Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, has issued a clarion call for comprehensive reforms of global multilateral institutions, warning that failure to address systemic challenges is exacerbating global instability.
Speaking at the European Union–African Union Ministerial Follow-Up Committee and the 3rd EU–AU Ministerial Meeting held in Brussels, Tuggar urged world leaders to move beyond rhetoric and embrace bold, structural changes targeting the root causes of insecurity and underdevelopment.
The minister’s remarks were conveyed in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir.
Highlighting pressing global issues such as the proliferation of small arms, the impact of climate change, extremism, irregular migration, and fragile democratic structures, Tuggar cautioned that recycling familiar talking points without decisive action has only deepened these crises.
> “The international framework underpinning multilateralism is more fragile today than ever,” Tuggar remarked, identifying the disruptive influence of non-state actors, disinformation campaigns, and unregulated digital currencies as significant threats to global peace and stability.
Despite mounting challenges, Tuggar reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to multilateral cooperation and underscored the nation’s active participation in initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Nigeria’s involvement in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and ECOWAS-led regional integration efforts as tangible examples of progress.
The minister also reiterated Nigeria’s longstanding advocacy for United Nations reforms, fairer global trade systems, and equitable access to development financing.
“Agencies only survive when they adapt,” Tuggar said, warning that the international community’s reluctance to reform global governance structures has created a dangerous vacuum now exploited by instability and disinformation.
Addressing the rise of populism and the global spread of online hate speech, Tuggar criticized double standards in international responses.
“We were told hate speech in Africa was the price of freedom; when it happens here, arrests follow,” he observed, calling for consistency and integrity in upholding democratic values and free expression.
He concluded his address by urging global leaders to remain truthful, consistent, and accountable in navigating complex global challenges.
“Truth is not a supermarket to be picked or discarded according to taste,” Tuggar declared.
The minister’s call resonates amid growing international debates over the future of multilaterism, global trade, and digital governance.
