Citizenship and the Governance Imbroglio in Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria is a state in dire need of good governance and development. Given the huge petrodollars accruing to the country yearly from crude oil exploration and exportation, Nigeria has no excuse for being under-developed. The narratives on Nigeria have harped on issues of corruption, godfatherism, ethnicity and most importantly leadership crisis as the major banes of governance and development in the country, with little attention paid to the issue of citizenship. Yet, there is a nexus between citizenship and good governance. The paper argues that governance in any society cannot be divorced from the dominant citizenship orientation in such society. The paper therefore historicises citizenship and links governance crisis in Nigeria to the citizenship crisis that emerged through the colonial and post-colonial experiences. The paper adopts a descriptive approach and utilises both primary and secondary data to analyse the issues of citizenship and governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. The paper specifically examines citizens’ perceptions on governance and how these perceptions enhance or constrain good and efficient governance under the current democratic governance. The paper concludes that good/responsible citizenship is a panacea for the governance and development crisis in Nigeria.