STATEMENT BY H.E. DR. HAJO SANI, AMBASSADOR, PERMANENT DELEGATE OF NIGERIA TO UNESCO, AT THE PLENARY OF THE 220TH SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD
President of the General Conference,
Chairperson of the Executive Board,
Madam Director-General,
Excellencies, Dear Colleagues,
During the last Session of the Board, many of us raised questions on the Summit of the Future and offered to contribute to ensuring the fate of UNESCO’s mandate in its outcomes. Now that global leaders have adopted the Pact of the Future”, the “Global Digital Compact” and the “Declaration on Future Generations”, Nigeria believes it is time to take stock of our collective efforts.
Action one of the Pact is to, interalia, reinstate bold and transformative actions to implement the 2030 Agenda and leave no one behind.
Therefore, apart from its reinforced interdisciplinary ambition and stronger refocus, the likes of Action eleven, aimed to protect and promote culture and sport as integral components of sustainable development, is a victory for UNESCO. Our Delegation is happy to have lent its voice to make this happen.
Excellencies, we join our colleagues to echo concerns about growing crisis and conflicts around the world. Hoping that UNESCO will not relent in scaling up its work in all areas of its mandate.
Nigeria therefore thanks the DG’s for the preliminary proposals of the 43 C/5 and the detailed and positive outlook of its contents. We also note the improvements that make room for a clear results framework. But, we express genuine desire to continuously link our programmatic ambitions to closing the current SDGs delivery gaps, particularly SDG 4. By this, we can continue to benchmark achievements, even beyond 2030.
Furthermore, the 5 programme strategies and 6 Institutional enablers of the proposed C/5 are to strengthen the field offices and align national priorities to mitigate the lack of capacity to deliver. But we are eager to see the mechanism to be deployed for the anticipated connectivity and synergy from the Secretariat to the fields. My Delegation will make further input to the document in the Commissions’ work.
In alignment with the SDGs and the AU Agenda 2063, Nigeria remains committed to achieving more results for its national prosperity in all UNESCO’s areas of mandate.
We are therefore devoted to ensuring that education is protected through stronger engagement in the Safe Schools Initiative (SSI) and related Resolutions. Since the publication of the “Safe Schools Nigeria” document, more than 30 million US dollars has been mobilized by Government to protect schools in Northeast Nigeria, through the SSI Multi Donor Trust Fund and the National Safe Schools Fund. Many children displaced by insurgence have thus benefited from Programmes such as the Student Transfer, School Reconstruction, or Education Strategies within IDP camps. The National Plan on Financing Safe Schools, launched in December 2022, is now being implemented until 2026, just to mention a few.
Media and Information Literacy, for which Nigeria is keenly engaged, formed the component of the Global Digital Compact. While thanking UNESCO for the first stage of the evaluation of our proposal to host a UNESCO Category 2 International Institute for MIL, we appreciate Member States who were quick to endorse the proposal. It is proof of our collective strong will to combat misinformation, disinformation and related menaces to human development. We hope to successfully pass the feasibility study stage for the Board’s consideration at the next session.
On greening education, Nigeria is reinforcing its national commitments, by the recent establishment of the national focal point and coordinating agency overseeing the implementation of the GEP among stakeholders. Initiatives in Greening schools and curriculum are geared to enable climate-smart education policy. School facilities and operations are being upgraded to be climate-proof, and decision making is inclusive with engaged local communities. We aim that fifty percent of schools in Nigeria would be accredited as green schools by 2030.
Madam Chair, Nigeria remains resolute in the pursue, through positive and diplomatic means, the recovery of the Ife Bronze Head. We count on the continued cooperation of the Secretariat, and the governments of Belgium and the United Kingdom in this respect.
On other Agenda Items, we note the report on Human Resources Strategy, particularly the effort to incorporate the recommendations of the last Session. We therefore encourage a quick advancement of the strategy for disability inclusion and will support increased resources to implement the proposals in the 43 C/5.
In addition, the ambition to reinforce action towards a more effective and streamlined Operational Strategy for Priority Africa, both in the current and future dispensations, are noted. Fully engaged in the activities of the Group of Friends, Nigeria is positive about the imports of the Small Action Groups in finding the right synergy to accelerate the Strategy.
Nigeria thanks the Government of Brazil for hosting the Global Education Meeting (GEM) at month-end. The GEM agenda gives us hope to fast track SDG 4 and Nigeria looks forward to the mutual engagement at the Ministerial level.
We shall also fully partake in the 2024 Global Media and Information Literacy Week, thanks to the host Government, Jordan.
Lastly, Nigeria aligns with the statement made on behalf of Group V(a) by the Ambassador of Botswana.
I thank you all.
