Reporter working with moderncrux He covers global politics and international affairs. Based in Nigeria,
