It started small—so small that at first, Chinedu dismissed it as coincidence.
A shipment of vital refinery parts from China was inexplicably delayed at a European-controlled port, held up by "routine inspection."
Rival gangs began harassing Imperial Transport's cargo convoys in Lagos and Port Harcourt. Police looked the other way, murmuring about "orders from above."
Payments from European banks for oil exports slowed to a crawl. Contracts that had once cleared in days now took weeks.
Each problem alone was manageable. Together, they carried the smell of orchestration.
Then came the hammer blow. Ghana, under quiet pressure from European trade representatives, announced a new tariff on agricultural imports—a direct hit to Imperial Farms' expansion. Côte d'Ivoire soon followed with stricter port fees. Officials cited "economic protection," but the whispers in Accra and Abidjan told another story: the Europeans wanted to slow Obasi's momentum.
A European envoy requested a private meeting. With practiced politeness, he said:
"Mr. Obasi, Africa needs investment, yes. But stability matters too. Accepting a European stake in Imperial Holdings would ease many of these… difficulties. Otherwise, you risk isolation."
Chinedu listened, calm but unyielding. His reply was measured, but sharp
"If you must use sabotage to negotiate, then you've already lost the moral ground. Africa does not need masters. It needs partners. And I will not sell my people's future."
Behind the scenes, he acted swiftly:
Imperial Bank rerouted transactions through Asian and Middle Eastern institutions, bypassing European bottlenecks.
Imperial Security strengthened convoys, quietly recruiting ex-military personnel to neutralize gang interference.
Imperial Strategy Office began drawing up contingency plans for a continental trade corridor, less dependent on European-linked ports.
Media headlines in Nigeria picked up the pattern. "Foreign Hands Behind Delays?" they asked. Young Nigerians, already supportive of Obasi, rallied louder online. To them, this was proof that the world feared a rising African giant.
And for the first time, some African presidents whispered openly,
"Perhaps Europe really does want to cripple him. Perhaps we should not stand aside."