He said the continent stood at a historic inflexion point, where democratic fragility and data exploitation now converge with unprecedented prospects for renewal.
Africa is approaching a decisive decade that will determine whether the continent shapes its own digital destiny or remains exposed to escalating democratic, developmental and data-governance vulnerabilities, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and Publisher of PREMIUM TIMES, Dapo Olorunyomi, has said.
A veteran journalist and prominent defender of press freedom, Mr Olorunyomi delivered the warning in his welcome address at the third edition of CJID’s Media and Development Conference (MDC-3.0) in Abuja on Monday.
He said the continent stood at a historic inflexion point, where democratic fragility and data exploitation now converge with unprecedented prospects for renewal.
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“Today, Africa stands at a crossroads. Our choices in this next decade will not only determine the fate of our democracies but also the well-being of our economies, the integrity of our information ecosystems, and the dignity of our citizens’ digital rights. We must therefore approach this conversation with clarity, courage, and imagination,” Mr Olorunyomi said.
While persistent coups, institutional distrust and economic volatility continue to unsettle the region, the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, digital surveillance and foreign-dominated platforms has opened a new frontier–one that, he argued, requires bold policy choices and stronger media institutions capable of protecting the public interest.
Urging governments, innovators, scholars and the media to “reimagine democracy, development and data,” Mr Olorunyomi called for a future grounded in transparency, citizen agency and continental data sovereignty.
Without decisive action–particularly to safeguard independent journalism and regulate the digital ecosystem–he warned that Africa risks drifting into a decade marked by weakened civic freedoms, marginalised youth populations and the transformation of African data into a new site of global extraction.
The task before the continent, he said, is to act with clarity, courage and imagination.
MDC-3.0
The CJID’s MDC-3.0 opened on Monday in Abuja, bringing together journalists, policymakers, researchers, diplomats, civil society leaders and technology experts for four days of dialogue on governance, development and the evolving information landscape.
Insert picture showing cross-section of participants at the conference
The conference, scheduled to run from 24 to 27 November at the Abuja Continental Hotel, is themed “Reimagining Democracy, Development and Data for the Next Decade.”
Sessions at the event will examine democratic resilience, media sustainability, climate and extractive sector governance, digital rights, food security, fact-checking, and the expanding influence of artificial intelligence on public life.
Delegates from more than a dozen African countries are expected to grapple with a moment defined by political turbulence, constricting civic space and fast-moving technological disruption.
Read Mr Olorunyomi’s full speech below:
Reimagining Democracy, Development, and Data for the Next Decade
Dapo Olorunyomi
CEO,
Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development [CJID]
Welcome Address to the Third Annual Media Development Conference [MDC-03]
Abuja Continental Hotel
24 November 2025
Your Excellencies, distinguished partners, delegates, scholars, innovators, students, friends, and many of our online participants from all corners of the globe.
It is my honour to welcome you all to the third edition of CJID’s Media Development Conference [MDC-03], and what has now become one of the most important African regional media gatherings. Today’s convening has our 300 in-house guests from almost all the ECOWAS countries, the Central African nations of Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as from Namibia and South Africa.
This year’s convening is coming at a moment of profound transformation across our continent, and we meet today under a theme that is both urgent and aspirational: “Reimagining Democracy, Development, and Data for the Next Decade.”
This theme invites us to reflect deeply on the democratic setbacks troubling our region, the development pathways that remain incomplete, and the extraordinary opportunities–and risks–unfolding within the digital and data-driven era. It challenges us to think boldly about the future, yet soberly about the present. And it beckons us to build bridges across scholarship, governance, civic action, and innovation.
Today, Africa stands at a crossroads. Our choices in this next decade will not only determine the fate of our democracies but also the well-being of our economies, the integrity of our information ecosystems, and the dignity of our citizens’ digital rights. We must therefore approach this conversation with clarity, courage, and imagination.
A Region in Democratic Distress
Across Africa, deep civic anxieties are rising. Citizens navigate shrinking civic space, declining trust in public institutions, and contested legitimacy. Democratic reversals–once a matter of doubt–now demand new forms of regional response. Coup d’états and constitutional manipulations erode public trust in governance. Communities feel unheard. Young people feel excluded. And the promise of democratic renewal appears fragile.
Yet we must remember: the story of Africa has never been linear. Ours is a story of restoration as much as challenge–of strength as much as vulnerability. This moment, difficult as it is, can still be a foundation for a remarkable democratic turnaround–but only if we reimagine what democracy must become.
Reimagining democracy for the next decade means building institutions that listen, designing governance that learns, and cultivating political cultures grounded in transparency, accountability, and citizen empowerment. Above all, it is rebuilding public trust through institutional integrity, expanding civic space rather than shrinking it, and strengthening our regional bodies as guardians of the constitutional order.
What this means in simple terms is confronting a truth that many elites resist: democracy is not simply a series of elections–it is a system of values, participation, and social contracts renewed through trust.
Independent Media: A Pillar Under Threat
Our democracies cannot stand without the media. Yet independent media in Africa are under unprecedented strain. Advertising revenues are collapsing; donor support is thinning; new forms of censorship–state-enabled and digitally amplified–threaten press freedom. Meanwhile, misinformation and disinformation corrode the public sphere.
Paradoxically, the demand for trustworthy information has never been higher. So reimagining development must begin with reimagining the media–not as a commercial venture alone, but as a public good, essential for democratic life and economic progress.
This requires: Innovative business models; Public-interest support that protects editorial independence; AI-enabled fact-checking systems; Civic literacy programmes; Locally governed digital ecosystems; And a new generation of journalists trained in data, accountability, and digital safety. These are the issues that this conference will address over the next three days.
The media is not a luxury–it is the oxygen of democracy. And if we allow it to weaken, all other reforms will collapse.
Data, AI, and the Decade That Will Define Us
We face a fast-moving digital era marked by AI governance challenges, climate pressures, technological disruptions, widening inequalities, and political uncertainty. This decade will test how Africa governs data, protects rights, and ensures inclusion in the global digital economy. It will measure whether our institutions can adapt and whether our leaders understand that digital transitions are not technical matters alone–they are deeply political.
This brings us to the urgent challenge of data colonialism: the extraction of human experience, behavioural surplus, and personal data by global technology corporations for profit and political influence. These companies shape elections, economies, social norms, and the infrastructures through which Africans communicate, learn, transact, mobilise, and imagine their future.
A continent historically subjected to the extraction of land, labour, minerals, and culture cannot afford a new era in which its data becomes the next frontier of exploitation. Across all four regions of Africa, we already see troubling signs: digital authoritarianism, intrusive surveillance, biometric overreach, weak data protections, foreign-controlled platforms, and algorithmic inequalities. Data sovereignty must therefore become a civilisational priority.
Lessons from Asia and Latin America
Regions that once mirrored our developmental challenges now offer powerful lessons. In Asia, countries such as India, Singapore, South Korea, and Indonesia demonstrate how developing societies can establish robust data-governance regimes, digital identity systems, and AI strategies that protect citizens while enabling innovation.
India’s Aadhaar remains the world’s most ambitious attempt at digital citizenship; South Korea’s e-governance infrastructure exemplifies the power of strong institutions; Indonesia’s Mafindo fact-checking consortium is now a global model for fighting mis/disinformation.
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Latin America also illuminates the path forward. Brazil’s landmark Marco Civil da Internet, Chile’s pioneering debates on neuro-rights, and Uruguay and Colombia’s digital-transparency reforms show how societies can embed digital rights and accountability into the very foundations of governance.
Africa can do the same. This conference challenges us to invest boldly in sovereign data infrastructures, ethically governed digital ecosystems, and regionally coordinated regulatory frameworks.
A Word on Young People and Innovation
At CJID, our commitment to the next generation is deliberate. Through the Campus Reporter programme–active in 34 Nigerian universities and expanding next year into the 13 countries where we work–we are cultivating a new cadre of civic-minded journalists and innovators. We are proudly youth-led; my role is largely that of a mentor learning alongside them. We make mistakes but grow stronger through them.
Our message to African youth is clear: technology is not merely a tool; it is the terrain on which your future will be negotiated. From fintech and agritech to health-tech and civic-tech, young Africans are shaping the continent’s trajectory. They now need policy protection, regulatory clarity, and access to regional markets so their innovations can scale.
A Closing Vision
Distinguished guests, reimagining democracy, development, and data is not a theoretical ambition. It is a generational mandate. The next decade will determine whether Africa becomes an architect of its digital future–or a passive recipient of other people’s technologies and other people’s decisions.
At this point we want to thank members of our board who direct with integrity, service, and vision, insisting that we build one of the best civic organisations as an example in Africa. Importantly, we also want to express profound gratitude to our grant-making partners who support our vision and make the work we do possible. We say a huge thank you.
In closing, let me return to the central challenge before our region. We possess the knowledge, the talent, and the demographic strength. We also carry the moral authority of a people who have endured adversity yet remain steadfast in their belief in possibility. If we act with courage, plan with foresight, and govern with humility, Africa will not simply take part in shaping the next decade–it will help define it.
Thank you all, good morning, and welcome to this important gathering.
