Impacts of Russian Diamond Import Sanctions Are 'Huge' on Africa, Nigerian Expert Believes

Since the diamonds are the hardest minerals on Earth and can only be mined in a limited number of places, the impacts of anti-Russian sanctions in the field of diamond import are "very huge," Dr. Mohammed Abubakar Mohammed, Senior Special Assistant on Solid Minerals Development to the executive governor of Kwara State, Nigeria, told Sputnik Africa.

Moreover, these sanctions limit the freedom of choice of other countries, depriving them of the right to negotiate with the partners they want.

"[...] It’s a kind of arrangement that favors them [G7], [but does] not what favors you. [...] The effect of this [sanctions] in Africa is that we will not have [as] many friends as possible that we want to deal with, we want to trade with, and this is not good. We should have our freedom," Abubakar said.

The official also pointed out that the international market is now shrinking, while in his opinion it "should be open for all players."

"That means you are being constrained into what you might not want to do, what might not favor you. And that is what I am saying, globally and economically, the market should be open for all players to play and trade whatever they want to trade," the special assistant noted.

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Are Sanctions Neocolonialism?

Abubakar reckoned that the sanctions are a part of a geopolitical game, as the market players are restricted to getting commodities only from certain players, and also a manifestation of neocolonialism, since they "colonize people's mindset."

"Banning someone or putting a restriction on someone because you want to dominate the market [...], to me, I say it's like politics being played here. And if you look at it in other terms, you can say [that it's] neocolonialism. Yeah, you still want to colonize people's mindset [...]," the speaker said.

Furthermore, these sanctions also represent "the politics of favorism," as the West is only following its interests.

"It's about the politics of favorism and interest. And I think anything about politics is about interest. What played a big interest to the West, they don't want it to have a direct advantage to other nations. They want to safeguard their own continents and then see the best of what they can bring from it [...]," Abubakar pondered.

The G7 countries, in their quest for dominance, imposed the anti-Russian sanctions, which only hindered the growth of the international market, which also negatively affected Africa.

"There is no justification for them making these sanctions because indirectly this affects Africa a lot. Because, you're creating bottleneck [...]: instead of [the market] to widen up, now [it] is closing up. They are creating what I call a bottleneck, and this to me is about politics. It's all about the politics of the region, [that] they want to dominate and how they want to be in total control," the expert believed.

Russia is far from being the only country that has been subject to Western sanctions over the years. Mali, Zimbabwe, Uganda and many other nations are under the oppression, which has a negative impact not only on the development of these states, but also on their neighbors, "creating a problem for the entire African continent," the expert assessed.

"Sanctioning these countries [...] has a very huge social and economic impact on some of these countries. And let me tell you the implication of it: if today Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, Angola, Algeria, Egypt are doing well, [but] Mali, Zimbabwe, [...] Congo are not doing well, the burden still returns to these other countries, that are also struggling. Now, you are not only creating problems for these countries, you are creating [a] problem for the entire African continent," Abubakar argued.

Moreover, such measures are hypocritical, because the West, while imposing sanctions on some African countries, continues to import food products from them.

"If you are sanctioning me because of diamond, and you still want to partner with me, you still want me to supply you food, you still want me to do this, where is the friendship? Where is the friendship?" wondered the expert.

How Can Africa Fight the Sanctions Impact?

The West systematically tried to create discord in Africa, and now, in order to overcome the negative impact of sanctions, the countries of the continent have to unite and choose their partners wisely, the speaker believed.

"Over time, what the West has done to Africa is to create a dichotomy. To create disunity in Africa as a continent as a whole. [...] If Africa really wants to fight this kind of sanctions [...] and the consequences, they need to stick together, they need to love each other first. Then after doing that, when you are united, [...] you need to choose your friends carefully. You need to know who you want to form allies with, which [would] support you," Abubakar gave some advice.

If Africa does all the above-mentioned things, it will grow "beyond imagination," the speaker believed.

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BRICS as an Example of Unity

Speaking about friends and allies and the much-needed unity among countries, Abubakar said that BRICS is a platform where its members "come together" to assess their strengths and weaknesses and help each other grow, adding that he's "eager" to see his country, Nigeria, join the bloc since "it will have a significant positive impact on Africa and other countries that are involved."

In his farewell remarks, Sputnik Africa's guest supported Russia in its African policy, and urged the country to continue to move in the same spirit, recalling the assistance that Russia provided to Nigeria.

"[Russia has been] of great assistance in terms of lots of partnership in agriculture, in the steel sector [...]. We have huge bilateral agreements with Russia [...], so kudos to Russia. To me, there is no limitation to the greatness of what Russia can actually do. And no any threat at all. We are always open to work with the Russia [...]," Abubakar concluded.