President of Dangote Group- Aliko Dangote on Monday urged de-escalation in the Middle East after meeting with President Bola Tinubu, warning that the conflict’s fallout could deepen economic pain across Africa as global oil prices surge.
Nigeria, though uninvolved in the fighting, would suffer indirectly from the volatility, Dangote said after the meeting in Lagos.
“The world is a global village,” he told reporters. “It definitely will affect us, unfortunately, but we pray this situation will be sorted out.”
Prolonged unrest risks destabilizing African economies already strained by debt and thin fiscal reserves, he added, echoing comments he made earlier to CNN.
“Africa is very busy paying debt, and putting this again on top of us is going to add a lot of hardship on people, on the government, on everybody, for something that we have no involvement in.”
Energy costs ripple through every sector, from small-scale bakers firing generators to industrial operations, Dangote noted.
Rising prices could force governments to hold wages steady while households and businesses absorb the blow.
“People will really feel the pinch — barbers, people who are doing bread, people who have industries,” he said.
He pointed to global responses already underway, like Indonesia’s four-day workweek mandate and remote work policies to curb energy use — measures reminiscent of the Covid era.
“If it doesn’t improve, they will ask everybody not to go to work anymore. If they don’t work that day, they won’t eat. So we just need all hands on deck to pray that this thing comes to an end,” he said.
Dangote praised Prwsident Tinubu’s recent state visit to Britain as a diplomatic coup that bolsters Nigeria’s economic outlook.
The trip yielded a £746 million agreement to upgrade ports and infrastructure — no small feat amid Britain’s own fiscal pressures.
“It’s not that easy dealing with the British, getting this kind of money out of them,” Mr. Dangote said. Beyond the funds, the deal signals renewed investor confidence.
“It’s about the confidence in Nigeria. So the moment that they do that, there will be other countries that will follow suit — Germany will come, others.”
