Mrs Abisayo Busari-Akinnadeju, an ex-presidential aspirant of the Democratic Leadership Alliance, DLA, says Nigeria cannot survive without holding leaders accountable.
Busari-Akinnadeju, in a statement made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Akure, said citizen’s accountability was key to the country’ s survival.
She explained that the country might not survive its travails if citizens abandoned their civic obligations and responsibilities.
“Nigeria will not be rebuilt by government alone. It will be rebuilt when citizens refuse to cooperate with evil, refuse to excuse failure, and refuse to normalise the destruction of their own future.
“Nigeria will not fail if we hold our leaders accountable and also hold ourselves accountable for the society we are producing.
“The work of national renewal does not begin only at the ballot box, it begins at the dinner table. It begins in the conversations we avoid.
“It begins when a mother says, ‘Not in my house, or when a father says, ‘This family will not live on dishonour.
“It begins when citizens say, ‘This country belongs to all of us, and we will not watch it collapse,” she said.
According to the ex-presidential aspirant, Nigeria can rise, but first, conscience must rise and it must begin from every home.
Busari-Akinnadeju said holding leaders accountable did not mean insulting them, but meant asking questions, demanding transparency and voting with conscience.
“It means rejecting violence. It means refusing to defend incompetence because of tribe, religion, friendship, party, or personal benefit.
“It means remembering that leadership is a public trust, not a private reward. Nigeria will not fail if citizens wake up. It will not fail if women rise.
“Nations fail when citizens become silent, when wrongdoing becomes normal, when leadership is no longer questioned, and when the home stops producing people with conscience.
“This is why accountability must not be left to activists, journalists, lawyers, or politicians alone. Accountability must become a national culture.
“It must begin in government, also in the home, in our communities, in our schools, in our places of worship, in our businesses, and in the private conversations we have with the people we love,” she stated.
Busari-Akinnadeju also called on Nigerian women to rise as nation-builders from the home front to the public square.
She said women must not underestimate their power in shaping the moral direction of society.
According to her, a mother who teaches her child to reject violence is building national security.
“A wife who challenges dishonesty in her household is defending public integrity. A sister who refuses to celebrate fraud, thuggery, or abuse is strengthening the soul of the nation.
“Our homes are not separate from Nigeria. Our homes produce Nigeria. The young man who carries a weapon during elections comes from a home.
“The public officer who steals public funds comes from a home. The community leader who intimidates the weak comes from a home.
“The citizen who sells his conscience for temporary gain comes from a home. If we want a better country, we must begin by asking: what values are we allowing to grow under our own roofs?,” she said.
