THE CITIZEN’S RESPONSIBILITY: BEYOND BLAMING GOVERNMENT
A Nation Is More Than Its Leaders
By Shae Bebeyi @ Curiously Yours Arena
There is a question Nigerians have perfected: What is the government doing?
We ask it when the roads are bad, electricity fails, insecurity threatens our communities, prices rise, and schools and hospitals fall short. The question is legitimate. Government has a constitutional responsibility to protect lives and property, promote welfare and create an environment where citizens can live productive lives.
But there is another question we rarely ask: What are we, as citizens, doing?
A nation is not built by government alone. Government provides the framework, but citizens determine, to a large extent, what happens within that framework.
The character of a nation is written not only in the laws of its government, but in the daily choices of its people.
A country is therefore not merely what its leaders do; it is also what its people tolerate, reward, reject and practise every day.
The Nigerian Constitution recognises that citizenship comes with responsibilities. Section 24, among other duties, requires citizens to respect the rights of others, contribute to the progress of their communities, assist lawful agencies in maintaining order and fulfil their tax obligations.
We cannot demand clean government while offering bribes to officials. We cannot complain about corruption while celebrating unexplained wealth. We cannot demand justice while defending criminals because they belong to our community. We cannot demand quality education while encouraging examination malpractice.
A society cannot legislate its way out of a moral crisis; laws may restrain behaviour, but character determines direction.
Corruption also has a smaller face. It is the forged document, the bribe to jump a queue, the contractor using inferior materials, the businessperson deliberately cheating a customer, or the citizen who refuses to honour an agreement because the other party is powerless.
These acts may appear insignificant beside billion-naira scandals, but they belong to the same moral culture.
Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index scored Nigeria 26 out of 100 and ranked the country 142nd among 182 countries. The figure should provoke not only anger at government but also honest self-examination.
Corruption does not begin with the hand that steals millions; it begins with the conscience that first excuses a little dishonesty.
We must stop calling dishonesty “smartness” and stop confusing wealth with success. We should not ask only, How much does he have?” but also, “How did he get it?
Democracy also does not end at the ballot box. Voting is only the beginning of citizenship. Citizens must monitor representatives, question public spending, follow budgets and demand accountability.
The ballot gives a citizen a voice; vigilance gives that voice a lifespan.
Imagine citizens asking regularly: What was budgeted? Who received the contract? How much was allocated? When should the project be completed? Was it actually delivered?
Accountability begins when ordinary people become interested in public money.
Security is another shared responsibility. Government must protect citizens, but communities also have a duty to cooperate with lawful security agencies and report suspicious activities. We cannot hide criminals because they are relatives, neighbours or members of our ethnic group and then complain when insecurity consumes us.
The same applies to our environment. Government must provide drainage, waste management and urban planning, but citizens must stop blocking drains, dumping refuse indiscriminately and building where planning says they should not.
We often ask, “Where is the government?” after flooding, but government did not personally throw every plastic bottle into the gutter.
A citizen who destroys the public space and blames the state for its decay is asking the mirror to answer for his own reflection.
This is not an excuse for poor governance. It is a call for shared responsibility.
No nation can permanently rise above the moral habits of its citizens.
Perhaps Nigeria’s deepest challenge is therefore not only political but cultural. We want honest leaders but sometimes reward dishonesty. We demand competent government but often vote according to money, ethnicity, religion or personal connections. We demand justice but sometimes want special treatment for ourselves.
Leaders come from society. They do not fall from the sky.
The politician was once a citizen. The civil servant was once a citizen. The contractor was once a citizen. The voter was once a citizen.
We often complain about the leaders we have forgotten that society is the soil from which leadership grows.
If we want better leaders, we must also become better citizens.
Nigeria needs citizens who will speak against bad government, but it also needs citizens who will accept responsibility for their own conduct. We must demand accountability from those in power while practising accountability in our homes, businesses, communities and professions.
Government must govern responsibly. Citizens must live responsibly. Leaders must be accountable. Citizens must be vigilant.
Perhaps the question Nigeria must ask today is no longer only, What is the government doing?”
It is also:
What kind of citizens are we becoming?
Because a nation is more than its leaders. It is the collective character of its people.
The future of Nigeria will not be decided only by who occupies Aso Rock, but by what millions of Nigerians choose to tolerate, practise and become.
If we want a different Nigeria, we must not only change who governs us; we must also change what we tolerate, what we celebrate and what we practise.
A better government is necessary. A better citizenry is indispensable.
That is the real meaning of citizenship.
- Advertisement -
The Curious question is this: Are we waiting for a better Nigeria to produce better citizens, or must better citizens first produce the Nigeria we are waiting for?
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, AUGUST 23RD, 2026)
