‘We Elect You To Secure Our Lives’,Women Ask Lawmakers To Resume From Recess

Nigerian Women ask Lawmakers to resume from recess saying, “We elect you to secure our lives”.

The Lawmakers on extended recess are under fire from Womanifesto Feminists Group over the spate of killings and kidnappings in the country.

According to the civil society of 500 groups, “The incessant kidnappings and killings of Nigerians at the hands of non state armed men and terrorist groups calls for emergency action on the part of the lawmakers”. 

The women decried the complacency of members of the National Assembly who they said, “were elected for the primary purpose of governance, welfare and securing lives and property of Nigerians”.

The group, Womanifesto Feminists in a public letter are challenging the Lawmakers to immediately resume sitting and perform their fundamental duty of representation and provision of answers to citizens and solution to this emergency.

According to the letter to members of the national assembly, “my legislator, you serve to represent my interest, to be my voice in government and to amplify my needs as a citizen. You are needed back at work at this particular moment of need.

“The primary purpose of the government is the welfare and security of the people.

“Today, Nigerians are all potential targets and victims of kidnappers, bandits, armed robbers and terrorists who seem to easily obtain huge amounts of arms to carry out their nefarious acts. We thus live daily in fear for our lives!”

The women are asking the Lawmakers to return to their duty post so as to find a solution to banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and persistent violation of our daughters as hostages.

They expressed their concern for the level of disregard for human lives by bandits who overrun communities and take women and children as hostages.

Many communities have been displaced. Many Nigerians are living as internally displaced persons, say the women.

We, Citizens of Nigeria, are tired of living in fear, of raising huge amounts of money to pay ransom with no hope of our loved ones making it out alive!

“We are tired of feeling hopeless in our country! We are tired of dying before our time! We are tired of losing our soldiers, police officers and security personnel in a battle they are ill-equipped to fight!”, they stated  

Continuing, the letter in part demands: “As a representative of my people, I demand that YOU:

• Call for immediate resumption of the National Assembly,
• Ask the Government to declare a state of emergency in the security sector
• Demand an update from the security agencies on their progress and action plan in securing the lives of Nigerian Citizens
• Demand the protection of our sovereignty as a nation including the protection of our ungoverned spaces. 
• Demand that adequate resources be provided to law enforcement to enable them to protect citizens and promptly arrest the bandits and kidnappers.

The violent death of one of us is the death of all us! Our representatives should not be on vacation when we are being kidnapped, killed, and maimed!

Arise O Compatriot, Nigeria’s call Obey.  Return to work to join hand with citizens to find lasting solutions to the lack of security in our country. You must work to keep us safe!