NOW THAT NIGERIA HAS THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL SEAT The idea of having Nigeria as a ‘full member’ of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) took a sudden dramatic turn in 2005 after generating so much interest among the country’s intelligents as at that year. The Guardian found then that the primordial wisdom engraved in the phrase: “half a loaf, better than none” was what informed the decision by Nigeria and her coalition of friends to jettison the earlier demand for the African slot of the two more permanent seats with the veto power in the envisaged expansion of the prestigious body that was also supposed to have five non permanent seats. Now, it is the pursuit of that line of action, which became the real politik at the time, that has now given birth to the recent admittance of the country as a member of the UNSC. With a total of 186 out of a possible 193 votes, Africa’s troubled giant got elected into the body again along side debutant Saudi Arabia, as well as Chad, Lithuania and Chile. It would be the fourth time since independence that Nigeria is being elected to the UN Security Council. It is also the second time (2010-2011 and 2014-2015) that the country will be elected to the Council under the Goodluck Jonathan Presidency. The 15-member Council includes five permanent members with veto power — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France and 10 non- permanent members elected for two-year terms. There were no contested race(s) for the first time in several years and so all five candidates endorsed by regional groups faced no opposition. In the first round of voting by the 193-member General Assembly, Lithuania was the top vote-getter with 187 votes, followed by Nigeria and Chile with 186 votes, Chad with 184 votes and Saudi Arabia with 176 votes. A two- thirds majority of those voting was needed to win. Security Council seats are highly coveted because they give countries a strong voice in matters dealing with international peace and security, in places like Syria, Iran and North Korea, as well as the U.N.’s far-flung peacekeeping operations. All the newly elected members are to resume their posts by January 1st 2014.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 20:33:16 +0000
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