By Ola Kay
Nigeria, in consortium with its international partners have led a comprehensive diplomatic push at the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The move is to ensure that crucial challenges are addressed across different areas including education financing, counter-terrorism, migration cooperation, international security, development capital, and global governance reform.
The Nigeria’s delegation, led by Vice President Kashim Shettima and some important cabinet ministers, emphasised that sustainable development across Africa takes a mix of increased domestic resource mobilisation, fairer access to global capital, and strong multilateral partnerships.
At the heart of the conversations was a major joint effort by Nigeria and Italy to mobilise $5 billion for global education through the Global Partnership for Education.
Co-hosting the Multiply Possibility high-level event, both nations highlighted the initiative as a vital compact for human capital.
Nigeria’s VP and leader of delegation stressed the country’s determination to seeing education as a strategic economic investment, while Minister of Defence Gen. Christopher Musa called for continuous support for terrorism victims.
At the same time, Nigeria advanced migration negotiations with the European Union, pledged to restore its leadership in global peacekeeping, and urged global financial institutions to lower borrowing costs for developing nations.
The Group of Four nations strongly backed Africa’s demand for permanent representation on a reformed UN Security Council.
Interestingly, Nigeria and Italy increased commitment to mobilise $5 billion for global education during the Multiply Possibility high-level event held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in a video message to the gathering, declared that the vision of the Global Partnership for Education aligns with his administration’s drive to expand access to quality education, improve learning outcomes, and build teacher capacity across Nigeria.
VPShettima told world leaders that the federal government regards education as a strategic investment in the country’s economic future rather than standard public expenditure.
The VP enumerated several domestic financing initiatives launched since 2023, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, and revealed that the government is channelling recovered Economic and Financial Crimes Commission assets, unclaimed dividends, and dormant funds into education.
He emphasized that international cooperation, such as the joint HOPE-EDU programme with the World Bank and GPE, will complement these domestic resources to reach 29 million children and 500,000 teachers nationwide.
On his part, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni commended Nigeria’s leadership and announced a €50 million pledge from Italy toward GPE programmes.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, GPE Board Chairman Jakaya Kikwete, and education activist Malala Yousafzai in their separate address at the event, called on international financial institutions and global donors to create fiscal window for developing countries, improve teacher training, and prioritise funding for girls’ education.
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