AU Must Prioritise Diplomacy, Says Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima has called on the African Union (AU) to strengthen diplomacy as the foremost tool for conflict prevention and resolution across the continent, warning that external interference undermines Africa’s collective security framework.

Speaking on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at a meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York, Shettima emphasised that peace support operations, while crucial, come at significant financial cost and cannot substitute long-term diplomatic engagement.

“Our continent must continue to maintain a diplomatic approach in its conflict prevention and resolution endeavours,” Shettima told the Council. He urged that future AU and UN-mandated peace operations embed political strategies that tackle the root causes of conflict, while strengthening national and local institutions to manage shocks and tensions.

The Vice President also criticised the proliferation of external actors in African crises, including foreign military forces, mercenaries, and contractors, which he said contradict Africa’s common defence and security policy. He called for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of foreign forces from AU member states.

Shettima further urged expedited efforts to operationalise the African Standby Force, noting that effective deployment would give the AU greater autonomy in managing conflicts. He also advocated for closer coordination with regional economic communities to avoid fragmented interventions.

“It’s our view that conflict prevention and resolution on the continent is a matter of solidarity, and working in silos should be avoided completely,” he said.

Earlier, Mr. Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, the UN Special Representative to the AU, echoed concerns about rising armed conflicts and shrinking funding for peace efforts. He advised member states to strengthen their own national peacebuilding and conflict prevention mechanisms, stressing that “prevention must start at home.”

In a related engagement in New York, Vice President Shettima also described education as the “public investment with the highest returns,” highlighting its role in reducing poverty, unemployment, and fragility. Speaking at a high-level event co-hosted by Nigeria, Italy, and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), he urged greater international funding for quality education, noting that GPE has mobilised billions of dollars in grants and co-financing to expand access to learning.

Shettima reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to expanding early childhood education, training teachers, and supporting marginalised regions, while appealing for predictable donor support to sustain transformative gains in Africa’s education sector.