Nigeria’s Quest for a Permanent Seat at the United Nation Security Council: A Giant Dwarfed of Domestic Challenges

Abstract

The United Nations was established by the Charter of the United Nations and Statute of the International Court of Justice. The Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of 50 countries and there are currently 193 UN Member States. Each of the Member States of the United Nations has one seat in the General Assembly.  The Organization which was established following the end of World War II with the main goal of maintaining international peace and security globally has Security Council as one of its six key pillars, with five permanents and ten non-permanent members. The General Assembly through joint resolution has seek for expansion of its permanents member seat, with a slot billed to African nations.  Nigeria is one of the African nations craving for the seats. This quest has however, been narrowed by her domestic disorders particularly, in her current state of affairs. Therefore, the examination of Nigeria's quest for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council is the main objective of this study. The study engaged secondary data.  Findings revealed that South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria are the three major African nations contending for the seat, with Nigeria being considered more favoured amongst the three nations owing to her national and international impact. However, Nigeria is currently undergoing some domestic issues like insecurity, undemocratic tendencies of leaders, corruption, failing economy, poverty, unemployment, among others. Therefore, Nigeria must address her domestic problems if the ball must roll in her favour. Disentangling these challenges would require a strong political will from Nigerian government which must include among others; economic reform, protection of human rights, extinction of corruption, security reform, among others.