A human right activist, Aisha Yesufu has called on Nigerians to take collective action to reclaim the country’s future after a devastating 2025 marked by violence, economic hardship, and unimaginable hardship, urging them to ‘move beyond what divides us and focus on what unite us and can benefit all of us.’
In a new year message titled ‘No One Is Coming To Save Us’ posted on her X verified account on Thursday, Yesufu said Nigerians should rise and demand for a better life.
She stressed that Nigerians are not helpless.
According to her, Nigerians should strive for Good governance, accountability, transparency, peace, security, and booming economy which she believed will benefit all the citizens.
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”Waiting for others to come and save us has not worked either. We must stand up and fight for ourselves. We must demand for a better life. This 2026, we must fight for our lives. We are not helpless. We chose to do nothing collectively and that can change today! Individually we have tried our best.
”It is time to move beyond what divides us and focus on what unite us and can benefit all of us. Good governance, accountability and transparency will benefit all of us. So will equity and justice. We all will benefit when there is peace and security. A Nigeria with a booming economy will be beneficial to us all.” She stated.
Yesufu further encouraged Nigerians to forego the insinuation that ‘politics is dirty’. She called on Nigerians to ‘Participate and clean up politics.’
She said: ”I therefore call on the good people of Nigeria to remove the spirit of ‘politics is dirty’ from our body and souls. Participate and clean up politics. The dirty politics we refused to participate in, has brought our country to its knees. Clean politics is what we need to take our country to the peak. Until we participate, we cannot clean it up.
”Enough of the pity parties we hold. Enough of the lamentations and talks. Enough of the self-defeatism. Enough of the fear and cowardice. Let 2026 be the year we fight for ourselves by ourselves. Let us not burden a few with the duty of speaking for us all. Let us all work towards the collective good that will be beneficial to us all.
”We have seen in the last couple of years how lots ofcitizens have taken ownership of their voices. It has beena beautiful thing to watch evolve. Many more can also take ownership of their voices and our collective voices can be better amplified with political participation. To the younger generation, do not make the mistake that my generation and the ones before us made. We thought politics was dirty and beneath us.”
