In the midst of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, a renowned Nigerian international relations expert, has explained ways Nigeria can benefit from the ongoing tensions.
Speaking with Channels TV, Akinyemi, former Nigerian Foreign Minister and a leading voice in African diplomacy, said the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has opened opportunities for Nigeria to diversify its economy and enhance its position among global energy countries.
According to him, the ongoing has presented Nigeria the opportunity to leverage its vast oil and gas reserves.
He explained that with European nations scrambling for non-Russian energy sources due to U.S. tariffs, Nigeria’s crude oil exports could see a surge in demand, potentially increasing revenues by up to 20% in the short term.
This comes after U.S. President Donald Trump slammed tariffs on India for continuing to purchase discounted Russian oil amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
However, Akinyemi warned that Nigeria must stay out of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and not meddle with the ongoing tensions.
He said: “If Trump decides to do to Europe, to European countries, buying oil from Russia what he has done to India, then Nigerian oil will be at a premium as an alternative to people who don’t want tariffs as a punishment for buying Russian oil.
“So, Nigeria could find itself affected by what has been going on in Europe. We have to watch very closely what’s going to happen. It’s a foreign policy issue, but it can also become a domestic economic issue for a country like Nigeria.
“Especially in a country like Nigeria, we call ourselves the biggest Black power in the world. We should pay very close attention to the implications of what we call ourselves; the Black population of the world looks up to us. And to that extent, we should take ourselves seriously, and we shouldn’t get caught on the side of any of the global powers. We are a medium power, and we should be serious about that.”
Delving deeper into the diplomatic intricacies of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Akinyemi stated that the recent Alaska summit has revealed the winners and losers in global power plays.
According to him, the international community emerged as a primary loser due to the U.S. hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin despite an outstanding International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his arrest.
He continued: “On a military base, for that matter. These are interesting times diplomatically. There are losers, and there are winners. Now, let’s first talk about the losers at the Alaska summit. The first is the international community, because there is an outstanding International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for the arrest of Putin. And yet the United States allowed him on American soil.
“Yes, indeed, the United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court. So, to that extent, the US could claim that it is not legally binding for it to have arrested Putin. But as the most powerful country in the world, its behavior undermined the legitimacy of the ICC. So, the international community is a loser. That’s number one.
“The second loser is Europe. This war is being fought on the soil of Europe, and yet Europe was sidelined; it was not invited to Alaska. The third loser is Ukraine, with Volodymyr Zelensky as the president. He is the other protagonist in this war, and he wasn’t invited to Alaska.
“The fourth loser is the United States itself. I have never, since I’ve been studying diplomacy, heard of a situation where a president will go to a major summit like that and not be prepared. There’s no doubt that Trump acts by impulse, and you don’t act by impulse on a major issue like that.
“The main winner is Putin because Putin, who had been marginalised and sidelined internationally for how many years now, was released from, I would say, the cell of isolation where he was put because he was dodging the ICC warrant. Here, he was being received by the most powerful man in the country, red carpet and everything.”
