Activist Aisha Yesufu has criticised the National Assembly for what she described as its failure to protect Nigerians amid the country’s escalating insecurity.
In an open letter released on Monday, Yesufu accused lawmakers of abandoning their constitutional duty to hold the executive accountable, despite persistent killings, kidnappings and violent attacks nationwide.
She described the legislature often seen as the “bedrock of democracy” as complicit through its silence and inaction.
According to her, the primary responsibility of the legislature is to defend citizens and strengthen democratic governance, yet members of parliament have “failed the people.”
“The legislative arm is supposed to be the activist in government the voice for the voiceless,” she wrote.
Yesufu lamented the deteriorating security situation, noting that Nigerians now live in constant fear.
“Today, Nigerians are being hunted like animals, abducted or killed in their places of worship, schools, roads, farms, markets and even in their homes where they should be safest. Nowhere and no one is safe in Nigeria,” she said.
She accused lawmakers of prioritising political alliances over the people they were elected to represent.
“With all of this happening, the National Assembly has not deemed it fit to raise its collective voice for the people who sent them there. Instead, they defend the executive they should be holding accountable,” she said.
Yesufu further criticised legislators for focusing on trivial matters instead of addressing urgent national challenges.
“They have been preoccupied with fancy dinners and majoring in the minor, making a mockery of citizens’ pain,” she added.
Calling the Assembly’s performance a “collective failure,” she said every member should “bow his or her head in shame.”
Yesufu urged lawmakers to take immediate action, including convening an emergency session on insecurity, probing the failures of security agencies, demanding accountability from the executive, and summoning President Bola Tinubu to explain what his administration is doing to protect Nigerians.
Despite her criticisms, Yesufu maintained that citizens would continue to demand good governance.
“We will not be silenced or intimidated. We will continue to demand accountability,” she declared.
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