Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has raised alarm over the escalating Middle East crisis, urging global powers to step in before the situation worsens
Dangote made the appeal on Monday after meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos, warning that the economic fallout, especially from rising oil prices, could push several countries back to conditions similar to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He noted that the instability in energy markets could force nations, including those in Africa, to adopt measures like remote work, as businesses struggle with increasing operational costs.
“In some countries today, what they’ve done is ask everybody to work from home because they cannot afford it.
“I think in Indonesia, they only go to work four days a week. And they will look at the situation. If it doesn’t improve, they will ask everybody not to go to work anymore. We will do like that time of COVID, where people will now go and work from home,” Dangote said.
He also warned that beyond energy costs, opportunistic pricing could further worsen the situation, putting more pressure on citizens as governments may be unable to adjust wages accordingly.
“It’s not only energy. Some people will try to take a chance and say, ‘Ah, this is an opportunity. So, let me make money. So, if this thing doesn’t de-escalate, it is going to keep going up and governments cannot really now go and add salaries also. So, people will really feel the pinch.”
Dangote stressed that the hardest hit would be everyday Africans running small-scale businesses who rely heavily on fuel to sustain their operations.
“People who are barbers, people who are doing bread, people who have industries who have to pay their own generator, I mean, you can see what is happening.”
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