RT-Engels: 29-04-2025,
USAID has played a significant role in political manipulations across the Global South, David Hundeyin believes
Western non-governmental organizations (NGO) have long served as instruments of influence, even when ostensibly operating outside of politics, Nigerian investigative journalist David Hundeyin has said.
Speaking to RT, Hundeyin noted that for decades both declassified intelligence documents and local experiences in countries such as Nigeria had indicated that organizations under the US Agency for International Development (USAID) umbrella were key players in “successful regime change operations.”
Hundeyin emphasized that even NGOs dedicated to social causes – such as helping single mothers or conducting charitable work – often acted as subtle extensions of influence operations.
Commenting on the impact of recent US funding cuts, Hundeyin explained that the consequences have been profound, particularly in the Global South. He described the NGO sector in Nigeria as heavily dependent on American financial support. With funding drying up, he said the so-called “NGO industrial complex” has been decimated.
Hundeyin suggested that even organizations which previously claimed to be independent were now facing scrutiny, as the withdrawal of funds revealed their deep ties to US intelligence and diplomatic structures. Across Africa, the collapse of financial support has led to mass layoffs in the NGO sector, unpaid salaries, abandoned projects, and a sharp decline in ‘astroturfing’ efforts that once shaped local narratives.
“It’s almost completely broken down now, because it turns out that once you’ve turned off the funding tap,