Award-winning investigative journalist, David Hundeyin has alleged that American cultural and financial influence is at the root of many of Nigeria’s current social problems, including what he described as the rise of “culture-war ideologies” such as LGBTQ activism and third-wave feminism.
Hundeyin made the claims on X while reacting to the controversy surrounding Paystack co-founder Ezra Olubi. He argued that the moral and social disruptions Nigeria is witnessing did not occur spontaneously but can be traced to a turning point “after May 29, 2011,” when, according to him, American funding began flowing aggressively into the country.
According to Hundeyin, this money entered Nigeria’s tech ecosystem, media industry and civil society with hidden objectives.
“All of a sudden, every dunce with 10,000 Twitter followers could open an NGO, start an online news platform, or submit a pitch deck, and US dollars would come rushing into their account as if they had actually done something,” he wrote.
He claimed that many young Nigerians were transformed into what he described as “dollar-hunting grifters,” citing examples of tech personalities and civic activists who rose to prominence over the last decade. He also alleged that some journalists benefited from the influx of foreign money.
Hundeyin insisted that the funds were not free but formed part of a larger geopolitical project aimed at reshaping Nigeria’s political and cultural landscape.
He linked the 2015 political transition to the alleged agenda and claimed that other aspects included “introducing bitter American culture wars to the country” and distorting Nigeria’s tech ecosystem so heavily that, despite years of investment, only payment-processing technologies have become widely mainstream.
Hundeyin further alleged that American venture capital firms, which he described as “CIA slush funds with sexy branding,” deliberately elevated personalities he labelled as narcissistic or socially disruptive.
According to him, these individuals were selected to lead what he characterised as a cultural onslaught: “LGBTQ, 3rd wave feminism, ‘polycule’ — all imported culture-war ideas pushed into a population that had no way to know what was coming.”
He claimed that male tech figures and female civic leaders were chosen to drive different aspects of this alleged influence campaign.
Despite expressing deep frustration, Hundeyin suggested he no longer believes that speaking out will make any difference.
“I could say everything and present signed confessions confirming everything, and my people would still ask, ‘So what’s your solution?’” he wrote. “As I no get their solution, make I sleep. I have work in the morning.”
