Experts in economy and politics have stressed the need for Nigeria to diversify economic partnerships to mitigate dependency risks and capitalise on investment opportunities.
They also called for enhanced regulatory frameworks to counter disinformation campaigns and preserve the integrity of Nigeria‘s democratic processes.
The experts made these suggestions at a stakeholders dialogue on foreign influences and their impact on democratic values of Nigeria and Africa organised by Dataphyte Foundation in Abuja.
In his presentation, the Director, Abuja School of Social and Political Thought: Centre for Public Policy and Research, Dr Sam Amadi urged the federal government to provide nationally funded endowment for democracy.
Amadi said this becomes imperative to change the current situation in which pro democratic and economic civil societies in the country are funded almost 100% by external concerns with different ideologies to push which are at variance with Nigeria‘s values.
He insisted that Nigeria must develop her own identity and align with those who share common developmental goals, saying by setting her own agenda, the country can shape the culture and norms that define it.
“This is not about whether they (foreign donors) are bad or good people, it is that they come with an idea of democracy and they push that idea. So conceptually, every funding for democracy is a projection of ideas for those who are funding it and it‘s an influence.
The question is, is it legitimate or illegitimate? In many cases, it is legitimate interest influenced by changes in line with their Constitution or in line with the so-called international human rights provisions.
„In some cases, it is actually negative. It undermines political interests but the solution is not to outlaw foreign funding, but to create capacity at home to also fund what they don‘t fund,“ he said.
On his part, the Programme Director of Dataphyte Foundation, Femi Amiele, reaffirmed the Foundation‘s commitment to driving positive change and enjoined all stakeholders to leverage insights from all its data-driven publications and join forces in safeguarding Nigeria‘s democratic future.
„Moving forward, the onus is on all stakeholders to translate dialogue into decisive action. Together, we must implement the actionable recommendations generated from this dialogue and foster a culture of democratic resilience in Nigeria,“ he noted.