10 ways in which Nigeria should be looking to cash in on the economic sanctions imposed against Russia

Ayo Akinfe 

[1] With hundreds of airlines cancelling their flights to Russian cities, this planned new Nigerian carrier set to launch next month should try and fill the vacuum

[2] Both Russia and Ukraine are major wheat producers. War would affect their production significantly, so Nigeria should look to expand output and fill the gap in the market

[3] Russia is a major gas supplier to Western Europe. Many of these buyers will cancel their contracts and be in search of new providers. Hello, Nigeria, where are you?

[4] Ukraine alone accounts for almost half of global sunflower oil exports. War would have adversely affected this. Can Nigeria step up production to fill the gap?

[5] Ship owners have begun avoiding Black Sea shipping routes. It is time to provide an alternative West African Atlantic Ocean channel centred around the port of Apapa

[6] Russia and Ukraine lead the global production of metals such as nickel, copper and iron. They are also largely involved in the export and manufacture of other essential raw materials like neon, palladium and platinum. It is time to get the Nigerian solid minerals industry off her knees as the demand will be huge and prices will soar

[7] Do you know that the aerospace industries of the US, Europe and Britain are heavily dependent on supplies of titanium from Russia? Time for Nigeria to step up titanium production. Apparently, we have significant quantities in Ekiti State

[8] About 90% of neon, which is used for microchip lithography, originates from Russia, and 60% of this is purified by one company in Odessa.  Time for Nigeria to join the league of manufacturers ladies and gentlemen

[9]  Russia supplied 7% of US crude oil in 2021. Let us see if they turn to Nigeria as they impose sanctions on Moscow

[10] If oil prices rally as they did say during both Gulf Wars, Nigeria needs to come up with a plan to invest this bonanza.  It may be our last opportunity to gather capital from crude oil before it becomes obsolete as happened to coal. We probably need to raise about $50bn and invest it in economic diversification to end our unholy dependence on crude