Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote has stated that the surge in global oil prices has compelled some countries to direct their citizens to work from home as a way of coping with rising energy costs.
Dangote made this known while speaking to journalists following a courtesy visit to Bola Tinubu on Monday after the Eid al-Fitr celebrations.
He warned that if the ongoing Middle East conflict persists, energy prices will continue to climb, stressing that many governments are currently unable to increase workers’ salaries.
“So people will really feel the heat. People like barbers, people who are making bread, people who have industries, who have to fire their own generators,” he said.
“I mean, you can see, in some countries today what they’ve done is ask everybody to work from home because they cannot…
“I think in Indonesia or so, they said 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 did that in the time of COVID-19, where people worked from home.”
Speaking further, Dangote noted that although Nigeria is not directly involved in the conflict, the country will inevitably feel the impact due to the interconnected nature of the global economy.
“But we pray this situation will be sorted out, it’s not going to escalate. If it doesn’t de-escalate, we’ll end up paying big prices,” he said.
He added that Africa is already grappling with heavy debt burdens, warning that the ripple effects of the crisis could further strain both governments and citizens.
“If you look at it now, when you talk about energy, energy affects almost everything and it’s not only energy, some people will try and take a chance and say this an opportunity so let me make money,” Dangote said.
“So I pray, and we all need to pray that this thing de-escalates. If it doesn’t escalate, normally we in Africa, we don’t have any reserves in terms of savings or in terms of…
“People normally go out and look for money for the next day or even for the same day. If they don’t work that day, they won’t eat. So I think really, we just need all hands on deck to pray that this thing comes to an end.”
On March 20, the International Energy Agency advised that reducing road and air travel, adopting remote work where possible, driving at lower speeds, and switching to electric cooking could help cushion the economic impact of the Middle East conflict on consumers.