Of what essence is governance?

Education, health care, power supply, food, and security. These are just a few of what the government is supposed to provide for its people. The Nigerian people have lost faith in governments’ ability to provide these basic things for its survival and are not complaining nor do we need these things from them. Not minding the fact that we pay tax directly and indirectly; some companies grumble due to multiple taxes. We still go ahead to provide for ourselves what ought to be provided for us with the tax we pay.

A nation that is supposed to be developing is unconsciously taking steps backward. Every household has an electricity generating set because we have no power supply. No one waits for pipe-borne water again as wells or bore-hole is in every compound. We still have to pay the policeman on the street for a job not done with a 50 naira note despite the fact that we also pay them with the tax we pay. We don’t expect security from them thus we set up a vigilante group. No more street lights, we settle for halogen lamps and flood lights bought by residents to light our streets at night. The ghetto do not expect bridges after decades and decades of promises so they take fate in their own hands and build scary looking wooden bridges. Who now waits for government to fill pot-holes on the road as the boys in the area can fill it with broken blocks or a wealthy man can tar it. The street does not believe in the judicial system and will rather set ablaze the suspected thief, murderer or witch.

The only thing the government has succeeded in providing at an over-bloated price will be made more expensive again. Looking at all these holistically, what’s the essence of governance? Do we really need one?