President Bola Tinubu has renewed Nigeria’s demand for reforms to the United Nations Security Council and international financial system, arguing that the institutions governing the global order must better reflect contemporary economic and demographic realities.
Tinubu made Nigeria’s position known at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, where he was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
The President said Nigeria supports a more representative and equitable global governance system and wants cooperation with BRICS to move beyond political declarations towards measurable economic outcomes.
The intervention strengthens Nigeria’s attempt to use its relationship with the expanded BRICS grouping to advance longstanding African demands for greater influence in institutions established when the global balance of power looked substantially different.
Nigeria Wants Stronger Global South Representation
Reforming the UN Security Council has been a recurring African foreign-policy objective.
Despite having 54 member states in the United Nations, Africa has no permanent seat on the Security Council.
Nigeria has long argued that this arrangement does not adequately reflect the continent’s population, diplomatic importance or growing economic weight.
At the BRICS summit, Tinubu linked that issue to the wider structure of international finance.
Nigeria wants developing economies to have greater influence over institutions that affect global finance, development and investment.
Tinubu said BRICS provides an important platform for amplifying the voice of the Global South and called for institutions that better reflect current economic and demographic realities.
Abuja Wants BRICS Investment
Nigeria’s message was not limited to institutional reform.
Tinubu invited BRICS countries and investors to increase their involvement in Nigeria across trade, agriculture, food security, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, healthcare and critical minerals.
The Federal Government particularly wants partnerships that include technology transfer, local value addition, industrial capacity and employment rather than investment limited to the extraction or sale of commodities.
That position reflects a recurring theme in the administration’s industrial strategy.
Nigeria wants to capture a larger share of the value generated from its raw materials and domestic market.
For example, exporting an unprocessed mineral produces significantly less domestic economic activity than processing the mineral locally and incorporating it into manufactured products.
The same principle applies across agriculture and energy.
Nigeria Positions Itself as Gateway to Africa
Tinubu also urged BRICS investors to view Nigeria as a potential gateway into the wider African market under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Nigeria is particularly championing the AfCFTA’s digital-trade protocol as it seeks to expand opportunities for technology companies and digitally delivered services.
The President said Nigeria supports rules-based multilateral trade, e-commerce and digital trade.
That position could become increasingly important as African countries attempt to turn the AfCFTA from a trade agreement into a functioning continental market.
Nigeria’s population and large consumer economy provide it with an advantage, but infrastructure bottlenecks, border processes and regulatory differences across African economies remain significant obstacles.
AI and Technology Move Up Diplomatic Agenda
Technology was another major component of Nigeria’s presentation.
Tinubu identified artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure, fintech, telecommunications, cybersecurity, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing as areas where Nigeria wants deeper cooperation with BRICS partners.
He pointed to domestic initiatives including the 3 Million Technical Talent programme, Project BRIDGE and national AI programmes as evidence of the government’s effort to build a larger technology workforce.
This is significant because Nigeria’s relationship with major emerging economies is increasingly moving beyond conventional trade in oil and physical goods.
China and India are already major technology and commercial partners, while BRICS expansion provides Nigeria with opportunities to build relationships with additional markets.
From Diplomacy to Delivery
Nigeria’s participation in BRICS does not automatically guarantee increased investment or greater influence in international institutions.
Reforming the UN Security Council, in particular, requires agreement among countries whose existing privileges would be affected by expansion.
The economic side could move faster.
Partnerships involving infrastructure, technology, energy, manufacturing and critical minerals can be negotiated bilaterally even while wider institutional reforms remain unresolved.
That makes Tinubu’s demand that BRICS move from “dialogue to delivery” particularly relevant.
For Nigeria, the value of closer engagement with BRICS will ultimately be measured not by the number of summits attended but by whether those relationships generate investment, technology transfer, stronger trade links and employment.
The New Delhi summit gives Abuja another opportunity to make that case while simultaneously positioning Nigeria as one of the African countries seeking a greater role in shaping the international economic order.
