Gulf war has again exposed Africa's economic vulnerability

The Strait of Hormuz has brought to the fore its importance this week as countries grapple with the possibility of fuel shortages due to the ongoing war between the United States and Iran. Kenya appears to be among the affected countries, as refined fuel coming from the Middle East cannot, at the moment, go through the corridor.

For many, the concept of where fuel comes from and how it travels is a foreign one. The current conflict reminds us that Africa has been reduced to a producer of raw materials, which it does not convert into finished products, but instead has to import all consumables that it needs.

Africa’s persistent positioning as a consumer rather than a producer is not at all accidental. It is the result of a long historical process shaped by colonial extraction, which positions the continent as a site of production of raw materials, which more industrialised nations then go ahead to refine. In moments of global crisis, this structural dependency is laid bare, exposing the fragility of African economies and the urgent need to re-centre production as a pathway to sovereignty.

Colonial economies were deliberately designed to extract value from African territories and ship them to industrial centres in Europe. Concurrently, local industries were suppressed or never developed, ensuring that colonies remained dependent on the metropole for manufactured goods. Political independence and the removal of colonial powers have not dismantled these structures, and so we continue to witness a situation where African states remain reliant on external assistance to produce what we need, thereby being placed at the bottom of the value chain even as we continue to provide the minerals, agricultural produce and other raw material that the world so badly needs.

External pressures

The oil sector provides a stark illustration. Countries like Kenya possess crude oil reserves, alongside other valuable natural resources. Yet Kenya lacks sufficient domestic refining capacity, meaning that crude oil must be exported or left underutilised while refined petroleum products are imported at significantly higher costs. This is not simply a technical gap—it is a political and economic condition shaped by external pressures, investment patterns, and global market rules that favour established refining hubs in the Global North and parts of Asia.

The colonial dispossession that we experienced, along with its ripple effects, makes it such that we cannot extract and refine our own crude oil. Attempts in the north at refining oil are left to foreign companies, as we do not possess the know-how or the facilities to do it ourselves. This also calls into question our education system. 

China stands as an excellent example of how to shift the economy towards production and self-reliance. Through its decolonial project, known as the Great Leap Forward, the country was able to systematically prioritise production as the foundation of its economic strategy. The process entailed state-led industrial policy and investment in infrastructure, enabling China to transition from a largely agrarian economy into a global manufacturing powerhouse.

Crucially, this transformation involved not just producing goods, but controlling the processes of value addition: Refining raw materials, assembling products, and exporting finished goods. By producing what it consumes and exporting the surplus, China has reduced its vulnerability to external shocks and increased its influence in global markets. It has also invested heavily in refining capacity, ensuring that it captures value across the supply chain.

For decades, Black people have been reduced to the labour force of the world, and the systems set in place, as well as our education, prove this to be so. We must upend these systems if we are to become as self-reliant as countries in the Global North are. If not, we will continue to go wherever the wind blows, and even the smallest situations of global distress will affect our populations severely.

Ms Njahira is an international lawyer