David Hundeyin earlier said that Dialogue Earth's offer was an attempt to manipulate "African voices" and serve a larger Western agenda that could hinder the continent's energy progress. In an interview with Sputnik Africa, he explained why the Western non-governmental organization chose him to do the dirty work.
"I think for two reasons [Dialogue Earth approached me]," Hundeyin told Sputnik Africa. "First, because I have a significant audience in the Nigerian media space. And second, because I'm a local voice... people are more likely to think of [the article] as an organic opinion from the ground up."
His investigation revealed Dialogue Earth's funding sources, which include the Ford Foundation and ClimateWorks, both linked to US and Western intelligence agencies.
Hundeyin believes that this is part of a wider pattern of Western interference in developing economies' energy strategies. He cited a similar incident in 2014 where ClimateWorks funded Greenpeace actions that disrupted India's coal-powered electricity generation, resulting in an estimated 3% GDP loss for India and a subsequent blacklist of ClimateWorks.
Africa's Energy Paradox
Hundeyin pointed to the stark paradox: Africa, a net energy exporter, suffers from the world's worst energy poverty.
"Africa is a net energy exporter, and yet Africa suffers from the world's worst case of energy poverty… those two statements are not supposed to be true at the same time," he said. "So the only reason that both of those statements can be true at the same time is that they say there's a foreign actor that is intervening, that is thumping the scale to keep that situation that way."
He cited Nigeria as a prime example. Despite being the largest oil and gas exporter in Africa and possessing vast gas reserves, the country struggles to generate enough electricity for its own needs. This, Hundeyin believes, is not a coincidence but rather a consequence of deliberate external intervention.
"There is a foreign actor that is ensuring that Nigeria and other African countries are not able to mobilize their own energy reserves to accomplish their own goals. We've seen a very recent example of this," he argued.
The Nigerian journalist accused the West of using climate change as an excuse to hinder Africa's ability to use its own resources for economic development, even though the continent produces less than 4% of the world's carbon emissions.
He argued that many European economies "have been built entirely on the back of the dirtiest type of nonrenewable energy that exists," including whale oil, in the past.
Dangote Refinery: A Game Changer
The Nigerian journalist believes the Dangote Refinery represents a significant shift in the West African country’s economic landscape, potentially breaking the cycle of dependence on Western interests.
The refinery, the largest in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region, is expected to disrupt traditional trade patterns, with Hundeyin predicting it will lead to the closure of at least two European refineries.
"For the first time in maybe 5 or 6 centuries of African economic interaction with Europe... an African entity is going to start outcompeting European entities and taking business from them," he stated.
Hundeyin highlighted the key challenge facing Nigeria: exporting crude oil cheaply and importing refined fuel at a premium, leading to a chronic trade deficit and a depreciating naira.
By reducing the need for imported refined fuel, the refinery will lower Nigeria's import bill, reducing its reliance on external debt, which is often used to finance imports. This, in turn, could lead to greater economic stability and currency strength.