If Nigerian politics is to change, the starting point is clear. It is the legislature. This is where the problem sits. Those going for governorship and presidency know this. That is why they put in real efforts to decide who goes there.

Right now, most legislators no longer act as watchdogs. They act too closely with the executive. They are quiet when they should speak. They are comfortable when they should apply pressure. The executive and the legislature are in obvious collusion. And this hurts our politics badly. It is even getting worse in recent years.

Oversight is weak. Questions are few. Public scrutiny is thin. This is not how a democracy should work. And it continues because there is no real consequence. Those who are supposed to represent us keep going back without offering any representation. And it is because we let them, or we trade our votes with few measures of rice that they offer. Even at that, they pocket billions as proceeds from constituency projects, which increased sharply as the government revenue improves from removal of subsidies and increased taxation.

So the response should be straightforward. Vote them out. No long debates. No search for perfect alternatives. If a legislator fails to check the executive, that is enough reason not to return them. Just simply vote against them. Vote them out.

The legislature is the engine of democracy. It is where power is questioned. It is where excess is restrained. When it fails, the entire system feels it. Governors act with little resistance. The presidency becomes arrogantly abusive. Public resources are managed without scrutiny. All because oversight is missing.

Yet legislators are the easiest to hold accountable through elections. They are the easiest to remove, yet the most critical for democracy. They are closer to the people. Their actions are visible. People know who speaks. People know who remains silent. The information is already there.

What is needed is action. Once voters begin to respond, their conduct will change. A legislator who knows that silence can cost a seat will begin to engage. Will ask questions. Will represent more actively. Oversight will return to the centre of legislative work.
And the executive will respond too, accordingly. This is how political systems improve. Change the consequence and conduct will follow.

We do not have to worry about the quality of those who come next. Though that concern is understandable, but it should not delay action. The aim is not to guarantee perfection. The aim is to ensure that performance matters. Once that becomes clear, the system begins to correct itself. Political parties will pay more attention to who they present. Aspirants will prepare more seriously. Representation will begin to carry weight again.

So the point is simple. If a legislator does not perform the duty of oversight, do not return them. Let that pattern take root across constituencies. From there, the effect will spread. To governors. To the presidency. To the wider political culture.

Nigeria does not need to begin reform by searching for rocket science formulas. It can begin where accountability is meant to live. That is right in front of us.

Vote them out. They are most vulnerable, more difficult to rig, yet have the most important role to play. That is how the system resets.