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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called on Nigeria to champion Africa’s drive for a restructured global system, telling Vice President Kashim Shettima on the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Ethiopia that the country’s combination of population size, natural resources, and democratic credentials makes it the continent’s strongest candidate for superpower status.
The remarks were made Friday during a bilateral meeting between Guterres and Shettima at the 39th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa. Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar attended alongside the Vice President, while UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, a Nigerian national, was also present on the UN side.
Shettima was representing President Bola Tinubu, who did not travel to Addis Ababa for the summit.
“Given Nigeria’s demographic strength, democratic continuity and deep resource base, the country stands a real chance of leading Africa to becoming the next superpower in the evolving global architecture,” Guterres said, according to a statement issued by the Vice President’s spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha.
The UN chief praised the Tinubu administration’s economic reform program, crediting it with strengthening Nigeria’s standing on the continent. “Nigeria’s bold economic restructuring and security commitments have strengthened its continental standing,” Guterres said, also commending the country’s stabilization efforts across the Sahel and within the Economic Community of West African States despite persistent domestic security pressures.
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The bilateral session covered a broad range of shared priorities including global economic growth, peace and security, climate action, sustainable development, and coordinated humanitarian response across Africa. Both sides agreed to maintain regular engagement and explore joint programs that could accelerate progress in areas including education, public health, and renewable energy.
Shettima reciprocated with a reaffirmation of Nigeria’s commitment to multilateral engagement. “We remain committed to multilateralism and to deepening our partnerships with the United Nations and other global institutions,” the Vice President said.
He used the meeting to press Nigeria’s longstanding demand for permanent representation on the United Nations Security Council, arguing that the current structure of the body no longer reflects global demographic and economic realities. “Africa must have stronger representation in global decision-making structures,” Shettima said, declaring that “Nigeria deserves a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.”
Nigeria has for decades been among the most vocal proponents of Security Council reform. Africa currently holds no permanent seat on the 15-member body, despite representing the largest bloc of UN member states. Reform efforts have repeatedly stalled over disagreements among the five permanent members on expanding the council.
Shettima also highlighted Nigeria’s ongoing domestic reforms aimed at strengthening governance, attracting foreign investment, and expanding opportunities for youth, saying these efforts aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
On the sidelines of the same summit, Nigeria secured a permanent seat on the board of the African Central Bank, a development that officials said reinforced the country’s claim to continental leadership in economic governance.
The AU Summit, running from February 13 to 14 in Addis Ababa, brought together heads of state and government from across the continent alongside international observers and partner delegations. The gathering took place against a backdrop of shifting global dynamics, with major powers increasingly competing for influence across Africa through trade agreements, infrastructure investment, and security partnerships.
Guterres has used his tenure as UN Secretary-General, now in its second term, to advocate for a more equitable global order, calling for reform of international financial institutions and multilateral governance structures to better serve developing nations. His remarks to Shettima reflect consistent themes in his public diplomacy, though the explicit framing of Nigeria as a future African superpower carries particular weight given the country’s troubled record of translating its strategic potential into sustained influence.
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Nigeria remains Africa’s largest economy by gross domestic product and its most populous nation, with over 220 million people. It is also the continent’s largest oil producer and a major contributor to African Union and UN peacekeeping operations.
However, persistent challenges including insecurity across the north and southeast, high inflation, foreign exchange instability, and infrastructure deficits have limited the country’s capacity to project the kind of sustained leadership its strategic assets would otherwise support.
Tinubu’s administration has staked its credibility on an economic reform agenda that includes removal of costly fuel subsidies, unification of exchange rate windows, and efforts to broaden the tax base. The reforms have generated both hardship and cautious optimism, with international institutions including the International Monetary Fund acknowledging progress while noting that their social costs remain significant.
Both Guterres and Shettima pledged continued cooperation, with the UN Secretary-General reaffirming institutional support for Nigeria’s reform agenda and its expanding role in African peace and security architecture.
