Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
Abuja, Nigeria — Former Anambra State Governor and prominent national figure Peter Obi has sharply criticised what he described as a persistent culture of waste and misplaced priorities in Nigeria, warning that the country’s deepening development crisis is driven not by a lack of resources, but by repeated poor leadership choices that favour superficial image-making over meaningful investment in citizens’ welfare.
In a personally signed statement shared on social media, Obi lamented recent revelations that the Federal Government spent an estimated $9 million (about ₦14 billion) on foreign lobbyists in Washington, D.C., an expenditure he characterised as emblematic of broader government misdirection. Rather than deploying scarce public funds to address pressing domestic needs — such as healthcare, education and infrastructure — Obi argued that successive administrations have prioritised “propaganda, waste, corruption and negative aspects of development” that do little to improve the everyday lives of Nigerians.
“This is merely a small example of wasteful spending that has contributed to our nation’s current failing status,” Obi said, highlighting how such expenditures reflect a prioritisation of perception management over people-centred policies. He stressed that Nigeria’s stagnation on the Human Development Index (HDI) — where the country has remained in the lowest category for roughly 35 years from 1990 to 2025 — stems from these leadership decisions rather than an absence of financial or human resources.
Obi contrasted Nigeria’s trajectory with that of countries such as China and Indonesia, which once shared similar development standings but have since advanced to medium and high HDI categories through deliberate policy choices and sustained focus on essential services. According to Obi, the divergent paths of these nations illustrate that economic and social progress is achievable with disciplined leadership and strategic allocation of resources.
Turning to key measures of human development — health, education and income — Obi painted a stark picture of societal outcomes in Nigeria. He noted that the country now records one of the lowest life expectancies globally and remains among the nations with high maternal mortality rates, making basic health outcomes perilous for many citizens. In his view, investments in fundamental public services would have far greater impact than expenditures aimed at burnishing the country’s international image.
Obi underscored this argument by pointing out that the reported $9 million lobbying expenditure could nearly match the combined 2024 capital budget allocations for six major federal teaching hospitals, one from each geopolitical zone, which totalled around ₦13.9 billion. He suggested that those funds could have been used to upgrade hospital equipment, improve healthcare delivery and enhance survival rates, directly affecting citizens’ well-being.
The former governor’s critique extends beyond a single instance of questionable spending. He warned that Nigeria’s worsening development predicament is rooted in a pattern of leadership that consistently prioritises trivial matters over life-sustaining investments. “Every naira of taxpayers’ money should serve the Nigerian people,” Obi said, urging a fundamental reorientation of public policy toward sectors that yield tangible improvements in quality of life.
Obi’s remarks resonate with ongoing public debates about governance, accountability and the role of leadership in charting a path out of Nigeria’s socio-economic challenges. Analysts and civic groups have frequently echoed concerns about inefficient use of public funds, weak institutional oversight and a lack of transparent prioritisation in government budgets. Such criticisms come against the backdrop of Nigeria’s struggles with rising poverty, inflation, inadequate healthcare infrastructure, and persistent educational deficits — issues that many stakeholders argue require urgent, citizen-centric policy responses.
By linking the reported spending on foreign lobbying to Nigeria’s broader developmental stagnation, Obi has reignited a national conversation about governance priorities and the allocation of public resources in service of the Nigerian people rather than political image management abroad. His statement underscores a growing impatience among citizens and civil society advocates for a leadership that aligns fiscal decisions with the immediate and long-term needs of the population.
As debates over public spending and development strategies persist, Obi’s critique adds a prominent voice to calls for greater transparency, accountability and deliberate policy choices that centre human well-being, economic opportunity and social equity as the foundations of national progress.
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