How Russia, Ukraine war will affect Nigerians —IMF

Nigeria and other African economies’ recovery is being threatened by the Ukraine, Russia war, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva has warned.

Georgieva said the crisis would hamper Africa’s recovery rate following the setbacks reported during the COVID-19 pandemic which knocked Nigeria, South Africa and others into recession in 2020.

She pointed out on Thursday, during a meeting with ministers of finance, Central Bank governors from African countries and representatives from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), that food and fuel prices in Africa will rise amid the war in Ukraine.

The IMF chief explained that Africa was at a delicate period, and the war would cause far-reaching consequences, considering the unprecedented sanctions meted out by the western countries against Russia.

Ripples Nigeria had reported that Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and in response to defending Ukraine, United States, UK and their allies imposed economic sanctions on Russia.

Read also: RipplesMetrics: CBN withdraws $1.9bn to settle World bank, IMF, China, other debts

Some of the sanctions included disconnecting Russia from SWIFT, a global payment system, freeze on its central bank assets, cancellation of oil and gas deals, suspended trade partnership and closure of western countries’ airspaces to Vladimir Putin’s country.

These sanctions are having a ripple effect on African economies with crude and gas prices skyrocketing. And according to Georgieva, the pains of these policies would be felt through food and fuel prices.

“Just as the global economy and the continent are beginning to recover from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, this new crisis threatens to undo some of that progress”, she said in a statement.

It was further stated that, “Africa is particularly vulnerable to impacts from the Ukraine war through four main channels — increased food prices, higher fuel prices, lower tourism revenues, and potentially more difficulty accessing international capital markets.”

African countries lacking enough policies to tackle effects of Russia, Ukraine war

According to Georgieva, African government’s haven’t drafted enough policies or made reforms needed to navigate the Ukraine crisis and fallout from the sanctions.

“I noted, in particular, significant concerns about the limited domestic policy space to sustainably address the ongoing crises,” the IMF boss said about her discussion during the meeting.

She assured that IMF was ready to support African countries in redoubling “efforts to advance reforms that further promote resilience is a priority for many countries.

“At this difficult moment, the Fund stands ready to help African countries address the repercussions of the war and to help design and implement reforms through our policy advice, capacity development, and lending.” Georgieva said.

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