Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, has urged de-escalation of the Middle East conflict, warning that a prolonged crisis could worsen economic hardship in Africa.
“If it doesn’t de-escalate, we’ll end up paying high prices… Africa is very busy paying debt, and putting this again on top of us is going to add a lot of hardship on people,” he said after meeting President Bola Tinubu in Lagos, the nation’s commercial capital, on Monday, March 23.
“It means quite a lot. We don’t have much to do with it, but I know the world is a global village. And it definitely will affect us, unfortunately, but we pray this situation will be sorted out,” he said.
Dangote highlighted the impact on energy costs, saying, “Energy costs are central to nearly all sectors of the economy, meaning sustained increases would have widespread and cascading effects on livelihoods and production”.
On a positive note, Dangote praised Tinubu’s UK state visit as a “major boost for Nigeria’s economic prospects”, citing a £746m agreement to improve infrastructure.
