By Rotimi Ojomoyela

A former Deputy Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations, New York, Ambassador Usman Sarki has identified poverty and inequalities as major threats to peace and security worldwide.

Sarki stated this on Wednesday during the 2025 Diplomatic Dialogue Series, which was organised by the Department of International Relations and Diplomacy at Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD).

He noted that the unbridled exploitation of resources, especially in Africa, has left deep cleavages in countries like Nigeria that, if not constructively addressed, could preempt conflicts and severe stresses in the future.

Sarki added that inequalities in wealth, gender, age group, and economic standing are usually the precursors of conflicts, instability and social dislocation.

The former diplomat stated this while delivering his lecture, “The United Nations At 80 Years Of Existence: The Achievements and Challenges in Global Peace and Security in the 21st Century.”

His words, “Rising levels of global inequalities are symptomatic of the unequal global economic system that stresses profits more than social responsibility.

“The unbridled exploitation of resources, especially in Africa, has left deep cleavages in many countries that could become the seeds of conflicts and severe stresses in future if they are not addressed constructively with great perception and sensitivity.

“Inequalities in wealth, gender, age group, and social and economic standings, as well as among regions or states in a country, are usually the precursors of conflicts, instability and social dislocation.

“The deployment of all tools to address them and adoption of relevant implementation strategies globally and nationally to mitigate their impacts must be seen as existential issues that would have to be taken seriously.

“International trade is once more threatened by the reciprocal imposition of tariffs and restriction of privileges accorded by countries to one other, in preferential trade arrangements.

“The United States delivered the opening salvo in these trade wars against China mainly but also extended to other trading partners. Although the impacts of these developments are yet to be felt globally, they nevertheless present threatening prospects towards a global recession and constriction of the open and free trade opportunities that would most likely impact developing countries like Nigeria, which depend largely on imported finished products and export of unprocessed natural resources.

“Under the circumstances, diversifying their economies would become a hugely costly endeavour, especially if capital flows by way of investments become restricted and difficult to access. Trade wars, in their nature, are blunt weapons that cause more harm to all sides involved and have the potential of veering off in all directions, inflicting pain on innocent bystanders as well.”

In his remark, the university’s founder, Aare Afe Babalola, hailed Ambassador Sarki for pointing out the potholes affecting peace and security, saying Nigeria would be a better place if these challenges were effectively addressed.

Vanguard News