Government’s Responsibilities and Citizens’ Duties in a Democratic System: The implication for Nigerian Fourth Republic

Abstract

In any political system the presence of government and citizens is sine qua non. Inkeeping with the purpose for which government was established, citizens expectgovernment not only to be responsible for all its actions towards them, but also beresponsive to their yearning just as government expects its citizens to discharge theirduties to the state. It is often claimed that democracy is a system of government thatenables both the leaders and the citizens to be conscious of what is required, andaccomplish it for the betterment of the society in terms of political, social and economicdevelopment. In Nigeria, it is argued, however, that neither government nor the citizenshave discharged their statutory functions satisfactorily. The study was undertaken toexamine the extent to which the Nigerian state and its citizens have lived up to theirstatutory and civic requirements. The study revealed that most citizens of Nigeria arepolitically docile, gullible, and parochial. This has led to a situation where citizen‘ rightsare trampled upon and made them easy target of elites‘ maneuvers. The citizens‘ levelof political awareness and participation is low and this has resulted in the being shirkingof their duties to the state. The work is of the view that democratic system in Nigeriacould only be sustained when both the state and its citizens accept their duties andresponsibilities as being inherent and inalienable. Both descriptive and historicalmethods were used in the study. It recommended among others that governmentshould work to help citizens through massive education to develop their capacity fordemocratic participations and civic leadership.