The $9 Million Irony: Is Nigeria’s APC Government Rewriting Its Own History?
In the high-stakes world of international diplomacy, numbers often tell a story that words try to hide. For Nigeria in 2026, that number is $9 million, the staggering annual (Subsequent payment may be on the horizons) fee the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has committed to a Washington-based lobbying firm, the DCI Group – Tinubu $9 million US lobby
While the government describes this as “strategic communication,” – These days We don’t hear anything other than “Strategic”, a look back at the APC’s own history reveals a deep ideological contradiction. If the President (The then APC leader) once defined the “slaughter of Christians” as the ultimate test of a leader’s competence, why is his government now spending billions of Taxpayer’s Naira to manage how that same slaughter is perceived abroad, albeit being worse than ever.
The Receipt: Tinubu’s 2014 “Competence” Standard
To understand the current outrage, we must go back to January 29, 2014. Following an attack on a church in Adamawa State, then opposition leader, Bola Tinubu took to social media with a clear, uncompromising message:
“The slaughtering of Christian worshippers is strongly condemnable. It calls to question the competence of Jonathan to protect Nigerians.”
By his own definition, the protection of religious worshippers is the primary metric of presidential success. Fast forward to 2026, and the data is haunting. Despite record-breaking defense budgets, the targeted killing of Christians in the Middle Belt and North has not only persisted but, according to some international monitors, intensified. He may have forgotten His own stance, attacks and criticism, but the Internet they say, ‘NEVER FORGETS’.
Validating the Victim: The Legacy of Imam Abdullahi Abubakar
The argument that “it isn’t a genocide” or “everyone is equally affected” faces a major internal hurdle: the Nigerian government’s own celebration of Imam Abdullahi Abubakar.
In 2018, the Imam famously risked his life to hide 262 Christians in his mosque during a massacre in Plateau State. For this act, he was:
- Honored by the U.S. State Department with the International Religious Freedom Award.
- Conferred with a National Honour (MFR) by the Nigerian government.
- Celebrated globally as a hero who saved a specific group from targeted extermination.
By celebrating the Imam for saving Christians from a massacre, the Nigerian state officially acknowledged that Christians were being hunted. You cannot celebrate a “rescue” while simultaneously denying that there was a target.
$9 Million to “Whitewash” the Truth?
If the 2014 tweet established the standard, and the Imam’s award confirmed the reality, the 2026 lobbying contract feels like a pivot from protection to public relations.
The contract with DCI Group facilitated through a ₦4.5 billion ($4.5 million) upfront payment is specifically designed to “communicate efforts to protect Christians.” However, critics and opposition parties like the ADC argue that this is a “misplaced priority.”
- The Cost: $750,000 per month (approx. ₦1.1 billion).
- The Goal: To prevent the U.S. from applying the “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) designation, which could halt military aid and trigger sanctions.
- The Irony: Using taxpayer money to convince the world that the “slaughter” mentioned in 2014 is now merely a “non-existent claim”.
The Credibility Gap: Why Lobby the Award-Giver?
Perhaps the most disgraceful aspect of this $9 million expenditure is the redundant nature of the “lobbying” itself. The U.S. State Department is not a stranger to Nigeria’s security crisis; it is the very institution that vetted and awarded Imam Abubakar for his bravery in saving Christians. If the American government already has enough intelligence to honor a local Imam for stopping a massacre, they clearly do not need a paid intermediary to explain that such massacres are happening. Paying a third-party firm to “acknowledge” a reality that the State Department has already memorialized with awards is not just a waste of resources, it is a disappointing admission that the current administration views Christian lives as a public relations problem to be managed rather than a human rights emergency to be solved. By treating the “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) status as a branding hurdle rather than a call for internal reform, the government effectively prioritizes the security of its own image over the security of the people it is sworn to protect – May be Nigerians need to remind President Tinubu and APC that “What competance can’t fix, more money will not fix it.
Conclusion: Competence vs. Communication
A government’s legacy is written in the safety of its citizens, not the slickness of its lobbyists. In 2014, the message was that a leader who cannot protect worshippers is incompetent. By 2026, the strategy has shifted: if you cannot protect the worshippers, you must at least control the headline.
However, this $9 million attempt to “rebrand” the crisis ignores a long-standing pattern of disregard. For many, the administration’s lack of value for Christian lives was already laid bare during the 2022 campaign, when the APC rented “fake bishops”, individuals in poorly fitted clerical robes who were disowned by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), to provide a fraudulent theological rubber stamp for a same-faith ticket. If a party is willing to stage a theatrical impersonation of the church leadership just to secure a political path, it is little wonder they are now willing to spend billions to stage a theatrical denial of a genocide.
As Nigeria navigates its “Country of Particular Concern” status under a watchful and aggressive U.S. administration, the question remains: Can $9 million buy the “competence” that a 2014 tweet once demanded? Or is it simply the final payment in a long history of trading Christian safety for political optics?
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