Nigeria has demanded a funding system that will guarantee developing nations fair
access to capital so they can satisfy their development goals.
At the present Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) countries in Kampala, Uganda,
President Bola Tinubu made the call.
During the meeting, Tinubu said that although the 120 nations that comprised the NAM
collectively accounted for about 4.4 billion people or around 55% of the global population,
their combined financial resources were far smaller than those of certain other nations.
He stated: “The combined budgetary resources of the 120 nations are less than $3.5 trillion,
which is less than the US budget by itself. Less than $6.6 trillion in total public debt, largely
at higher interest rates and shorter terms, is around one-sixth of the debt of one or a small
number of developed nations.”
The shocking statistics, according to the President, who was represented at the conference
by Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, is unequivocal proof that the
NAM countries were deprived of funding and other resources necessary for development.
“Public debt available to poor countries is typically significantly more expensive and
insufficiently large to have a significant impact. Thus, in order to give the global south access
to sufficient financial resources, we want to support a financing system and fair capital
market access,” he stated.
Tinubu enumerated the problems affecting the globe now, such as terrorism, growing
inequality, conflict and war, and climate change.
“All of these are taking place while we struggle to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. These
multifaceted difficulties are too big for one nation to handle,” he said.
He emphasized that in order to successfully accomplish sustainable development goals,
member states needed to work together more.
The President said that the theme, “Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence,”
was pertinent given the present trend of wars, the spread of small arms and light weapons,
the possibility of nuclear war, and the dangerous polarization among industrialized nations
that resembles the Cold War era.
The President argued, “In this regard, we must recommit to the fundamental principles of
NAM to better assure global peace and security.”
