The Nigerian government has signed a
contract worth more than $1.2 million with a Washington public relations firm
to deal with the fallout from the Boko Haram kidnappings
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan,
who is up for reelection in February, is seeking to counter the perception that
he has not done enough to combat the Islamic extremists in his country who
abducted more than 270 schoolgirls in April.
To that end, his government has hired
Levick, a prominent PR and lobbying firm in Washington, to engage in an effort
to change the “the international and local media narrative” surrounding
Nigeria’s “efforts to find and safely return the girls abducted by the
terrorist organization Boko Haram,” according to a contract document signed
June 13.
The firm will also be “assisting the
government’s efforts to mobilize international support in fighting Boko Haram
as part of the greater war on terror.”
Levick is partnering on the contract
with Jared Genser, a human rights attorney who primarily represents political
prisoners.
The firm said the work for Nigeria will
be more than just PR and will be part of an effort to create “real change” in
the country.
“A more comprehensive approach, using
vehicles, such as public diplomacy and engaging outside experts to enact real
changes, is how the advocacy industry is evolving,” Phil Elwood, a vice
president at Levick, told The Hill. “A communications strategy alone is not
enough to solve the complex and multifaceted problems facing some of the more
controversial nations.”
In April, Boko Haram, a terrorist group
whose name loosely translates to “Western education is sin,” snatched more than
250 schoolgirls from a state-owned school in northern Nigeria. Government
officials say 219 girls are still missing, while about 57 have escaped their
captors.
Local media reports out of Nigeria
suggest Boko Haram kidnapped more girls last week. More than 60 women and
girls, and 31 schoolboys are missing after a three-day siege in the northern
part of the country.
President Obama has sent a team of U.S.
military, law enforcement and hostage-negotiation advisers to Abuja, the
capital of Nigeria, to help with the search for the missing youths. He has also
committed 80 American troops to the neighboring country of Chad.
Lanny Davis, an executive vice president
at Levick who is also a columnist for The Hill, said Jonathan is committed to
the rescue effort.
“For me, after talking to him, the
priority for President Jonathan beyond any is finding and bringing home the
girls,” Davis said. “There’s got to be a way to amplify what he’s saying and
doing to find these girls because over here in America, we’re not hearing much
about his effort.”
Levick will be also working to
publicize “President Goodluck Jonathan Administration’s past, present and
future priority to foster transparency, democracy and the rule of law
throughout Nigeria,” according to contract documents.
That’s where Genser, armed with
impressive human rights bona fides, comes in.
His client list includes the Burmese
pro-democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi, retired South African Archbishop
Desmond Tutu and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. Genser also began representing
human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, currently imprisoned in China, months before
he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.
“Arbitrary detention is, for better or
worse, my specialty,” Genser said, mentioning that it has been about five years
since he has worked for a foreign government.
In addition to his own firm, Perseus
Strategies, Genser founded Freedom Now, an independent nonprofit that works to
“free prisoners of conscious worldwide.” The firm has more than 15 campaigns
that urge the release of political prisoners in countries including Ethiopia,
Vietnam and Uzbekistan.
“It’s of course easier to wear the
white hat,” he said, referring to the bulk of his work, “because who’s going to
object?”
Genser said his decision to work for
Nigeria was based on Jonathan’s commitment to taking on Boko Haram.
“In terms of advancing human rights,
however, the real work has to be done working with governments that are well
meaning but lack the capacity — or as much capacity as they might like — and
want to do the right thing,” he said.
“At the end of the day, the [Nigerian]
president has said clearly to us that he wants results,” he said.
Levick will be paid $75,000 per month
for its work, in addition to the extra costs of advertisements, video
production and website development, and is working for the government through a
state-owned media agency.
If members of the firm travel to
Nigeria, there will be an additional estimated cost of $22,500 per person. A
subcontract with Perseus Strategies is valued at $25,000 per month, bringing
the monthly retainer to a total of $100,000.
By K Street standards, the $1.2 million
Nigeria contract is a fairly sizable one, though other firms have earned more
from Middle Eastern countries. For example, The Glover Park Group has a
contract with Egypt valued at $250,000 per month.
Genser said he hopes to bolster the
efforts already underway to rescue the schoolgirls.
“I would not sit here and pretend that we are
singlehandedly going to rescue the girls, that’s not our role,” Genser said.
“What we can do is, we can provide advice and support about how to do so in
accordance with international human rights norms and standards