Dataphyte Foundation Hosts Webinar on President Tinubu’s First Year of Foreign Policy

Dataphyte Foundation, a social impact organisation dedicated to leveraging data tools and technology for Nigeria’s socio-economic development, hosted a webinar on Thursday, May 30, 2024. The event focused on evaluating the influence of President Tinubu’s foreign policy on Nigeria’s democratic growth during his first year in office.

The webinar, moderated by Yop Rwang Pam, Board Chair of Dataphyte Foundation, drew over 100 participants, including Kole Shettima, Africa Director of MacArthur, and Jake Epelle, Executive Director of TAF Africa, as well as representatives from civil society, government, media, and academia. The webinar also featured experts, including Dr. Omosefe Oyekanmi, Research Fellow at the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, and Dataphyte’s Insight Lead, Oluseyi Olufemi.

Speaking on the administration’s diplomatic efforts, Dr. Omosefe Oyekanmi, noted that one year is not enough to fairly assess President Tinubu’s administration, but current steps does help to give a projection of what the coming years will look like. She further added that, “This Administration has been quite robust with engagements at bilateral and multilateral levels. There is a clear intent to push Nigeria to advantageous positions to make profitable negotiations. This approach is also similar to previous administrations, but the key challenge remains the effective implementation of signed agreements.”

The Foreign Policy webinar offered a platform for a detailed situation analysis of Nigeria’s progress in engaging with foreign diplomacy under President Tinubu’s administration. The discussions highlighted how the administration’s Renewed Hope Mandate, centred on the four Ds – Democracy, Development, Demography, and Diaspora – is shaping Nigeria’s foreign policy landscape.

Also, providing more perspective on the endeavours of Tinubu’s approach to foreign policy in his first year, Patrick Adewunmi, a Researcher, noted that President Tinubu’s first year featured extensive diplomatic efforts and initiatives to attract foreign investments. However, the tangible economic benefits are yet to be realized.

Speaking on the impact of economic policies on our foreign engagements, Dataphyte’s Insight Lead, Oluseyi Olufemi, highlighted that, “we cannot divorce domestic policies from foreign policy. Diplomacy centres on the country’s interests. While the new administration is focused on building wealth, the real challenge lies in improving welfare.” He also elaborated on Dataphyte’s analyses of Tinubu’s One Year in office titled “Tinubu’s One Year in Office: Economy, Employment and other Entanglements” as part of the series of reports that provide critical insights into how President Tinubu has performed after 1 year in Office.

Femi D. Amele, Programme Director at Dataphyte Foundation, concluded by giving a closing remark and thanked participants and panelists for their insightful contributions.