By Atoyebi Nike
President Bola Tinubu has declared that terrorists despise Nigeria because the nation chooses tolerance over tyranny, warning that violence never ends where it begins.
Delivering Nigeria’s national statement at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Wednesday, Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented Tinubu, said extremist groups sought to divide humanity with toxic rhetoric.
“We are despised by terrorists because we choose tolerance over tyranny. Their ambition is to divide us and to poison our humanity with a toxic rhetoric of hate,” Shettima stated.
Tinubu stressed that Nigeria’s stand against violence stemmed not only from adherence to international law but also from bitter domestic experiences with insurgency. “Our difference is the distance between shadow and light, between despair and hope, between the ruin of anarchy and the promise of order,” he said.
On the Israel-Palestine crisis, Nigeria reiterated its support for a two-state solution as the most dignified path to peace. “The people of Palestine are not collateral damage in a civilisation searching for order. They are human beings, equal in worth, entitled to the same freedoms and dignities that the rest of us take for granted,” Shettima declared.
Turning to domestic reforms, Shettima said peace required tough economic choices. He explained that the government had taken steps to remove distortions such as subsidies and currency controls, while prioritising growth and prosperity.
He also called on the UN to reassess the best use of scarce global resources, particularly in tackling climate change, which he described as a security issue with implications for migration and stability.
The 80th UNGA session began on September 9 and runs until September 28, with more than 150 world leaders expected to address the General Debate.
