Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has cautioned Nigeria against blindly adopting foreign economic policies without considering the country’s peculiar realities, insisting that national development must be driven by homegrown solutions.
Speaking on Friday at the Ajibosin Platform in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during a forum themed “Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Solve Grassroots Problems and Accelerate National Development,” Obasanjo criticised Nigeria’s dependence on foreign-trained economic experts and institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He argued that policies developed by foreign institutions and experts, despite their academic credentials, may not adequately address Nigeria’s unique economic and social challenges.
The former President also urged Nigeria to take ownership of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deploy it to tackle critical national issues, particularly education, agriculture, food security, healthcare and pharmaceutical production.
He specifically warned that the 24 million Nigerian children reportedly out of school represent a major threat to the country’s future if urgent action is not taken.
Obasanjo maintained that Nigeria must develop solutions that reflect its realities rather than blindly embracing foreign prescriptions.
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