Nigeria has expressedgratitude for the "solidarity of the entire African bloc" after the country waselected to a United Nations Security Council non-permanent seat Thursday.
Foreign minister Ojo Maduekwe hailed the election, saying preventive diplomacywill be central to Nigeria's approach to issues.
Nigeria was elected with 186votes along with its West African member country Gabon which received 184votes.
Nigeria, haspreviously served three terms in a U.N. Security Council non-permanent seat,most recently between 1994 and 1995.
However this will be Gabon's first timeserving.
Professor Kabir Mato, head of the politicalscience department at the University of Abuja said that Nigeria worked tirelessly for the UN honor.
"It'sa lot in the sense that Nigeria as a responsible member of the United Nationsorganization desires to have quite a lot of its foreign policy aims andobjectives actualized through not just being an ordinary member but above that,playing a more serious role in the determination of the trend in internationalcycles," Matosaid.
He described Nigeria'selection as tactical.
"It is quite a verystrategic achievement, and if properly used, I do believe sincerely that Nigeria will be able to impact positively bypushing through some very cogent economic and political issues that will notonly affect Nigeria as a country, but above all Africa and the rest of the third world in general," he said.
Mato said Nigeria previouslyserved when there weren't calls for UN reforms.
"This is the first timeNigeria is occupying that seat on the threshold of the envisaged reform of theUnited Nations organization. The previous times that Nigeria organized thatseat, the question of reforming the United Nations wasn't an item on theagenda. But it is now an item on the agenda," Mato said.
He said the Abuja governmentcould play a pivotal role in the U.N Security Council.
"I do believe that if thecountry will play its role lucratively, very well, it will apparently boost itschances of becoming one of the representatives of Africa in the event thatAfrica will have more than one representative," he said.
Mato said Nigeria has alwaysemployed "citizen diplomacy" in its interactions with the world.
"The central objective ofNigeria's foreign policy objectives today is? citizen diplomacy? Nigeria'sforeign policy since independence has always been fashioned along the way oftaking Africa as a centerpiece, but also projecting this image, projecting thisobjective on the basis of perhaps the quantum benefits that are likely accrue,not just to Nigerian citizens but those within West Africa as well as theAfrican continent," said Mato.
He praised foreign ministerOjo Maduekwe for playing a central role in Nigeria's election.