Human rights activist and BringBackOurGirls co-convener, Aisha Yesufu, has alleged that the Nigerian government is intentionally using hunger and poverty as instruments of control, warning that the deepening economic crisis has weakened citizens and reduced their capacity to think critically or hold leaders accountable.
Yesufu made the claim in a post on her verified 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, February 2, describing hunger as the most powerful weapon currently deployed against Nigerians.
According to her, widespread hunger and hardship have pushed many citizens into survival mode, leaving them with neither the energy nor the mental space to engage in political discourse or challenge those in authority. She argued that hunger in Nigeria is no longer a by-product of poor governance but a deliberate strategy.
“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,” she wrote.
The activist stressed that this reality places a moral burden on Nigerians who are not facing hunger to act on behalf of those who no longer have the strength to do so.
She further accused the political leadership, under President Bola Tinubu, of deliberately deepening poverty while rolling out short-term relief measures around election periods, which she said are aimed at winning votes rather than addressing structural economic problems.
“Hunger has been deliberately inflicted, robbing many of the ability to think. Poverty has also been weaponised and has become a cancer eating away at the soul of our society,” Yesufu stated.
She added that such relief efforts are calculated and short-lived.
“The current rulers have perfected the act of impoverishing the people and, just before elections, offering token reliefs that disappear as soon as election results are announced,” she said.
Calling for collective responsibility, Yesufu urged economically stable Nigerians to come together and take charge of the country’s future, describing them as the potential “soul and conscience” of the nation.
She challenged those not directly affected by hunger to take a deliberate stand for Nigeria, insisting that the country has all it needs to thrive if citizens confront the hunger and poverty that have weakened its spirit.
“We must be intentional in standing for Nigeria. We have everything required to be great, but we must overcome hunger and revive the spirit that has been starved and is dying — the Nigerian can-do spirit,” she concluded.