Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, has strongly criticised Nigeria’s political leadership over what he described as a persistent culture of waste, misplaced priorities, and governance by propaganda, warning that the country is paying heavily for poor choices while critical sectors continue to collapse.
Reacting to reports that about $9 million of public funds was spent on foreign lobbyists in Washington, Obi described the expenditure as “tragic and concerning,” arguing that it symbolises a broader pattern of reckless spending that has contributed to Nigeria’s declining development indices.
“It is both tragic and concerning that our leaders continue to prioritise waste, corruption, propaganda, lies, and the negative aspects of development over positive initiatives,” Obi said.
According to him, the reported $9 million lobbying fee represents only “a small fraction of the global waste occurring in the same manner,” adding that such decisions mirror “the disgraceful state of Nigeria.”
Obi linked the expenditure directly to Nigeria’s long-standing stagnation on the Human Development Index (HDI), noting that the country has remained in the low HDI category for 35 years, from 1990 to 2025, while comparable countries have made remarkable progress.
“Nigeria has remained stagnant in the low HDI category for 35 years,” he said. “In contrast, comparable nations such as China—where Nigeria had a three-fold higher per capita income in 1990—and Indonesia have moved from low to medium, and now to high HDI categories.”
He stressed that such progress elsewhere was not accidental. “The achievements of these nations were not the result of fate, miracles, or natural endowments, but rather a consequence of choices and the cumulative effects of good and bad leadership. This underscores the importance of prioritisation,” Obi said.
Breaking down the implications of the $9 million expenditure, which he estimated at about ₦14 billion, Obi examined Nigeria’s performance across the three key components of the HDI—health, education, and income—arguing that the country is failing in all three.
“Regarding health, Nigeria now has the lowest life expectancy in the world and ranks among the top two countries globally for maternal mortality, making childbirth one of the most precarious experiences for Nigerian women,” he stated. “Instead of investing in life-saving systems, we spend millions trying to obscure our failures.”
To illustrate his point, Obi cited capital allocations to six major federal teaching hospitals—one from each geopolitical zone—in the 2024 budget, noting that their combined allocation stands at about ₦13.9 billion, roughly equivalent to the funds spent on foreign lobbyists.
He listed the allocations as ₦2.67 billion for the University College Hospital, Ibadan; ₦2.46 billion for Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria; ₦2.8 billion for the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu; ₦2.43 billion for the University of Benin Teaching Hospital; ₦1.16 billion for the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital; and ₦2.37 billion for the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
“The $9 million spent on foreign lobbyists could have been used wisely to purchase essential hospital equipment for Nigerian hospitals, improving our healthcare capabilities and positively influencing our national image,” Obi said.
He added that the same amount “is sufficient to fund the entire 2024 capital budget for at least one major teaching hospital in each zone,” which, according to him, would directly improve survival rates, quality of care, and life expectancy.
“The funds are available; what is lacking are prioritisation, discipline, and effective leadership,” he declared.
Describing the situation as unacceptable, Obi warned that Nigeria cannot continue to “live in an illusion while our reality deteriorates.”
“Every naira of taxpayers’ money should serve the Nigerian people. Instead, citizens are dying in failing hospitals while the government pays foreigners to pretend that everything is fine,” he said, insisting that “this constant prioritisation of trivial matters must come to an end,” Obi said.
