June 3 (THEWILL) — Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, has declared that Nigeria will overcome its insurgency challenges, while warning that military action alone cannot resolve the broader security crisis facing West Africa.
Jimoh made the remarks while hosting Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives of ECOWAS member states to the United Nations at Nigeria House in New York, where discussions focused on regional security, cooperation and Africa’s diplomatic priorities.
Expressing confidence in Nigeria’s resilience despite persistent security challenges, the envoy pointed to the country’s history of overcoming difficult periods, including the Civil War and the fight against Boko Haram insurgency.
“Nigeria will surmount insurgency. We survived a Civil War from 1967 to 1970 and fought Boko Haram. We will overcome our problems”, he said.
However, Jimoh cautioned against relying solely on military campaigns in tackling insurgency and instability across West Africa, insisting that many of the challenges confronting the region are rooted in long-standing social and structural issues.
According to him, many of the crises confronting countries across the sub-region are driven by what he described as “generational grievances”, requiring broader and more strategic responses.
“These are not issues we can resolve with missiles alone. Generational grievances demand wider thinking and deeper engagement”, he stated.
The Nigerian envoy further argued that the prolonged nature of insurgencies across several West African nations reflected the limitations of force-based approaches without complementary social, political and economic interventions.
“Most insurgencies in West Africa persist because we rely mainly on kinetic approaches instead of combining them with non-kinetic solutions”, Jimoh added.
He also said the administration of President Bola Tinubu was implementing wider strategies aimed at addressing insecurity while strengthening democratic values and inclusive governance.
“Fortunately, we have a liberal democrat leading a liberal democracy. President Tinubu believes every issue should be discussed before decisions are taken”, he noted.
Calling for stronger unity among West African nations, Jimoh stressed that no country can independently confront the increasingly complex security and development challenges facing the region.
“Let’s work together. No country can do it alone. Even America still seeks collaboration and partnership”, he charged.
He urged ECOWAS member states to deepen consultation and strengthen cooperation in pursuit of regional peace, stability and economic prosperity.
The ambassador also emphasised that the United Nations itself was built on principles of collective responsibility and international partnership, noting that stronger collaboration remained essential in addressing common challenges.
Beyond security matters, Jimoh advocated greater economic integration among West African countries, including discussions around regional financial institutions and stronger monetary cooperation.
Responding during the engagement, Sierra Leone’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Michael Kanu, described Jimoh’s appointment as timely for Africa and expressed confidence that his presence would strengthen the continent’s influence within the UN system.
Kanu said Nigeria had historically provided leadership on critical international matters affecting Africa.
“In the African Group, Nigeria’s voice has often been the collective voice”, he said.
He also congratulated Jimoh on his recent election as Chairman of the United Nations Fifth Committee, one of the organisation’s most strategic bodies responsible for administrative and budgetary matters.
“That committee is among the most strategic in the United Nations system. Nigeria, West Africa and Africa will be represented at the table with both competence and conviction”, Kanu stated.
Nigeria also used the opportunity to seek support for Mrs Esther Eghobamien-Mshelia as its candidate for election into the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) for the 2027–2030 term.
The dinner engagement marked one of Jimoh’s earliest high-level diplomatic interactions with West African representatives since assuming office as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, underscoring a renewed push toward stronger regional cooperation and a more influential African voice in global affairs.
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