UN General Assembly
2012

Sustainable development and progress are two ultimate aspirations of any nation, and they cannot be achieved without peace and security. Guided by that realization, Nigeria has committed and shall continue to commit itself to the attainment of regional and international peace and security, in close collaboration with the United Nations, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Recently, however, our subregion has suffered some setbacks in terms of unconstitutional change of Governments and the emergence of insurgency, among others. In Mali, the political crisis stemming from that reality has escalated to an insurgency that is threatening the unity of the country. Nigeria and ECOWAS are working in concert to address that threat, which has the potential to spill over into neighbouring countries and destabilize the entire region. Guinea-Bissau is another f lashpoint of instability in the subregion in which Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States are engaged. Indeed, the contact group, headed by Nigeria, was set up by the authority of the Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS to help establish