Critics say Abuja is prioritizing political survival over confronting jihadist violence that has killed thousands nationwide.
By Mary Kiara
ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigeria’s president has handed federal agencies to seven children of Northern dynasties while paying $9 million to Washington lobbyists to shield his record on Christian killings.
Lacking organic political support across Northern Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has launched a dual-track strategy to purchase political survival ahead of the 2027 general elections: partitioning executive control of major federal agencies to the offspring of the North’s most prominent military rulers, civilian leaders, and traditional kingmakers, the administration is bypassing ordinary voters to secure vital elite endorsements, and paying Washington lobbyists to soften congressional scrutiny of Christian persecution.
The two strategies operate in different arenas. One places descendants of influential northern figures in federal positions; the other shapes how U.S. policymakers understand Nigeria’s religious-freedom record.
The dual-track campaign addresses a severe political deficit. In the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu lost Kano State, the region’s most populous voting bloc, by nearly 480,000 votes. In Plateau, an opposition candidate swept the electorate. In Benue, Tinubu won by just over 2,000 votes amid continuing militant raids on Christian farming communities.
Slicing Federal Agencies for Northern Dynasties
To consolidate power in hostile electoral zones, the Presidential Villa has systematically deployed patronage to influential northern families.
Mohammed Babangida, eldest son of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, who ruled Nigeria as military dictator from 1985 to 1993 was confirmed as Chairman of the restructured Bank of Agriculture.
Dr. Zainab Marwa, daughter of retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), sits on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board, representing the North-East.
Yakubu Jang, son of Jonah David Jang, former military governor and two-term civilian governor of Plateau State was handed a Senior Special Assistant role in the Presidency.
Jamilu Wada Aliyu, son of the Madakin Gaya, a premier traditional kingmaker in Kano State, chairs the National Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC).
Abdullahi Tanko Yakasai, son of the 100-year-old elder statesman Tanko Yakasai manages North-West community engagement.
Mukhtar Shehu Shagari, of Nigeria’s first civilian president’s family Alhaji Shehu Shagari, heads the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).
Nasir Bala Aminu Ja’oji appointed Senior Special Assistant on Citizenship and Leadership, Ja’oji is a northern youth mobilizer with ties to traditional councils in Kano.
Three of the seven come from Kano alone.
The political significance becomes clearer when the appointments are viewed against the 2023 electoral map. In Kano, Kwankwaso defeated Tinubu by 479,938 votes, receiving 997,279 votes to Tinubu’s 517,341.
“It is an exercise in elite survival, completely disconnected from the security realities of ordinary citizens,” a security expert told TruthNigeria under anonymity.
The $9 Million Washington Shield
While federal appointment boards are used to buy Northern political gatekeepers at home, the administration extends its checkbook into Washington.
FARA filings show that Aster Legal, acting on behalf of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, retained DCI Group for $750,000 per month, a contract totaling $9 million annually. The stated mandate is to assist the Nigerian government in “communicating its actions to protect Nigerian Christian communities and maintaining U.S. support in countering West African jihadist groups”.
The lobbying push comes as Nigeria ranks fourth on the 2026 Global Terrorism Index, with 750 terrorism-related deaths in 2025, a 46% increase from the previous year.
Independent data compiled by premier regional intelligence firms, including SBM Intelligence and Beacon Security and Intelligence, alongside international rights watchdogs like Amnesty International, paints a harrowing picture: over 17,000 insecurity-related fatalities have been recorded across the federation under the current administration.
U.S. lawmaker Riley Moore pushed back publicly. “The Tinubu Administration is spending millions lobbying Congress while failing to adequately address the genocide Nigerian Christians face daily,” Moore posted on X.
Elite Patronage Versus Field Realities
Nigeria’s terrorism problem provides the test against which both political strategies must ultimately be measured.
“Most fundamentally, the financial intelligence architecture that should pick terrorism financing hasn’t been robust enough,” security expert Salaudeen Hashim told TruthNigeria.
“We have porous borders, and we have not made any form of deliberate attempt to contain, prevent, and deter the inflow of foreign fighters.”
“Only last week, 600 Nigerians, mostly women, children, and the elderly, were abducted from Dekera, Gidan-Zana, and Sabon Gida villages in Niger State and are still languishing in captivity,” National Publicity Secretary of the Allied Peoples Movement Abubakar Yusuf told TruthNigeria.
“The Tinubu administration is insensitive to the plight of Nigerians who bear the pain of daily killings, maiming, rape, abduction for ransom, and incarceration by terrorists in dehumanising conditions in various parts of the nation.”
Rather than confronting terrorist encampments across Plateau, Benue, and Niger states, federal authorities continue to rely on narrative management and high-level political deals.
Mary Kiara reports on Terrorism and Religious Freedom for TruthNigeria.
