The co-convener of the BringBackOurGirls movement, Aisha Yesufu, has accused the Nigerian government of using hunger and poverty as a deliberate weapon to control Nigerians, weaken citizens and suppress critical thinking.
The social critic, who made the allegations in a post on her verified X account in Monday, warned that the widespread hunger and hardship in the country has left many Nigerians struggling to survive, with little capacity to engage politically or hold leaders accountable.
According to her, the deliberate weaponization of poverty by the President Bola Tinubu-led government has created a society where those who are not hungry must think and act not only for themselves, but also on behalf of those who no longer have the strength or space to do so.
Yesufu went on to accuse the political leadership of entrenching poverty while offering temporary relief measures during election periods arguing that such interventions are short-lived and designed primarily to secure votes rather than address systemic issues.
She called on Nigerians who are economically stable to come together and serve as the “soul and conscience of the nation,” urging them to take a deliberate stand for the country’s future.
Addressing Nigerians directly, Yesufu said:
“My Fellow Citizens,
Hunger has become a weapon that has been fully deployed in Nigeria. It is now the most effective tool used to control citizens. Nigeria is now full of people who are too hungry to think.
“It therefore means that those who are not hungry have to think not only for themselves but on behalf of those who are too hungry to think.
“Hunger that has been deliberately inflicted which has made many to lose their capacity to think. There is also the poverty has been weaponized. It has become a cancer that has eaten up the very soul of our society.
“My fellow citizens, if we want to build this country, there must be a committed few who put everything together and do it, not just on their behalf, but on behalf of others. The current set of rulers have perfected the act of impoverishing the people and just before election give instant few reliefs that last no longer than when the next election results is announced.
“For those who are fortunate enough to not be in the category of those who are hungry, what then must be done, is to come together and be the soul and the conscience of the nation, and fight for the nation, and stand for the nation, and be there for the nation.
“Are you willing to be one of the few committed? We must be deliberate in the way that we stand for Nigeria. Nigeria has everything to be great. We have to unlock it to get past the hunger and get to the core to unlock the spirit that has been starved, that is dying. We have to water it and wake it up! The spirit of Nigeria.
The CAN DO spirit!
Regards.”
Aisha Yesufu
