September 23, 2025
By Gideon Maxwell
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s absence at the ongoing United Nations General Assembly meeting and an exclusive interview with the Deputy Secretary General of the world body, Ms. Amina J. Mohammed are some of the highlights coming into focus as former presidential aide and seasoned journalist, Laolu Akande, is covering the single largest gathering of world leaders in New York this week.
During the My Take segment on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels TV, the host of the programme raised concerns over President Bola Tinubu’s decision to miss the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York for the second consecutive year, stressing that Nigeria risks losing diplomatic ground at a time when its voice is critical on global issues.
Speaking from the UN headquarters in New York, Akande declared: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is going to be absent at the United Nations General Assembly for the second time. Currently, Nigeria doesn’t have ambassadors in its well over 100 diplomatic missions across the world, including here at the United Nations. No permanent8 representative since 2024. In diplomacy, presence is power and absence is noticed.”
According to him, the UN General Assembly is not just a routine meeting but the world’s biggest annual diplomatic convergence where presidents, prime ministers and monarchs shape global policy, deepen bilateral ties, and unlock major international deals.
“It was a former US Secretary of State who said, if you are not at the table in the international system, you are going to be on the menu,” Akande said, noting that Nigeria’s absence at such a gathering is already being noticed by other world leaders, hinting that such notice is not in the interest of Nigeria or even Africa, where Nigeria is deemed a natural leading country.
He reminded Nigerians that former President Muhammadu Buhari never missed a single UNGA during his eight years in office, and that presidential attendance makes a tangible difference: “Presidents open doors that vice presidents cannot. A handshake in New York can accelerate deals that might otherwise take years or decades, if ever.”
Although Vice President Kashim Shettima represented Nigeria last year and was widely commended, Akande insisted that it is not the same as the president’s presence.
“The vice president will try his best, he will do it very well. But eight years in the presidency has shown me that the difference between a president and the vice president is not just limited to this spare-tire analogy. It is the difference between life and death,” he emphasised.
The UNGA’s general debate, where heads of state and government deliver their country’s statements, began on September 23 and runs until September 29.
This year, pressing issues such as climate financing, debt relief, international security, and reform of the United Nations Security Council are among theme at the forefront of discussions, areas where Akande argued Nigeria should not only be present but leading.
“Especially now when Africa is pushing for the reform of the United Nations Security Council, with Nigeria likely to be a beneficiary, and when African nations are demanding fairer climate financing, the absence of Africa’s largest economy and most influential president speaks so loudly,” the former presidential aide said.
He further underlined the economic and diplomatic costs of such absences: “With over 200 million citizens and Nigeria’s role as the economic engine of West Africa, we typically command attention here at the UN when the president himself shows up. Doors open faster, and requests to see the president also open faster. But now, he has skipped UNGA for two years in a row.”
While no official reason has been provided for Tinubu’s absence, Akande questioned whether the president was choosing to prioritise domestic challenges over Nigeria’s global role.
He concluded with a warning: “Whatever the reason is, in diplomacy, presence is power and absence is noticed. That is why presidents ought to take such a gathering like that of the United Nations General Assembly very, very seriously.”
In addition to raising these concerns, Akande has also been active as a professional journalist on the ground at the UNGA, demonstrating the same engagement he argues Nigerian leaders should show.
He anchored exclusive interviews within the UN premises with key figures, including the UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, where discussions centred on Africa’s role in global governance, climate action, and sustainable development.
He is also advocating and engaging other high-ranking diplomats and development leaders, pressing them on Africa’s priorities in the current multilateral system, from equitable financing for climate adaptation to stronger African representation in global decision-making.
While his exclusive interview with the UN Deputy Secretary-General was unveiled Monday evening on Africa’s most decorated TV station, Channels TV, Akande also attended the Bill Gates Foundation Goalkeepers event at Jazz @ Columbus Circle, where issues of human capital development were tabled. Besides Gates, other prominent people at the event included former Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, Emir Lamido Sanusi, best selling author and pastor, Rick Warren and the Health Minister of Indonesia Mr. Budi Gunadi Sadikin among others.
Akande, who has been covering the United Nations since the early 1990s, has been a visible media presence in New York, appearing on international television networks as a global expert on the UNGA agenda. He was featured on Monday night on Channels TV Diplomatic Channel programme hosted by Amarachi Ubani discussing the agenda of UNGA at 80.
On the programme, Akande provided in-depth analysis of the week’s proceedings, dissecting the geopolitics of the debates, assessing how Nigeria and the wider African continent are positioned, and explaining what the outcomes could mean for Africa’s development trajectory.
His reporting and insights have amplified African perspectives in conversations often dominated often by the voices of developed nations, underscoring his dual role as both an analyst and a professional journalist documenting the pulse of this year’s Assembly.
