WASHINGTON, D.C. — A high-ranking U.S. lawmaker has delivered a stinging indictment of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration, accusing it of fostering a “culture of denial” and wasting millions of dollars on international image laundering while the nation bleeds from unchecked insecurity.
The rebuke, delivered during a congressional session in Washington this week, specifically targeted the Nigerian government’s controversial decision to hire a U.S. lobbying firm for $9 million (approximately ₦13.5 billion) to “burnish its reputation” amidst mounting reports of religious persecution and massacres.
‘You Can’t Buy the Truth’
The lawmaker’s comments come at a delicate time for Nigerian diplomacy, coinciding with the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s week-long “charm offensive” in the U.S. capital.
“You have a government in Nigeria that practices a culture of denial,” the lawmaker stated bluntly. “They even hired a U.S. firm for 9 million dollars, all to lie and deny what is actually happening on the ground.”
The “lie and deny” tag refers to the administration’s persistent dismissal of international reports regarding the killing of Christians in the Middle Belt as “unhelpful propaganda.” This stance has met fierce resistance from U.S. broadcasters like Tony Perkins, who recently refused to host the First Lady, stating he would not provide a platform for a “cover-up.”
The Cost of Contradiction
Opposition groups, led by the African Democratic Congress (ADC), have previously slammed the $9 million expenditure as “moral blindness.” They argue that the funds—now being scrutinized by U.S. officials—should have been used to equip security forces rather than paying for “image laundering” in Washington.
The lawmaker’s critique is bolstered by a jarring reality back home:
- The 300 Lives: While the First Lady was in Washington, U.S. advocate Judd Saul reported that 300 Christians were massacred in just 72 hours across Kwara and Benue states.
- The Corruption Index: Only yesterday, Transparency International ranked Nigeria 142nd in the world for corruption, citing a lack of institutional transparency.
- The US Ultimatum: A U.S. Judge has issued a final ultimatum to the FBI and DEA to release President Tinubu’s decades-old criminal records—a move many see as the ultimate test of the administration’s “transparency” claims.
Economic Pain and ‘Elite Excess’
The $9 million lobbyist fee has become a symbol of elite disconnect for many Nigerians. As petrol nears ₦1,000 per litre and the national debt hits ₦152 trillion, critics ask why the government can afford “PR experts” in Washington but only ₦36 million for its entire 2025 health capital budget.
The recent outcry from British vlogger Indigo Traveller, whose ₦100 million funded orphanage was razed in Lagos without notice, has further fueled the narrative of a government that “abandons its people while polishing its image abroad.”
What Next?
While the First Lady has signaled an interest in deeper military cooperation with the Trump-led White House, this high-level congressional rebuke suggests that no amount of lobbying can easily erase the international community’s concerns over human rights and governance.
