In an address at the 7th African Union–European Union Summit in Luanda, Angola, President Bola Tinubu has advocated for African sovereignty, rejecting external security shortcuts while demanding a fundamental reform of global governance.
Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima during the plenary session on ‘Peace, Security, Governance and Multilateralism,’ President Tinubu established a clear doctrinal position against the involvement of private military and security contractors in African conflict zones. He argued that their deployment not only complicates resolution efforts but actively undermines state sovereignty, asserting that the continent’s security challenges require coordinated, state-led responses through established bodies like ECOWAS and the African Union.
Expanding his critique of the global order, President Tinubu highlighted the issue of structural inequality in international institutions. He issued a call for Africa to secure permanent seats at the United Nations Security Council, “with all attendant privileges, including the veto.”
He urged the European Union to support this agenda, emphasizing that “genuine text-based negotiations under the Intergovernmental Negotiations framework must now commence.”
The President further called for EU partnership in preventing unconstitutional changes of government and countering extremist narratives, using the devastating conflict in Sudan—which has caused over 40,000 deaths and displaced 12 million—as a stark warning of the consequences of external interference and instability.
Tinubu reaffirmed Nigeria’s readiness to collaborate, with the crucial stipulation that all peace and security initiatives must be “co-created with African stakeholders and anchored in local ownership.”
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