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Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Jimoh Ibrahim, has expressed confidence that Nigeria will overcome its security challenges, assuring West African diplomats that the country remains resilient despite ongoing insurgency threats.
Speaking during a meeting with ambassadors and permanent representatives of member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at Nigeria House in New York, Ibrahim said Nigeria’s history of overcoming major national crises provides confidence that the current insecurity challenge can also be defeated.
“Nigeria will surmount insurgency. We survived the civil war and fought Boko Haram. We will overcome our problems,” he said.
The envoy described insecurity across parts of West Africa as a complex challenge rooted in long-standing social and economic grievances, arguing that military action alone would not deliver lasting peace.
According to him, governments across the region must complement security operations with dialogue, economic opportunities, education and community-based interventions to address the underlying causes of conflict.
“Most insurgencies in West Africa persist because we rely mainly on kinetic approaches instead of combining them with non-kinetic solutions,” he said, stressing that broader engagement is needed to resolve what he called “generational grievances.”
Ibrahim also praised the administration of Bola Tinubu, saying the government is pursuing a balanced strategy that combines security measures with democratic governance and dialogue.
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He urged ECOWAS member states to strengthen regional cooperation in tackling security threats, insisting that no country can effectively address terrorism, insurgency and transnational crime in isolation.
“Let’s work together. No country can do it alone. Even America still seeks collaboration and partnership,” he said.
The diplomat further advocated deeper regional integration, including stronger economic cooperation, monetary collaboration and the development of regional institutions capable of driving long-term stability and prosperity across West Africa.
Responding on behalf of the diplomats, Michael Kanu commended Ibrahim’s appointment, describing it as a positive development for Africa’s representation at the United Nations.
Kanu noted that Nigeria has consistently played a leadership role on issues affecting the continent and congratulated Ibrahim on his recent election as chairman of the UN Fifth Committee, one of the organisation’s key bodies responsible for administrative and budgetary affairs.
The meeting also featured Nigeria’s campaign for the election of Esther Eghobamien-Mshelia to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women for the 2027–2030 term.
The engagement marked one of Ibrahim’s first major diplomatic meetings with West African representatives since assuming office as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
