Activist and co-convener of the #BringBackOurGirls movement, Aisha Yesufu, has issued a strongly worded open letter to the National Assembly, accusing federal lawmakers of abandoning their constitutional responsibilities amid worsening insecurity across the country.
In the letter titled “Open Letter to the National Assembly,” Yesufu said the legislature—considered the “bedrock of democracy”—has failed to uphold its mandate of representing the people and holding the executive arm accountable.
According to her, Nigerians are “being hunted like animals,” abducted and killed in their homes, schools, places of worship, farms and markets, yet the National Assembly has remained silent instead of raising its collective voice to demand action.
“The Nigerian people are being hunted like animals… Nowhere is safe in Nigeria and no one is safe,” she wrote. “With all of these happening, the National Assembly members have not deemed it fit to raise their collective voices for the people that sent them there. Instead, they have raised their voices in defending the executive they should be holding accountable.”
Yesufu described the current legislature as a “rubber stamp assembly,” accusing lawmakers of prioritising “fancy dinners” over tackling insecurity, poverty and corruption, which she said continue to push the country deeper into crisis.
“Every member of the National Assembly should bow his or her head in shame, for you all have collectively failed the people of Nigeria,” she stated.
The activist outlined several actions she said the lawmakers must take urgently, including Convening an emergency session on national insecurity; Investigating the causes of rising violence and the failures of security agencies; Holding the executive accountable for its inability to protect citizens; Passing laws to strengthen security institutions and address root causes of insecurity and summoning President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to appear before a joint session to explain what his government is doing to protect Nigerians.
Yesufu insisted that citizens would not relent in demanding accountability and better governance.
“The National Assembly must wake up to its responsibilities and act in the best interests of Nigerians. We will not be silenced or intimidated,” she wrote.
