The wolf is fooled by its own shadow into believing that it is bigger than it is, writes Adekeye Adebajo AS WORLD leaders gathered in New York for their annual diplomatic rituals at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, many presidents from the "global south" called for the reform of the UN’s anachronistic, undemocratic 15-member Security Council. The UN had emerged from the ashes of the Second World War in 1945, and five permanent veto-wielding powers (P-5) — the US, Russia, China, France and the UK — were to act as guarantors of the postwar order. In exchange, non-P-5 members were given more powers over socioeconomic issues and the right to approve the annual budget.The P-5, which is mandated to maintain global peace, however, now accounts for 85% of those arms sales that fuel conflicts. The P-5 has come to resemble several of the characters in Aesop’s Fables. The US is the lion, the king of the jungle, which lays down the law and hunts other beasts. The warmongering lion’s sh...
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