Let’s paint the picture: Imagine three African countries—South Africa, Egypt, and Ethiopia—now sitting at the same table with global heavyweights like China, India, Russia, and Brazil, discussing how to reshape the global economy.
That’s exactly what’s happening through BRICS, the acronym for this group originally formed by four fast-growing economies in the early 2000s. South Africa joined in 2010.
Then in 2024, Egypt and Ethiopia also pulled up their chairs. For Africa, it’s more than symbolism—it’s about being heard.
Does BRICS matter to Africa?
BRICS is like the global south’s answer to Western dominance in institutions like the IMF and World Bank. It pushes for a multipolar world, where no one single country, say the United States, calls all the shots.
It also created its own bank, the New Development Bank, to fund infrastructure without the strings often attached to Western loans.
For African nations, that’s a game changer.
Nigeria officially became the ninth partner country of BRICS January this year, alongside Uganda, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Uzbekistan.
At a recent BRICS summit, Nigeria’s president Bola Tinubu said his country was committed to the partnership and the Global South alliance.
“Nigeria, therefore, associates with what I have heard today and all that has happened in BRICS. The next issues are financial restructuring and reevaluation of the global structure,” a statement by his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, reads.
But not everyone’s cheering the plot
The Western block, led by countries like the US, UK, Canada and Germany, doesn’t seem to be okay with the
Specifically, the U.S. President Donald Trump isn’t thrilled about the idea of countries banding together to weaken the dollar’s grip on world trade.
Why? To protect U.S. jobs, reduce trade deficits, and keep America “first.”
President Trump has announced that countries in the block that support “anti-American policies,” will face an extra 10% tariff.
While BRICS partner countries like South Africa and Nigeria are asking for tariff leniency, heavy weights like Brazil have threatened to give Trump back to back.
What could this mean for Africa?
If trade tensions heat up, Africa could feel the burn too. Some of its BRICS-aligned partners like Nigeria and others, may face economic pressure, and that might spill over.
On the flip side, it could also push African countries to strengthen trade within BRICS, using local currencies and tapping into new investment streams.
So, as you can see, Africa isn’t just watching history unfold; it’s part of it.
As BRICS grows stronger, and as global power shifts, the world is paying attention—including Washington.
Whether this leads to fairer partnerships or new flashpoints depends on how all sides play the game. If anything, these countries just want to strip America of its title of the Idań of global politics.
Recent events show Nigeria’s President Tinubu is slowly walking towards South Africa’s leader Ramaphosa to help China and Russia unseat America from that chair. But global power leadership is hardly ever given up without a fight. Who will win?