ISDD 2026: Rethinking Sustainable Development for the Global South

Experts, policymakers and scholars at the 2026 International Sustainable Development Dialogue, organised by the Global Affairs and Sustainable Development Institute, Osun State University, Osogbo, in partnership with Rosa-Luxembourg Stiftung, Germany, and the University of Warwick, UK, examined why many development initiatives have yielded limited results despite significant investments and policy interventions. They called for more inclusive, locally driven and collaborative approaches to sustainable development, anchored on stronger governance, indigenous knowledge and active citizen participation. Funmi Ogundare reports

Scholars, researchers,  development and sustainability experts, policy makers, as well as traditional rulers from Nigeria and other parts of the world recently converged on the Osun State University, Osogbo, for the 2026 International Sustainable Development Dialogue, hosted by the university’s Global Affairs and Sustainable Development Institute, in partnership with Rosa-Luxembourg Stiftung, Germany and the University of Warwick, UK.

The three-day conference, with the theme ‘The Problem with ‘Solutions’: SDGs and Global South Development Challenges’, was designed to examine alternative approaches to sustainable development and climate change adaptation, and to explore solutions better aligned with local realities in Africa and other developing regions.

The Vice-Chancellor of UNIOSUN, Prof. Odunayo Adebooye, who declared the conference open, urged stakeholders to champion Africa-led approaches to achieving the SDGs. Adebooye,, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, Research, Innovation and Partnership (ARIP), Prof. Adetunji Kehinde, noted that while the SDGs provide a noble and necessary roadmap for human progress, their implementation frequently overlooks the historical, cultural and institutional realities of communities in the Global South.

“The problem with solutions to the SDGs and global sustainable development challenges lies in the tendency to mistake uniform solutions for universal realities,” he said.

He argued that societies do not exist within a neutral development framework, but in complex environments where externally designed interventions can unintentionally disrupt local economies, institutions and indigenous knowledge systems.

“Our task is to interrogate these ready-made frameworks and challenge the shift from merely importing solutions to creating alternatives that respect our specific material realities,” he said.

Speaking with THISDAY, the Director of the institute, Prof. John Agbonifo, challenged decades of global development prescriptions, arguing that many of the solutions promoted by international institutions and developed nations have failed to address the realities of countries in the global south.

On the theme, he explained that the conference was convened to interrogate why numerous development initiatives have produced limited results despite significant investments and policy interventions.

According to him, the theme emerged from years of academic inquiry and observations of development practices across the world.

“Since the emergence of modern development theories and the era of globalisation, there have always been top-down prescriptions from global institutions and developed countries on how poorer nations can overcome their developmental challenges. These policies have been implemented, governments and NGOs have invested resources, yet the results suggest that many countries are not moving forward as expected,” he stated.

Agbonifo noted that the persistent development challenges facing many countries in the global south necessitate a deeper examination of the assumptions underpinning conventional development solutions.

Addressing concerns that a lack of political will is responsible for policy failures, the director acknowledged that political commitment is important but argued that it is only one of many factors. He explained that governments often operate within complex environments shaped by competing interests and external influences that can undermine reform efforts.

Agbonifo further argued that domestic policy decisions are increasingly influenced by international actors and global economic interests, making it difficult for governments in developing countries to pursue policies that may conflict with external priorities.

According to him, even when policies are beneficial to national development, international pressures can discourage their implementation if they are perceived to be contrary to the interests of powerful global stakeholders.

On the way forward, Agbonifo called for greater accountability of governments to their citizens, insisting that sustainable development can only be achieved when governments are genuinely responsive to the people they serve.

Reiterating the prospects of achieving the United Nations SDGs by 2030, Agbonifo expressed scepticism, citing global conflicts and worsening insecurity across many countries.

He argued that the architects of Agenda 2030 underestimated the impact of local realities and failed to anticipate the scale of geopolitical tensions currently affecting the world.

“The local conditions across the world were not adequately taken into consideration. There was also an assumption that the world would remain relatively peaceful and stable. Today, we are confronted with conflicts in different regions, including the Russia-Ukraine war, tensions in the Middle East, and various internal security challenges across countries in the global south,” Agbonifo stated.

Agbonifo added that persistent insecurity, including banditry and other forms of violence in Nigeria, has created conditions that make the attainment of many SDG targets increasingly difficult.

The Head of School for Cross Faculty Studies at the University of Warwick, Dr Jane Webb, stressed that genuine partnerships and interdisciplinary collaboration are essential for addressing complex sustainability challenges, warning that solutions become problematic when imposed by one group on another without meaningful cooperation.

She cited the growing collaboration between the University of Warwick and Osun State University as an example of how reciprocal partnerships can foster meaningful change. She recalled a series of academic exchanges involving scholars from both institutions, describing them as simple acts of reciprocity that provide a model for advancing sustainability goals.

Webb stated that sustainable development can only be advanced through mutual respect, shared responsibility and collaborative problem-solving among institutions and stakeholders. She argued that the challenge of fully achieving the SDGs by 2030 lies not in the goals themselves but in the gap between global frameworks and local realities.

Webb said that discussions at the conference highlighted the complexity of the SDGs and the difficulties involved in translating broad aspirations into practical outcomes.

“The SDGs appear to be a simple formula, but they are actually quite complex. They should not be treated as a blueprint. They are important aspirational goals, no poverty, zero hunger and others are objectives that nobody can disagree with, but there is a massive gap between these ambitions and how they are achieved in society,” she said.

According to her, one of the key themes that emerged from the conference was the disconnect between governance structures and local realities, as well as the tendency to overlook indigenous knowledge in development planning.

Webb described the concept of development itself as problematic, noting that communities have lived sustainably on their lands for generations and possess valuable local knowledge that is often ignored in favour of externally defined notions of progress.

On the prospects of meeting the 2030 deadline, she said achieving the SDGs within the timeframe was unlikely.

“I don’t think Agenda 2030 is going to happen, not because the goals are wrong, but because there is a gap between the framework and the mechanisms needed to achieve it,” she stated.

She stressed that while issues such as poverty, hunger and insecurity remain urgent concerns, solutions should build on existing local knowledge and community strengths rather than rely solely on external prescriptions.

The Warwick scholar also stressed the importance of effective governance, pointing to the complexity of Nigeria’s governance structure, which includes state institutions, traditional rulers and other centres of authority.

“What is important is understanding how all these structures fit together and how they can be made to serve the people. That is where the real gap lies,” she said.

Webb further warned against placing the responsibility for sustainable development entirely on individuals, arguing that governments and communities must share the burden of action.

John Meyer, a professor in the Department of Politics at Cal Poly Humboldt, California, USA, noted that sustainability goals cannot be achieved through technical policy reforms alone but require broad political mobilisation, strong institutions and active citizen engagement. He explained that efforts to achieve the SDGs must move beyond the assumption that sustainability can be pursued without addressing political realities.

According to him, many actors within global governance circles, including the United Nations community, often view sustainability as a matter of technical policy adjustments that can transcend political divisions.

“At the core of my argument is the sense that many people, especially in the global governance community at the United Nations level and elsewhere, seem to believe that sustainability can be pursued through technical policy changes and avoid political divisions. The bottom line is that it can’t,” Meyer said.

He noted that developments across the world over the past decade have demonstrated that sustainability issues are inherently political, citing growing resistance to sustainability agendas in some countries.

“We see this much more clearly today than when the SDGs were first adopted. The backlash against those goals in many places shows that achieving sustainability requires large-scale political change and therefore needs to be politicised,” Meyer stated.

Reiterating the need to achieve the SDGs by 2030, Dr Leena James of the Department of Management Studies, Christ University, Bangalore, India, stated that significant progress can still be made if governments, institutions, businesses and citizens work together to address existing gaps.

James, who chairs the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) SDG 5 Hub on Gender Equality and heads the SDG Cell at the university, noted that although the 17 SDGs are largely off track globally, the conference provided an important platform for stakeholders to exchange ideas and forge partnerships to accelerate progress.

According to her, the gathering brought together diverse perspectives and practical solutions that could help bridge implementation gaps before the 2030 deadline. She expressed concern that gender inequality, the focus of SDG 5, remains a major challenge worldwide despite years of advocacy and interventions.

“The inequality is persisting, and to close that gap, these kinds of dialogues and discussions create important reflections for people from different parts of the world,” James added.

James stressed that sustainability challenges are global in nature and require sustained collaboration beyond national borders.

“It is not only for one country or one state; it is for the entire world. These problems are persisting everywhere, though in different magnitudes,” she said.

The Special Adviser to the Osun State Governor on SDGs and Multilateral Relations, Hon. Bamikole Omisore, stressed that sustainable development initiatives in the Global South can succeed only when rooted in local realities, indigenous knowledge, and local languages rather than externally imposed frameworks.

He stated that many development challenges facing countries in the global south persist because solutions are often designed without adequate consideration for local contexts and the people they are meant to serve.

According to Omisore, the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke has adopted an approach that prioritises home-grown solutions tailored to address local challenges while creating models that can be replicated beyond Nigeria.

The adviser noted that while international development frameworks and partnerships remain important, effective implementation depends largely on how well such initiatives are communicated to local communities.

Omisore argued that development programmes often fail when technical information is not delivered in languages and formats that people can understand.

Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the African Forest Forum (AFF), Prof. Labode Popoola, stressed that sustainable development should not be viewed as a project with an expiry date but as a lifelong commitment requiring integrity, strong institutions and collective action.

He pointed out that while the current SDG framework may eventually be replaced by a successor arrangement, the underlying challenges of poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, climate change and governance failures would remain long after 2030.

According to Popoola, sustainable development is not a time-bound programme that ends with the expiration of the 2030 Agenda, but an ongoing process that demands sustained attention and action from governments, institutions, communities and individuals.

“The challenges addressed by the SDGs will not be resolved by the passage of a calendar deadline. They will persist, and they will require our continued, sustained and increasingly urgent attention,” Popoola stated.

Popoola, who was represented by the Country Manager of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Nigeria, Emmanuel Ola-Olowoyo, noted that discussions on a post-2030 development framework are already underway in international organisations, academic institutions, think tanks, and civil society circles. He said emerging conversations point towards a future framework that is more rights-based, justice-centred and better integrated with climate and biodiversity concerns.

The event featured presentations by various speakers on governance, policy, and development; youth and mental health; qualitative education and the policy implementation of Nigeria’s 9-3-4 system in rural areas; gender inequality and vulnerability in healthcare under Vision 2039; nurturing intergenerational relationships for sustainable well-being, among others.

It also witnessed a high-level special roundtable on ‘Deconstructing Agenda 2030 and the SDGs’ and  ‘Constructing What Comes Next’.

In her remarks, the Director of Sustainability at IHS Nigeria, Titilope Oguntuga, stated that achieving the SDGs requires greater individual responsibility, ethical conduct, and the adaptation of global development targets to local realities.

Speaking on ‘2030 Agenda: The Global Disquiet’, she explained that sustainable development is not solely the responsibility of governments but also depends on the everyday actions of citizens.

According to Oguntuga, progress towards the SDGs becomes more meaningful when people understand how their daily activities contribute to achieving specific targets and indicators. Issues such as poverty reduction, good health and environmental sustainability, she noted, can be addressed through simple acts of honesty, accountability and civic responsibility.

Oguntuga also highlighted the importance of community participation in promoting public health, urging citizens to take responsibility for environmental sanitation rather than leaving everything to government authorities. She further argued that governance should not be viewed solely as the responsibility of elected officials, maintaining that citizens and government are partners in the development process.

Oguntuga acknowledged that while some progress has been recorded since the adoption of the SDGs in 2015, the pace of implementation remains slow, with many countries still grappling with basic challenges such as food insecurity, poor healthcare and environmental concerns. She expressed concern that with only a few years left before the 2030 deadline for achieving the global goals, there is an urgent need for accelerated action and more practical implementation approaches.

The expert called for greater localisation of development strategies, noting that countries face different realities and therefore require context-specific solutions.