UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday in New York
announced the appointment of His Royal Highness Muhammadu Sanusi II,
Emir of Kano, as one of his new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Advocates for 2019-2020.
Emir Muhammadu Sanusi |
A statement by UN quoted Guterres as saying that the appointment was
sequel to the UN Member States agreement to accomplish the SDGs by 2030.
The Advocates are 17 influential public figures from around the world
who are tasked by the Secretary-General to promote the Goals, raise
awareness with new audiences, maintain global commitment and call for
greater ambition and scalable action to achieve the SDGs by 2030.
Sanusi is the only Nigerian on the 17- man list of SDG Advocates
co-chaired by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana and Prime
Minister Erna Solberg of Norway.
According to Guterres, the Advocates are tasked with driving the
action, building the ambition, and solidifying global political will of
the SDGs.
“We have the tools to answer the questions posed by climate change, environmental pressure, poverty and inequality.
“They lie in the great agreements of 2015 – the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
“But tools are no use if you don’t use them. So, today, and every
day, my appeal is clear and simple; we need action, ambition, political
will, more action, more ambition and more political will,” said
Guterres.
He further said that the Advocates are to raise awareness, inspire
greater ambition, and push for faster action on the SDGs, which were
adopted by world leaders on Sept. 25 2015.
“They are expected to use their unique platforms and leadership to
inspire cross-cutting mobilisation of the global community to build the
momentum for transformative and inclusive development by 2030.”
The Advocates selected from Governments, entertainment, academia,
sport, business and activist organisations around the world, are also
expected to leverage and build bridges between their unique audiences,
and work together to drive progress.
Co-Chair of the SDGs Advocates group, Prime Minister Erna Solberg of
Norway was also quoted in the statement as saying: “By joining forces to
achieve our goals, we can turn hope into reality – leaving no one
behind”.
On his part, President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who is
also the Co-Chair of the SDG Advocates, called for a united force to
fight poverty globally.
He said: “This is a time of great hope for the world. If we work
smartly together and stay on course, we can raise millions out of
poverty and significantly expand basic social services for many more by
the 2030 end date of the SDGs.”
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