– By Ogbuefi Ndigbo
Nigeria’s government has committed $9 million to a U.S. lobbying firm (DCI Group) to “communicate” its efforts to protect Christian communities and secure continued American counterterrorism support. Paid through an intermediary, the deal includes $4.5 million upfront and another $4.5 million after six months.
This is fiscal recklessness at its worst.
While millions of Nigerians face hunger, skyrocketing inflation, mass unemployment, collapsing infrastructure, and daily threats from insurgents, the government chooses to spend a fortune on Capitol Hill consultants instead of frontline security, healthcare, schools, or food relief.
The violence against Christians—and Muslims—is real and demands serious action: better-equipped troops, community protection, transparent investigations, and root-cause reforms. What it does not need is a multimillion-dollar image makeover abroad.
This contract is not diplomacy; it is cynical optics. Hiring expensive foreign lobbyists to counter bad headlines changes nothing on the ground. It only deepens the perception of a leadership disconnected from the suffering of its people.
Past governments have been rightly criticised for similar lavish, non-essential spending. This $9 million deal—one of the largest known lobbying contracts by an African nation—only confirms the pattern.
Nigerians deserve leaders who prioritise safety, jobs, and basic services over foreign perception. The contract should be cancelled immediately, the funds redirected to urgent domestic needs, and those responsible held accountable.
Anything less is a betrayal of public trust.
