By Luminous Jannamike, ABUJA
Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, has taken aim at what he described as Nigeria’s habit of choosing waste over human wellbeing, warning that the country’s worsening development crisis is the direct result of leadership decisions, not lack of money.
In a statement he personally signed, Obi said the reported spending of about $9 million on foreign lobbyists in Washington was a painful reminder of how public funds are routinely deployed to manage perception abroad while conditions at home continue to deteriorate.
“This is merely a small example of wasteful spending that has contributed to our nation’s current failing status.
“Nigeria has remained stagnant in the low HDI category for 35 years, from 1990 to 2025. In contrast, comparable nations within the same low category, such as China, where Nigeria had a three-fold higher per capita income in 1990, and Indonesia have advanced from low to medium, and now to high categories.
“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,” he said.
Turning to health, one of the three pillars of HDI, Obi painted a grim picture of the human cost of misplaced priorities, pointing to Nigeria’s global rankings on life expectancy and maternal mortality.
“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. Instead of investing in life-saving systems, we spend millions trying to obscure our failures.
“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.
“This $9 million is sufficient to fund the entire 2024 capital budget for at least one major teaching hospital in each zone, directly enhancing survival rates, care, and life expectancy.
“The funds are available; what is lacking are prioritization, discipline, and effective leadership.
“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.
“We cannot continue to live in an illusion while our reality deteriorates. This constant prioritization of trivial matters must come to an end,” he said.
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