A former Deputy Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations, New York, Ambassador Usman Sarki, has
warned that the United States’ trade wars against China and other trading partners could lead to a global recession and constriction of open and free trade.

Sarki stated this during the 2025 Diplomatic Dialogue Series organised by the Department of International Relations and Diplomacy in Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD).

The former diplomat who stated this while delivering his lecture titled “The United Nations At 80 Years Of Existence: The Achievements and Challenges in Global Peace and Security in the 21st Century,” noted that the development would impact on developing countries like Nigeria, that depend largely on imported finished products and export of unprocessed natural resources.

“Under the circumstances, diversifying their economies would become a hugely costly endeavour, especially if capital flows by way of investments become restricted and difficult to access,” Sarki said.

“Trade wars, in their nature, are blunt weapons that cause more harm to all sides involved and have the potential of veering off in all directions, inflicting pain on innocent bystanders as well.

“The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) adopted under the auspices of the African Union (AU) at the Niamey Summit, will mature only in the fullness of time, and will become evident in the way the African Union structures trade initiatives across the Continent.”

Sarki said that the continued existence of the separate trading and economic blocs in the continent, notably ECOWAS and SADC, and other similar groupings, would have to be reconciled with the new order, since the aim of the AfCFTA is to achieve seamless trading relations in the continent.

He noted that the unbridled exploitation of resources, especially in Africa, has left deep cleavages in countries like Nigeria that could preempt conflicts and severe stresses if not addressed.

Sarki added that inequalities in wealth, gender, age group, and economic standings are usually the precursors of conflicts, instability, and social dislocation.

“The deployment of all tools to address them and adoption of relevant implementation strategies globally and nationally to mitigate their impacts must be seen as existential issues that would have to be taken seriously.”

In his remark, the founder of the University, Aare Afe Babalola, hailed Ambassador Sarki for pointing out the potholes affecting peace and security, saying Nigeria would be a better place if these challenges were effectively addressed.