How the UN helps the powerful exploit their weak
As Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari addressed the general debate of the 77th United Nations General Assembly (GA) last Wednesday, his family had a big personal holiday in mind.
“Congratulations to Mrs. Zahra B Buhari on graduating with first class honors in Architectural Science,” his wife, Aisha Buhari, wrote about their daughter-in-law on Facebook the day before.
Such moments are a great joy for every family. But the lady was a graduate of a university in the UK. In Nigeria, which Mr. Buhari has ruled for almost eight years, universities have been closed for seven months due to a legitimate teachers' strike for which he simply wants to punish teachers.
Nevertheless, when he stood up to the microphone, Buhari curiously spoke of "enduring values".
"...If my years in public service have taught me anything, it's that we must stay true to those enduring values. These include, but are not limited to, values such as that justice, honor, integrity, unceasing effort and partnership within and between nations.”
It is in such moments that you realize how the UN institutionally betrays the weakest in the world. Yes, the General Debate must have sounded like a wonderful idea four decades ago when the organization was founded: an opportunity for member states to come together and reflect.
"Think about what?" someone on a committee must have asked.
"Emm...emm...on whatever they want!"
"Okay! Whatever they want."
Officially, the organization describes the debate as “an opportunity for member states to raise any topic and statements often reflect issues of importance to the member state.”
If it seemed promising in 1946, when the founding fathers' thoughts were lofty, it is now nothing less than the definition of smoke and mirrors, a device by which the organization anoints the most hypocritical leaders. of the world as they come to launch. like saints and heroes.
Remember: when Buhari spoke at his first general debate in 2015, it was the 70th GA, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, of which the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a part , was being introduced.
Buhari identified the fundamental goals of eradicating poverty and reducing inequality as "precisely at the center of the agenda of the new Nigerian administration". With the SDGs, he said, "we have the opportunity to improve the lives of people not only in the developing world but in all nations."
He boasted that his government was 'tackling head-on the problems we inherited', including 'inequality resulting from massive unemployment and past government policies that favored the few at the expense of the many ".
The following year, he told the 71st Assembly: "The fight against corruption remains a cardinal pillar of our administration. Corruption freezes development, thus jeopardizing the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. I am glad that our efforts in the fight against corruption are yielding positive results, including significant recoveries of stolen assets... We are also strengthening the capacity of government entities to institutionalize reforms to ensure transparency and good governance.”
It was 2016, coincidentally the year Nigeria became the poverty capital of the world. Not only has Buhari also stopped mentioning the SDGs by name, but his government has yet to address poverty and inequality in any structured or serious sense. So much for "the opportunity to improve people's lives..."
When it comes to corruption, the Buhari era has become Nigeria's worst, with countries such as the United States writing warnings against looting in memorandums of understanding to repatriate funds.< /p>
More debilitating has been the corruption in the desecration of values and institutions, and the abandonment of accountability and common decency.
Consider: When Buhari arrived for the GA in 2018, First Lady Aisha had just ordered the arrest of her aide-de-camp, alleging that he had failed to deliver large "gifts" to her from about 2.5 billion naira received as gifts for her. It was the corrupt and the swindler that we made look respectable.
Also consider that in September 2018, Buhari's N45 million APC re-election forms were purchased for him by an unknown group called Nigeria Consolidation Ambassadors Network. It was a gift that the "anti-corruption" leader was happy to collect, in violation of the Code of Conduct for Public Officials in Part 1 of Schedule V of the constitution.
And consider that in January 2020, Buhari gave...
As Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari addressed the general debate of the 77th United Nations General Assembly (GA) last Wednesday, his family had a big personal holiday in mind.
“Congratulations to Mrs. Zahra B Buhari on graduating with first class honors in Architectural Science,” his wife, Aisha Buhari, wrote about their daughter-in-law on Facebook the day before.
Such moments are a great joy for every family. But the lady was a graduate of a university in the UK. In Nigeria, which Mr. Buhari has ruled for almost eight years, universities have been closed for seven months due to a legitimate teachers' strike for which he simply wants to punish teachers.
Nevertheless, when he stood up to the microphone, Buhari curiously spoke of "enduring values".
"...If my years in public service have taught me anything, it's that we must stay true to those enduring values. These include, but are not limited to, values such as that justice, honor, integrity, unceasing effort and partnership within and between nations.”
It is in such moments that you realize how the UN institutionally betrays the weakest in the world. Yes, the General Debate must have sounded like a wonderful idea four decades ago when the organization was founded: an opportunity for member states to come together and reflect.
"Think about what?" someone on a committee must have asked.
"Emm...emm...on whatever they want!"
"Okay! Whatever they want."
Officially, the organization describes the debate as “an opportunity for member states to raise any topic and statements often reflect issues of importance to the member state.”
If it seemed promising in 1946, when the founding fathers' thoughts were lofty, it is now nothing less than the definition of smoke and mirrors, a device by which the organization anoints the most hypocritical leaders. of the world as they come to launch. like saints and heroes.
Remember: when Buhari spoke at his first general debate in 2015, it was the 70th GA, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, of which the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a part , was being introduced.
Buhari identified the fundamental goals of eradicating poverty and reducing inequality as "precisely at the center of the agenda of the new Nigerian administration". With the SDGs, he said, "we have the opportunity to improve the lives of people not only in the developing world but in all nations."
He boasted that his government was 'tackling head-on the problems we inherited', including 'inequality resulting from massive unemployment and past government policies that favored the few at the expense of the many ".
The following year, he told the 71st Assembly: "The fight against corruption remains a cardinal pillar of our administration. Corruption freezes development, thus jeopardizing the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. I am glad that our efforts in the fight against corruption are yielding positive results, including significant recoveries of stolen assets... We are also strengthening the capacity of government entities to institutionalize reforms to ensure transparency and good governance.”
It was 2016, coincidentally the year Nigeria became the poverty capital of the world. Not only has Buhari also stopped mentioning the SDGs by name, but his government has yet to address poverty and inequality in any structured or serious sense. So much for "the opportunity to improve people's lives..."
When it comes to corruption, the Buhari era has become Nigeria's worst, with countries such as the United States writing warnings against looting in memorandums of understanding to repatriate funds.< /p>
More debilitating has been the corruption in the desecration of values and institutions, and the abandonment of accountability and common decency.
Consider: When Buhari arrived for the GA in 2018, First Lady Aisha had just ordered the arrest of her aide-de-camp, alleging that he had failed to deliver large "gifts" to her from about 2.5 billion naira received as gifts for her. It was the corrupt and the swindler that we made look respectable.
Also consider that in September 2018, Buhari's N45 million APC re-election forms were purchased for him by an unknown group called Nigeria Consolidation Ambassadors Network. It was a gift that the "anti-corruption" leader was happy to collect, in violation of the Code of Conduct for Public Officials in Part 1 of Schedule V of the constitution.
And consider that in January 2020, Buhari gave...
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