SIR: The lack of a functional system of government for many years has made Nigerians indefatigable.  They have suffered and complained for their leaders to institute a system of governance that can afford them a meaningful life but all to no avail.  The government has been unable to provide the three basic facilities that constitute a modern society.  The road infrastructure is collapsed.  The electricity supply is epileptic.  The water distribution has gone moribund. These infrastructures are not mentioned to say that security of lives and a stable economy are not guarantees of a good government but those are lofty expectations for most Nigerians.

The ingeniousness of Nigerians has prevailed in the face of a ruinous system.  Citizens have started to do on their own what the government cannot do with the enormous wealth of the country.  Private and commercial houses are not completed without a good water supply system via borehole.  The same efficiency applies to electricity supply through a generating plant.  The third leg in the tripod that sustains a modern living is still handicapped.  Major road construction has been decapitated by a shoddy ambition.  This misappropriation has not stopped well-meaning individuals from undertaking massive road constructions in their local communities.

Read Also: COP27: Why Nigeria, others deserve reparation for climate change

Progressive Nigerians have pushed the government to the margin with their actions and moved to the centre to administer a quality of life that is obtainable within the resources of a global economy.  They are not leaving the growth of the society to the crippled hand of government.  They struggle by all means to attain massive wealth and use their riches to build a better society.  It has even reached to a stage where the wealthy compete to outdo each other with their acts of community development.

It may sound foreign to a young Nigerian that at some point in the life of the country, the government adequately provided the basic amenities.  Water, electricity and good roads were seen as natural designs like flowers on a beautiful landscape.  People took those services for granted as the least the government can do to show their presence.  Today, they are shameless.

The independent mindedness of Nigerians is a blessing in disguise.  A way has opened out of the thickest jungle.  The determination by prosperous citizens to stay at pace with the global community has redefined the role of government.  Their humanitarian contributions have made an immeasurable difference and minimized the function of the established authorities.  Perhaps the government can meet the citizens half way and complete the monstrous road rehabilitation works going on in most highways.

• Pius Okaneme, Umuoji, Anambra State.