Adetaio Otuyemi
Abuja
It’s a sad truth that wars, conflicts, and social strife have always been part of the human story. Over the last five years, though, we’ve seen a sharp rise in something even more troubling: full-blown wars between sovereign nations, dragging us back to an ugly chapter we thought we’d left behind.
From the moment humans started forming societies, clashes between groups have been constant. I’d love to see more serious research into conflicts from the Neanderthal era and the earliest days of Homo sapiens—it might tell us something important about ourselves.
Wars, conflicts, strife—call them what you will—are regrettably hard to escape. But instead of letting them pull us in for short-term gains, whether socio-economic, geopolitical, or ideological, we should try to work together like a beehive. Find ways to turn this stubborn reality into something that actually benefits us all.
The closing decades of the 20th century and the start of the 21st brought a shift. We saw more civil wars than ever (the list feels endless), the post-9/11 “war on terror,” and all the messy proxy wars that came with it.
I’m not here to cheer for war or paint conflict as noble. This is just a reminder that we’re not learning from history. For all our technological progress, there’s not much separating us from those early primates figuring out hunting tools and today’s dreamers scouting colonies in space.
Remember the turn of the 20th century? Global leaders talked big about “a war to end all wars.” Instead, we got two world wars and more than 50 million dead. Now, with climate change bearing down on us like a predator on weak prey, we can’t keep pouring resources into industrial-scale fighting—or upgrading the tools of destruction with the latest tech.
In my view, the Cold War stands out as one of the most defining eras in human history. It sparked the space race, the terrifying logic of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD), fierce ideological battles, Kissinger’s realpolitik, and the world order we still live with today.
It also left us with proxy wars, a thriving arms trade, nuclear spread, different strains of religious terrorism, the rise of liberalism, and some disturbingly creative forms of tyranny. Technology advanced faster than anyone expected.
Many scholars say conflict is woven into the fabric of human society—think of the old metaphor about the tongue and teeth always clashing yet belonging together. But if we could abolish slavery, despite its deep economic roots (helped along by the Industrial Revolution), then maybe large-scale wars don’t have to be inevitable either. International bodies could kick things off with genuine public campaigns, echoing what William Wilberforce did against the slave trade all those years ago.
The COVID lockdowns seemed to embolden authoritarian leaders—Putin, Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping, Paul Kagame, and their copycats lurking in the shadows. They got a stronger taste of unchecked power, and that thirst is pulling us all closer to disaster.
One stark recent example is the **USA/Israel vs Iran war** that broke out on February 28, 2026. In what the US called Operation Epic Fury, American and Israeli forces launched nearly 900 strikes in the first twelve hours alone, hitting Iranian nuclear sites, missile programs, military bases, and leadership. They killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top figures. Iran hit back hard with missiles and drones across the region, including strikes on Israel and US allies, while disrupting the Strait of Hormuz. The fighting has already killed thousands (including civilians), displaced millions, and sent shockwaves through global energy markets. What started as proxy tension has exploded into direct confrontation.
Other ongoing or simmering clashes between states include Russia’s prolonged war in Ukraine, now dragging into its fifth year with devastating losses, plus tensions around the Korean Peninsula, the Taiwan Strait, and border flare-ups like those between Pakistan and Afghanistan or Venezuela and Guyana.
Here’s a quick rundown of current and potential flashpoints:
Ongoing conflicts:
- Azerbaijan vs Armenia (Nagorno-Karabakh)
- Russia (with DPRK support) vs Ukraine
- Israel vs Hamas/Hezbollah (now tied into the broader Iran conflict)
- USA/Israel vs Iran (escalated in 2026)
**Potential flashpoints:**
- DPRK vs ROK (North vs South Korea)
- China vs Taiwan (possibly drawing in the United States)
- Venezuela vs Guyana
- Pakistan vs the Afghan Taliban
- Nigeria (and ECOWAS) vs Sahel States
- Rwanda vs DRC (with possible SADC involvement)
- Poland (and NATO) vs Russia
…and plenty more lurking.
The 1980s through the 2010s actually strengthened global ties in many ways—the Cold War ended, efforts against terrorism ramped up, and there were joint pushes to settle civil wars in the Global South. Diplomacy, trade, and cultural exchange improved.
Yet somehow, we missed the warning signs of old-style great-power rivalries resurfacing right on NATO’s doorstep. New alliances could be forming as we head into the next decade.
What worries me most is the return of scenarios that could bring back Mutual Assured Destruction. We thought MAD was a Cold War relic, but it looks like we were wrong.
This surge in state-on-state wars is hitting societies hard on multiple fronts. Politically, it chips away at faith in global institutions like the UN and stirs up nationalism and strongman rule at home. Culturally, it revives old ethnic and religious divides, scatters families, destroys heritage, and leaves whole generations scarred—making peace and understanding feel even more distant. In places like the Middle East and Eastern Europe, people are hardening around narratives of victimhood or militarism, deepening wounds that could last for decades.
Economically, the damage spreads wide and deep. These conflicts shatter supply chains, drive up food and energy prices, and fuel inflation that hurts ordinary people the most. The current Iran war, for instance, has already rattled oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, affecting economies far beyond the region. Money that could fight climate change or build infrastructure gets swallowed by military budgets instead, while rebuilding war-torn areas will cost trillions. Over time, it kills investment, stifles innovation, and undermines the kind of shared prosperity that cooperative markets could create.
Wars ultimately help no one—even the tyrants who treat them as power tools. History shows warmongers often end up as victims themselves: the Nazis, the Soviets in Afghanistan, jihadists in the Levant.
A much smarter path would be investing seriously in shared market ideas. Europe, once a breeding ground for endless fighting—from the Crusades and Napoleon to the two World Wars—has shown how well this can work. When essential goods and services flow more freely and affordably across borders, the fear of scarcity that often sparks aggression starts to fade.
If we push harder on initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area and BRICS-style cooperation, state aggression driven by resource worries could slowly lose its grip. Maybe then humanity could finally move past its oldest and deadliest habit—and who knows, even find a moment to sing “Kumbaya” together.