Thesis Abstract

<p> The demand for the reform of the United Nations is due to the evolving international system.<br>The international system has gone through such a rapid transformation to the extent that the<br>UN structures as they were at the time of its establishment are making the UN not to function<br>effectively as expected by majority of its members. Hence, the argument that the Security<br>Council membership is expanded to include major financial contributors and the equitable<br>representation of the regional spread. There is every indication that Nigeria has all it takes to<br>represent Africa in an enlarged Security Council. But considering the vagaries associated with<br>international politics a lot still need to be done by Nigeria to garner overwhelming support from<br>Africa to enable her emerge as a consensus candidate for Africa. This work examined Nigeria’s<br>quest for a permanent seat in the security council of the United Nations and the possibility of<br>Nigeria representing Africa in an enlarged security council.<br>This paper research work was able to find out the reasons for the sudden clamour for the<br>democratization of the United Nations Security Council and the possibility of Nigeria being<br>accepted into this seat. This paper adopted the Neo- realism, Liberalism and Veto power theory<br>as a frame work for the analysis of Nigeria’s quest for a permanent seat in the Security Council<br>and the democratization of the Security Council. <br></p>

Thesis Overview

<p> </p><p>INTRODUCTION<br>1.1 Background of the Study<br>The united nations in the last few years undergone serious reforms among which is the<br>resolution to increase the membership of the non permanent members of the security council in<br>which the African continent has been allotted two slots Nigeria was a serious contender of one of<br>those slots in which it was able to get. Currently no African state is a permanent member of the<br>security council and this is a major reason why Africa was allotted two slots in the non<br>permanent members of the security council been that Africa is the second most populated<br>continent in the world behind Asia.<br>One of the biggest achievements of Nigeria in her fifty four years of independence is being a<br>non permanent member of the Security Council. The current reform of the United Nations is<br>golden opportunity which Nigeria cannot afford to miss. Being a member of this exclusive club<br>will be recognition of the country s strength, economic and strategic importance and political<br>maturity. Despite all her short comings, Nigeria has emerged biggest democracy on the African<br>continent. The return of the country to the part of democracy after years of successive military<br>regime has increased its legitimacy in internal affairs. Nigeria has contributed immensely too<br>many peace keeping operations around the world.<br>If these and other credentials are to yield the desired result the country must contend with the<br>slow pace of economic recovery, the challenges posed by other serious African contenders<br>particularly Egypt and South Africa.</p><p>In the 21st century, the world has indeed become a ‘’global village’’ what happens in one<br>remote corner of the world is quickly known by others at the farthest and remotest corner. The<br>consequences also spread fast and given the asymmetrical nature of the world, they have<br>different and varying impact. This accounts for the reason why United Nations permanent<br>members are reluctant towards the admission of an African state as permanent member of the<br>Security Council because of the existence of so many short coming<br><strong>HISTORY OF THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL</strong><br>The year was 1945 was the second war enveloping much of the globe in the last 30 years was<br>coming to an end. In this environment, representatives from China, Great Britain, the Soviet Union,<br>and the United States met at the Dumbarton Oaks mansion in Washington D.C. for the initial<br>discussions that would lead to the creation of the United Nations. The representatives were well aware<br>of the guiding principles of the League of Nations, and also of its multiple failures. Though many felt<br>that the League of Nations had the capacity to discuss significant international affairs, the body was<br>not constructed in a manner which was able to produce successful measures to deter aggression and<br>prevent conflict. Firstly, the United States, by now a prominent global power, did not join the<br>organization, although the organization was originally the Woodrow Wilson’s, the president of the<br>United States at the time, idea after World War I. This handicapped the League from the beginning by<br>preventing it from achieving maximal financial backing and international political support. Secondly,<br>there was no clear division of duties between the League’s Assembly and Council committees. Thus,<br>tasks were often mismanaged. Additionally, all resolutions required a unanimous vote to pass, a rarity<br>in the arena of international politics. Since there was no clear sense of collective security, individual<br>Member States of the League continued the policy of pursuing narrowly defined interests of their own<br>country’s foreign policy. In 1945, the nations represented at Dumbarton Oaks were mindful of these,…</p><p><strong>1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM</strong><br>Existing literature A.S Akpotor and P.E Agbeka in his book ‘ Nigeria’s quest for a permanent<br>seat in the security council’ and Sokore Collins ‘ Nigeria’s UN Seat Bid And the Tsunami<br>Gyration Gang’ have attempted to present both the advantages and the disadvantages that are<br>inherent in Nigeria’s bid for a permanent seat of or at the UNSC. These they have done without<br>paying adequate regards to the complex implications, which may not necessarily be negative,<br>that the bid could attract to Nigeria. Really Nigeria’s attempts at assisting the United Nations in<br>finding solutions to some of the numerous politico-security challenges that had happened in<br>some regions of the international system, and her contribution to several of Africa countries,<br>present her as about the best African candidate for a permanent seat at UNSC. However, the<br>groundswell of anomie within her confines and the grave ignominy in which she is held by some<br>of her neighbors, no thanks to the fraudulent activities of some of her citizens in diasporas and<br>some of the elites that are wont to siphon and launder funds from the governmental coffers, seem<br>capable of hurting her candidature. In view of this, one notes that the existing literature have<br>mostly paid attention to the advantages and/or disadvantages that her candidature would<br>engender, with distasteful disregard for the implications therein. Without grappling issues with<br>extant literature therefore, this study seeks an interrogation of the fallouts that would be<br>engendered by Nigeria’s candidature for a permanent seat at UNSC.</p><p><strong>1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY</strong><br>During the course of this work it will research on the enlightenment of Nigerians on what<br>we stand to gain by being a member of the permanent seat of the UN Security Council. Its<br>implications on our finances and the responsibility this post is going to impose on Nigeria as a<br>nation and also as the ‘Giant’ of Africa. It will be analyzing the reasons why Nigeria is likely to<br>get the seat despite the fact that it’s competing against strong nations such as South Africa and<br>Egypt.<br><strong>1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS</strong><br>The scope of my research would seek to answer the following questions;<br>1. Is there any likelihood that the UNSC would be restructured in order to accommodate new<br>permanent members?<br>2. Is Nigeria’s quest for a permanent seat a way to go for Africa or is such aspiration meant to<br>satisfy some egocentric interests?<br>3. Will Nigeria’s acceptance into the Security Council solve the problem of insecurity in Africa,<br>and in particular, that within her confines?<br>4, Will Nigeria play a better role in the Security Council than other nations in Africa?<br><strong>1.5 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY</strong><br>The specific objectives of the study are to:<br>a) Identify the reasons that underlie the sudden clamor for the democratization of the<br>permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council<br>b) Examine the complex dimensions of relations that Nigeria’s bid for the hallowed<br>membership might be engendered</p> <br><p></p>