1 STATEMENT DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, BOLA AHMED TINUBU, GCFR PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE GENERAL DEBATE OF THE 78TH SESSION OF UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 18TH SEPTEMBER 2023 2 Mr. President, Heads of State and Government, Secretary-General, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. President, 1. On behalf of the people of Nigeria, I congratulate you on your well-deserved election as President of this Session of the United Nations General Assembly. 2. We commend your predecessor, His Excellency, Mr. Csaba Korosi (Cha-ba Kor-o-chi) for his able stewardship of the Assembly. 3. We also commend His Excellency, Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, 3 for his work seeking to forge solutions to humanity’s common challenges. 4. This is my first address before the General Assembly. Permit me to say a few words on behalf of Nigeria, on
behalf of Africa, regarding this year’s theme. 5. Many proclamations have been made, yet our troubles remain close at hand. Failures in good governance have hindered Africa. But broken promises, unfair treatment and outright exploitation from abroad have also exacted a heavy toll on our ability to progress. 6. Given this long history, if this year’s theme is to mean anything at all, it must mean something special and particular to Africa. 4 7. In the aftermath of the Second World War, nations gathered in an attempt to rebuild their war- torn societies. A new global system was born and this great body, the United Nations, was established as a symbol and protector of the aspirations and finest ideals of humankind. 8. Nations saw that it was in their own interests to help others exit the rubble and wasteland of war. Reliable and significant assistance allowed countries emaciated by war to
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