Former President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has called for the reform and
democratisation of the United Nations in order to make it more
representative and responsive to the security challenges.
Jonathan made the call
Friday
while presenting his remarks at the opening panel of the Dialogue of
Civilisations Rhodes Forum’s 15th Anniversary Summit in Greece. Jonathan
who was the lead discussants stressed that the UN Security Council
should be expanded to ensure representations from all regions and power
centres in the world, adding that the UN dialogue method must also
change to guarantee a more peaceful world. Other members of the panel
were former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, former
President of Mali Dioncounda Traore, professor of globalisation Ian
Goldin and President of Infowatch Group, Natalya Kaspersky.
A statement issued by Dr. Jonathan's media adviser Mr. Ikechukwu Eze
quoted the ex-President as saying: “For the world to experience
sustainable peace, effective leadership must come from the UN, the
flagship of global organisations. The UN that would inspire this kind of
leadership should ensure equity, with leading nations and power centres
representing different regions of the world, sitting at the Security
Council as permanent members.
“The UN dialogue method must, therefore, change. The security Council of
the United Nations must be democratised, in view of new global
realities, in the interest of peace.”
He further noted that as presently constituted, “the UN is portrayed as a
platform where nations come to quarrel and display their might, in
stead of its statutory role, as a forum for unity and world peace.
“In terms of carrying out the mandate of preventing a Third World War,
we could say the UN has done exceptionally well up to this moment.
However, we cannot say the same thing over its mandate of ensuring world
Peace as it is obvious that the UN has not achieved much in this
regard. From 1945, when 51 nations came together and now that the UN has
193 member states, the world has not known real peace.
“The truth is that despite decades of efforts at the multinational level
towards ensuring peace, the world has remained mired in developmental
challenges that question man’s ability to govern, collaborate, unite and
make his world better. Those are challenges of poverty, healthcare,
inequality and conflicts. This is because the world has not matched this
zeal for organisation with a corresponding gusto for trust, good faith
and the conscience for productive engagements, negotiations and
dialogue.
“So when I am asked to proffer solutions for achieving global peace and
sustainable development, I will say that the answer lies in genuine
dialogue. This entails negotiations, hard bargaining, inclusivity,
persuasion and confidence building.”
Below is the ex-President Jonathan’s opening speech:
AN ADDRESS BY DR. GOODLUCK E. JONATHAN (PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF
NIGERIA, 2010-2015) AT DOC RHODES FORUM ON ‘MULTIPOLARITY AND DIALOGUE
IN REGIONAL AND GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS: IMAGINING POSSIBLE FUTURES’,
06 OCTOBER, 2017
Protocol
Let me first commend Rhodes Forum for advancing the philosophy of
Dialogue of Civilisations (DOC) in this past 15 years. I also wish to
thank the Forum for inviting me to share my ideas with this highly
intellectual discussants at this year’s programme, taking place in
Greece; a nation deservedly recognised as the cradle of Western
civilisation, birthplace of the Olympic Games, as well as democracy.
2. I consider the theme for this year’s Summit, ‘Multipolarity and
Dialogue in Regional and Global Developments: Imagining Possible
Futures’ quite pertinent, in view of the prevailing dynamics in global
politics. It is a topic suitable for interrogation by academicians,
civil society, technocrats and politicians, in order to provide a clear
direction for the world, as it seeks the path to sustainable peace and
development.
3. I will leave the theoretical concepts of historical global power
formations for my co-discussants who are in the academia, so that I can
quickly share with you what I consider as practical issues that are
critical to advancing peace in the world.
I will also share with you what I did with my fellow African leaders to
bring peace (in Africa) at the continental, sub-continental and national
levels.
4. Even then, I have to state that at different times, the world has
witnessed various power configurations which started in the modern world
as a multipolar arrangement that became bipolar after WWII. It
eventually morphed into a Unipolar sphere of influence after the
collapse of the Soviet Union about two decades ago, before other power
centres emerged in the 21st Century to define what we have now as the
return of the Multipolar formation.
5. That the world needs peace is a declaration no one ever contests,
given what the absence of peace portends. That the only road to a
peaceful world is through dialogue is also incontrovertible. What then
raises a valid contention is the argument over the steps taken by
leaders towards realising peace. Are they the right or wrong steps?
6. At the end of World War II, 51 nations came together to form the
United Nations on 24 October, 1945. The UN Security Council was also
formed the same day. The UN was set up principally as a replacement for
the ineffective League of Nations, in order to prevent another world war
and guarantee world peace.
7. In terms of carrying out the mandate of preventing a Third World
War, we could say the UN has done exceptionally well up to this moment.
However, we cannot say the same thing over its mandate of ensuring world
Peace as it is obvious that the UN has not achieved much in this
regard. From 1945, when 51 nations came together and now that the UN has
193 member states, the world has not known real peace.
8. Late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, a Nigerian philosopher and musician of
international repute, tried to rebrand the UN in his own way, by calling
it ‘Disunited Nations.’ He might have exaggerated. Nonetheless, his
grouse was that nations, going through bitter conflicts were all members
of the UN. Yet, the global body, primarily set up to guarantee world
peace, appears not to have been able to muster the required will power,
to resolve those issues that cause conflicts, for decades.
8. Over time, since the establishment of the UN, the world has seen
conflicts within and among nations of catastrophic and tragic
dimensions, without the global body living up to its billing to provide
far-reaching solutions. For instance, the East Asia and the Korean
Peninsula have not known real peace for 60 years because South and North
Korea have remained technically at war since the Korean War
(1950-1953), after the warring sides failed to sign any armistice.
10. We have similar situations between India and Pakistan, and in the
unending Middle East crisis, which is at the heart of endless
bloodletting in the zone. There was also the Rwandan genocide as well as
the specific cases of Bosnia, Somalia and Darfur in Sudan, which
unravelled with so much bloodshed.
In each case, the UN was helpless in resolving the conflicts. The
ongoing wars in Syria, Iraq, distressing Rohingya dilemma in Myanmar, as
well as threat of conflicts and wars in other parts of the world, are
all signs that the UN is failing the world.
11. Below the influence of the Super Powers are other power centres and
regional blocs like the European Union, the Arab League, Association of
South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Organisation of American States
(OAS), African Union (AU), the Southern African Development
Co-ordination Conference (SADCC) and the Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS). There is no doubt that all these groups have
been pivotal to peace and economic development in the countries within
their authority. However, they have apparently been helpless, in view of
disputes between nations within their fold and those outside their
influence. This is where the role of a reorganised UN, the one that
inspires trust among these blocs and all nations, is most required.
12. The truth is that despite decades of efforts at the multinational
level towards ensuring peace, the world has remained mired in
developmental challenges that question man’s ability to govern,
collaborate, unite and make his world better. Those are challenges of
poverty, healthcare, inequality and conflicts. This is because the world
has not matched this zeal for organisation with a corresponding gusto
for trust, good faith and the conscience for productive engagements,
negotiations and dialogue.
13. I believe in the UN as an effective global body that should lead
the quest for the peace we desire. I am also convinced that for the
organisation to bring about world peace, the UN method and approach to
dialogue must be reviewed. It is important that all member nations of
the UN must have faith in the organisation, and believe that it is fair
and representative enough to protect them. The Security Council which is
the most powerful UN organ, with "primary responsibility for the
maintenance of international peace and security”, cannot inspire that
confidence, because of the way it is presently configured.
14. The present situation where one nation, out of 193 nations, can
upturn the decision of the Security Council, has not been helpful in
galvanising the confidence and mutuality, necessary to bring peace to
the world. If anything, the system, which has remained unreviewed in
over half a century, has been more effective in opening new frontiers
for conflicts, rather than providing answers to the ones it sought to
resolve.
15. The UN dialogue method must, therefore, change.
16. The Security Council of the United Nations must be democratised, in
view of new global realities, in the interest of peace. As presently
constituted, the UN is portrayed as a platform where nations come to
quarrel and display their might, in stead of its statutory role, as a
forum for unity and world peace.
I appreciate organisations such as the Rhodes Forum for stepping in to
fill the gap, with programmes that promote understanding, unity and
equality.
17. However, for the world to experience sustainable peace, effective
leadership must come from the UN, the flagship of global organisations.
The UN that would inspire this kind of leadership should ensure equity,
with leading nations and power centres representing different regions of
the world, sitting at the Security Council as permanent members.
18. In Africa, the restructuring of the Organisation of African Unity
(OAU) to African Union (AU), coupled with the formation of the regional
blocks such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
(COMESA), ECOWAS and SADCC has helped reduce conflicts significantly.
This has given the continent a glimmer of hope in the way it applies
dialogue as an instrument of regional peace and development.
19. In West Africa where I come from, ECOWAS and my nation Nigeria has
resolved, as well as prevented, many conflicts and stabilised and
strengthened democracy in many countries in the sub-region. Some of the
countries we were able to stabilise are Liberia, Sierra Leone, Niger,
Cote D’Ivoire, Mali, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso and The Gambia. We were
able to achieve this because of intense and purposeful dialogue.
20. In ECOWAS, we have not only adopted dialogue as a productive means
of resolving political conflicts and violence, but have also moved many
steps towards economic integration. I believe that successes have been
recorded in this regard with the policy on free movement of persons and
goods, similar to what obtains within the EU countries. We were able to
achieve all these through a process of sincere dialogue.
21. When I was in office as President, I championed the cause for good
governance, transparent elections and peaceful power transfers, because I
also believed that at the heart of the dialogue for a more peaceful
world, is the need to cultivate a culture of democracy and good
governance at the national levels. This is a good way to reduce local
tensions that could blossom into global crisis.
22. Dialogue is a formula that serves any community well, in preventing
or resolving conflicts. In Nigeria, through a process of dialogue, we
arrived at an amnesty programme that brought an end to the crisis in the
Niger Delta, an oil-rich region in my country that accounts for all the
oil wells that remains the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy.
23. Sometime in 2014, I had a thought in my mind. Nigeria is easily the
most ethnically and religiously heterogeneous society in Africa, and
one of the most diverse nations in the world.
Many times, these different ethnic groups are pulling in diverse
directions that as a leader, you may experience genuine fears that the
center may not hold.
24. At that time, I asked myself, how can I as President, help build a
more harmonious union in Nigeria. One based on the words of our National
Anthem which ends with 'to build a nation where peace and justice shall
reign'.
25. To address this I convened a National Conference where the various
ethnic groups and other stakeholders deliberated for five months on the
future of the country. They had the mandate to discuss and advice the
Government on all matters pertaining to our nationhood, except the
sovereignty of the country.
26. On Thursday August 21, 2014, I received the report. Our general
elections came up six months after the national conference. The
confidence and national goodwill the conference inspired, helped bring
down the tension during and after the general elections. It was a
confidence boosting outcome, despite the predictions by some
international bodies that Nigeria was going to disintegrate in 2015.
27. There is one important point people often overlook whenever the
issue of global peace arises. There can be no peace at the global level
if there is no peace in the heart, conscience and character of leaders
of nations.
28. I spoke recently at another event about my belief that the best
leadership flows from inspiration and not from power or force of arms.
Conscience based leadership build nations and ensure peace while ego
based leadership throws nations into conflicts and chaos.
29. In closing, I have to make one thing clear: irrespective of centres
of control, it is only genuine dialogue that can bring peace to the
world. A peaceful world will reduce financial crises, armed conflicts,
terrorism, unchecked migration, religious conflicts and secessionist
agitations.
30. It is obvious that investments thrive, and economies grow better in
peaceful environments, leading to improvement in education and other
social investments and reduction in poverty.
31. The advocacy by the Rhodes Forum and similar organisations is
exceedingly important because they provide neutral platforms for advise
on global issues. However, for the world to experience a lasting peace,
there must be fairness, equity, and justice in the UN Security Council.
32. I say this because I envision smaller or hitherto less powerful
nations acquiring new capacities and capabilities, in this age of
technology’s boundless potentials, with which they may even challenge
the Super Powers for relevance. Only a democratised United Nations where
every nation, or power bloc truly commits to processes for sustainable
peace, could eliminate the possibility of such apocalypse.
33. So when I am asked to proffer solutions for achieving global peace
and sustainable development, I will say that the answer lies in genuine
dialogue. This entails negotiations, hard bargaining, inclusivity,
persuasion and confidence building
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