By Nkiruka Nnorom

The Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, NIIA, Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, has criticised the continued exclusion of Africa from global discussions on nuclear weapons, saying the continent cannot afford to be sidelined in decisions that affect its future.

Speaking at the NIIA’s Foreign Policy Lecture Series, themed: “From Instrumentis Belli to Causas Bellorum, in Lagos, Osaghae described the trend of sidelining African voices as insulting and outdated.

“For many of us, the worst part is nuclear discussions. We are told the matter is too serious to be left to Africans.

“It is us who must lead the way. We have the right to discuss it, not for others to decide for us,” he said.
He cited the case of South Africa, recalling that the country was forced to dismantle its nuclear programme before the end of apartheid over fears that a black-majority government could not be trusted with the technology.
Osaghae said such examples showed how Africa’s role was deliberately reduced in global security matters and warned that Africa could not continue to wait for others to “take us through the nose and direct us the way black people were attempted.”
He stressed that rising tensions over nuclear weapons had global consequences, and Africa would not escape the fallout if a conflict broke out.
“When rain falls, it doesn’t matter whose roof you’re under. We are all at the receiving end,” he said.
He urged African scholars and policymakers to take charge of the conversation, insisting that the continent had the expertise to contribute meaningfully.
“We are part of this nuclear weapons debate. When people talk about Iran, we talk about all these countries. Today, we are in for a very important subject,” he said.
Otubanjo warns of using proliferation as excuse for war
Delivering the lecture, Femi Otubanjo, Professor of Political Science and research professor at the NIIA warned that nuclear-armed countries must not use the issue of proliferation as a pretext to start a war, saying the fallout would affect every nation, including Nigeria.
He said the world must keep pressure on nuclear states to avoid escalation, arguing that “nuclear war is not something that has to be started because it’s like an ill will.”
On the current tensions around Iran, he said the real motive behind U.S and Israeli pressure was not nuclear weapons but weakening Iran’s regional influence.
“Israel wants to destroy every major Arab country that can give substance to the Palestinian effort. Israel does not want Iran to have nuclear weapons because it wants a weak Iran,” he said.
Otubanjo added that America appeared to be “playing the Israeli game,” noting that President Donald Trump was the only U.S. president in the last 14 years to succumb to pressure to attack Iran.
He pointed to Israel’s military actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen as part of the broader strategy to ensure Iran does not provide support for Palestinian nationalism.
The don stressed that a full-scale nuclear conflict would not spare countries far from the conflict zone.
“If America and Russia are fighting, we will not be destroyed by the explosion. We are too far away but we will be affected by the blockage of the rays of the sun,” he explained.
He said nuclear dust and radiation would disrupt agriculture, trigger food shortages and cause an “artificial winter,” citing COVID-19 as proof that disasters travel on the wind.
“Nigeria doesn’t talk about it because our problems are too many. We don’t have electricity, we don’t have water, we don’t have good hospitals but if there’s a nuclear war, we will all be victims,” he said.
“Nigeria has a role in putting pressure through the United Nations, through bilateral relations, on countries that are involved in nuclear conflicts so that it doesn’t escalate,” he stated.
He cautioned that some countries were using proliferation as an excuse to fight, warning that escalation could spiral out of control.
“In the process of trying to control the spread of nuclear weapons, we don’t want to start a nuclear war. Once you start a war, you don’t know how it will end. That will be a catastrophe for all of us,” he said.