We talked about Governance on Day 19. Today, it is not about government, today is about us.
We always say “government is bad, government did this.” True. But government alone cannot fix Nigeria. If we change presidents 10 times, if citizens do not change, nothing will change.
Check ourselves:
- We shout “Nigeria is dirty” but we throw pure water sachets on the road.
- We shout “no order” but we jump queues at banks and airports.
- We shout “tax is too small” but we do not pay tax, we bribe LASTMA to avoid fines.
- We shout “NEPA” but we bypass meters.
- We shout “corruption” but we pay to get our own child into school.
Everywhere in the world that works, citizens do their own part.
FIRS confirms only 19% of Nigerians pay tax — other studies put it at 10-12% of citizens and 9% of companies. South Africa is over 60%. IMF says only 10 million of 77 million labour force are registered taxpayers. That is the mirror.
What Better Nigeria Civic Duty Means:
- Community Cleaning: Do not wait for LAWMA only. Your street, your gutter, your market. If you sweep in front of your house, the whole of Lagos will be clean. Organize Saturday clean-up for your street once a month.
- Volunteering: Paint that public primary school near you. Volunteer to teach 2 hours for free on Saturday. That small school is where future doctors are.
- Paying Tax & Bills: It is not punishment, it is contribution. If 10 million more Nigerians pay small tax, government will get money to do roads without borrowing. Pay your waste bill, water bill. SBM Intelligence 2025 survey: 77% of Nigerians say they WILL comply if they see light, roads, security — willingness exists, but it is transactional.
- Queuing Responsibly: Orderliness is culture. Queue for fuel, queue for voting, queue for passport. If we obey small rules for queues, we will obey big rules of the constitution.
Government is a reflection of people. Better people = Better government. Better citizens = Better Nigeria.
We already did Leader (Day 13) and Institution (Day 19). Day 24 is Citizen. The triangle is complete.
Your Task Today: Do one civic duty — sweep your frontage, pay one bill, queue without complaining, volunteer one hour. Post it with #MyCivicDuty. It is not government work alone.
