Aliko Dangote warns that prolonged Middle East tensions could drive oil price hikes severe enough to force African countries, including Nigeria, to adopt work-from-home measures similar to the COVID-19 era.
Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has warned that the ongoing Middle East crisis could push Nigeria and other African nations to reintroduce COVID-era work-from-home policies if tensions continue to escalate.
Dangote spoke on Monday after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at his Ikoyi residence in Lagos, highlighting concerns over rising oil prices and their potential impact on already debt-burdened African economies.
Dangote said many Africans depend on daily earnings, making economic shocks particularly dangerous. “If this thing doesn’t de-escalate, you know, normally we in Africa, we don’t have any reserves in terms of savings. And so, people normally go out and look for money for the next day or for even the same day. Some of them, if they don’t work that day, they won’t eat,” he stated.
Citing energy pressures in countries like Indonesia, Dangote noted that some governments have already reduced working days and may shift fully to remote work if conditions worsen. He added that rising energy costs would hit small businesses hardest and urged global intervention to end the conflict while expressing optimism that Tinubu’s recent UK visit could boost investment and infrastructure partnerships for Nigeria.
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