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Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, representing Nigeria and the African Parliament at the ongoing United Nations Counter-Terrorism Conference in Turkey, has called on Britain to revise what he described as the “distorted historical record” of the First World War.
Speaking at the global forum, Senator Ibrahim argued that the 1914–1918 conflict should not be classified as a “World War” but rather a regional European insurgency.
“There is no place in the world where the geo-centric system converged, and a war was launched. A disagreement among European nations that escalated into a regional conflict cannot rightly be termed a World War,” he said.
The senator maintained that the so-called First World War did not affect half of the world’s population and was largely confined to Europe and its colonies.
“If anything,” he stated, “the Second World War should be regarded as the true First World War. The mere involvement of America in Europe’s 1917 crisis does not make it global. Even the Cold War confrontation between the U.S. and the USSR in the 1990s cannot be classified as a world war.”
He further linked the historical misrepresentation to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, saying the ensuing reaction by European states was “a counterattack against terrorist activities,” rather than a global military campaign.
According to him, the main drivers of the 1914–18 conflict—European expansionism, alliance rivalries, and conspiracies between Germany and Austria-Hungary, were purely continental issues and should not have been globalized in historical records.
Ibrahim accused the British Parliament of neglecting its responsibility to correct the misleading classification, urging it to initiate a formal historical review.
“The British Parliament must take responsibility for correcting this error. Historians have for too long misled the world by describing a regional European conflict as the First World War, ”he said
The senator’s remarks sparked discussions among delegates on how historical distortions can influence modern global policy, peace studies, and counter-terrorism strategies.
The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Conference in Turkey brings together policymakers, scholars, and legislators from around the world to examine the roots of extremism, transnational threats, and the historical narratives that shape global security responses.
Senator Ibrahim, who represents Ondo South Senatorial District in Nigeria’s National Assembly, is known for his academic background in international law and his outspoken views on global history and governance.
