The tectonic plates of African diplomacy are shifting. And UK investors are caught in the middle. An insider at the Foreign Office tells me a storm is brewing.
Nigeria has quietly greenlit a new policy to confiscate abandoned property. The target? Foreign-owned firms that have fled.
And the mood in Lagos is ugly. South Africans are first in the crosshairs. The trigger: a diplomatic spat over retaliatory business restrictions.
MTN, Shoprite, MultiChoice? Their assets in Nigeria are now vulnerable. Whitehall is spooked.
The official line is 'monitoring closely'. Off the record? Panic.
Because the precedent is clear: once seizing starts, everyone is fair game. British pension funds have billions tied up in Nigerian commercial real estate and telecoms. One quiet word with a fund manager in the City and you hear the fear: 'We are exposed.
And no one is talking about it.' The Prime Minister's Africa trade envoy was due in Abuja next month. That visit is now in doubt.
The optics are lethal. You cannot sell 'Global Britain' as a safe bet if your allies start grabbing assets. The Nigerian High Commission briefed allies on Friday.
The message was hardline: 'We will not allow our sovereignty to be disrespected.' South Africa, meanwhile, is furious. Pretoria has summoned the Nigerian ambassador.
Behind the scenes, they are threatening to pull the plug on the African Continental Free Trade Area negotiations. That would be a catastrophe. For the UK, for everyone.
The clock is ticking. The next 72 hours will define whether this is a manageable row or a full-blown asset grab. I am told cabinet-level calls are being scheduled for Monday morning.
Expect denials. Expect calm statements. But do not be fooled.
The lobby is buzzing. This is the biggest diplomatic rupture in Anglophone Africa since Zimbabwe's land seizures. And the City knows it.
Hold tight. This story is just beginning.
