By Olufemi Samson ESEKU
The Israel-Iran conflict, now raging with deadly precision, is not just another regional crisis, it’s a centuries-old feud among ancient cousins, deeply religious and politically rigid. For Africa, and Nigeria in particular, this isn’t our fight. It is not our history. It is not our war. Unlike the First and Second World Wars, when our fathers were forcibly conscripted into battles they didn’t start and didn’t understand, today we stand at a junction of informed neutrality. We have the right to choose peace. We have the right to profit, strategically, economically, diplomatically, from their chaos without adding to the body count.
History must not repeat itself. The global powers that once used Africa as a pawn in their imperial chess games are again repositioning, but this time, we must be smarter. As oil prices skyrocket due to Middle East instability, Nigeria stands on the threshold of opportunity. For decades, we exported crude and imported poverty. Now, with the Dangote Refinery in full swing and modular plants reviving, we are refining more than just fuel, we are refining our destiny.
The present administration’s drive toward industrialization and resource value addition couldn’t have come at a better time. As the world trembles at the brink of escalation, we must double down on self-reliance. The war may close doors for many, but for Nigeria and Africa, it can open the gates of economic emancipation, if we have the vision to seize it. For the first time in decades, our survival does not depend on imports from unstable regions but on our ability to turn local potential into global strength.
Let’s be clear: the war is polarizing the world. The U.S. stands firmly with Israel, insisting it has a right to defend itself. China and Russia, not wanting another Western-led destabilization of the East, have warned against military overreach on Iran. This creates a geopolitical seesaw that could tip toward a larger, more disastrous confrontation. But therein lies Africa’s advantage, while the giants wrestle, we can rebuild undistracted.
Just as COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war forced the world to look inward, Africa too was inadvertently liberated. Those crises pulled the West’s attention away from micromanaging African states. In their absence, grassroots revolutions swept across West Africa. France was booted out of several Sahelian states. Young Africans began to rediscover local solutions, cultural pride, and alternative governance. Now, with this new Middle East conflict, we may again be handed the rare gift of Western distraction.
Nigeria must seize this pivotal moment. With global oil prices on the rise and refined fuel increasingly produced domestically, we are in a rare position to convert this revenue windfall into long-term national gains. Strategic reinvestment in power generation, rail infrastructure, digital innovation, and food processing will not only insulate us from global economic shocks, it will set us on a path to genuine prosperity.
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This is not the time to be distracted by foreign conflicts; rather, it is a call to unite and ignite our national focus. We must also recognize how these shifting global dynamics can disrupt the flow of illegal arms and destabilizing agents, weapons of ethnic division that too often find their way into resource-rich African states. With the major powers preoccupied, the usual architects and sponsors of conflict on our continent may find it harder to spin their narratives or stoke chaos under the radar.
This is not a call to apathy, but to strategy. Let Israel and Iran bleed over history. Let Russia and the U.S. bark across oceans. Let Europe hold emergency summits. Our own emergency is development. Our battlefield is under development. Our victory lies in staying focused on Africa. Because when ancient brothers fight, wise neighbors build markets, not trenches.
Nigeria’s position now must be that of a smart neutral—neither blind follower nor naïve onlooker. Let the world burn its fuel on bombs; we will burn ours to light our industries. If we play this right, Nigeria won’t just survive, we’ll lead. We’ll thrive.
