The Citizen
This segment is designed to render a brief discourse on the Citizenry of a State. Again this is important for us as we struggle with the implications of citizenship and the duties and benefits deriving from this status. Many do not know the benefits to expect from the State and its Government and thus have little or no interest in the obligations imposed on them in promotion/support of the State. In many regards, individuals and groups have replaced the State and command more loyalty than the State from the citizenry. This can be traced to the fact that individuals have replaced the Government in providing benefits to the people.
Definitions
According to the Oxford dictionary, a Citizen is a legally recognized subject or national of a State or commonwealth, either native or naturalized. This is differentiated from the status of an alien who is not “legally recognized”. The legal recognition usually stems from being born in the particular country/location, but can also be granted by the State. It is also the Citizens that form/constitute the State.
Functions Of A Citizen
There are responsibilities attached to citizenship of a State. These responsibilities may vary depending on the nature/type of State being considered. However, there are certain general duties that cut across board and should form guidance. In most developed nations, effort is generally made by the State to promote an understanding of these duties in the interest of all and the State.
Allegiance
Every citizen is expected to be loyal to the State. His or her loyalty should, in no case, be divided. The State expects unstinted allegiance from its citizens.
Obedience
All the citizens should willingly and habitually obey the laws of the State. A democratic government is a government of the people themselves. Laws reflect their own will. There should not be, therefore, any hesitation in the obedience of laws.
Payment of Taxes
The administration of a country involves a certain amount of expenditure. This expenditure cannot be met without raising certain taxes. Citizens in their own interest, should, therefore willingly and honestly make payment of their taxes.
Public Spirit
Every citizen should be public spirited. He should not seek his self-interest over that of the State and should always be ready to contribute his mite to the welfare of the State and society.
Honest exercise of Franchise
Voting is a sacred trust in the hands of the citizens. It should always be used judiciously. Suitable representatives should be sent to the legislatures. A wrong use of the vote may result in a bad government.
Help to Public Officials in the maintenance of Law and Order
It is the duty of every citizen to lend a hand of co-operation to public officials in the discharge of their duties. Every citizen should try to remove evils and crimes from society by rendering help to the officials concerned.
Work
Every able-bodied citizen should work and try to add something to the social fund of the State. Idlers are a parasite on the society. Work brings in wealth and prosperity to the State and the country. In countries like Russia work is considered to be a legal duty.
Toleration
Every citizen is expected to be tolerant towards others. The belief "Do unto others what you wish to be done by," should be the motto before every citizen.
Resistance
It is the duty of a good citizen to resist injustice from any quarter. If the Government is unjust, it may also be resisted.
However, as mentioned above, there may be variance in the expected functions of the Citizen based on the type of government in existence in the State. Thus as we practice a democracy, it is pertinent to expand on these responsibilities attributed to a citizen in a democratically structured State;
- 1. A citizen in a democracy should have the duty to vote. Voting is tantamount to a requirement. In a democracy we choose who will represent us, thus there is no point to a democracy in which we do not participate.
- 2. A citizen in a democracy should have an obligation to understand the powers and duties of the government, generally set forth in a constitution. If we do not know this, the government that does not act properly has no checks upon it and can avoid carrying out its duties.
- 3. A citizen in a democracy should have the responsibility of knowing his or her rights, which are also generally set forth in a constitution. If we do not know what our rights are, they are meaningless.
- 4. A citizen in a democracy should always know who his or her representatives are. If we do not know who is representing us, we do not know whether or not that person is representing us properly, to whom we should complain if that is the case, or to whom we should state our own opinions and preferences regarding our representation, needs and desires.
- 5. A citizen in a democracy should assume the responsibility of being informed about the issues that affect the country as a whole, for example, the economy, immigration policy, environmental policy, and foreign policy.
- 6. A citizen must have a duty to obey the law. A democracy cannot exist in a lawless society, and without the willingness of citizens to obey the law, which is really a social contract, no government has the wherewithal to police a nation of lawbreakers, and anarchy results.
- 7. Tenth, a citizen must support public education in every way possible, through the payment of taxes, through local volunteer efforts, through affording this system the respect to which it should be entitled. Public education is the foundation of democracy, meant to educate children to be responsible and knowledgeable participants in the democratic process. Education founds the power to perpetuate the democracy.
- We can observe from the above that much is needed for our democracy to stand, especially as it relates to the Citizen.
Benefits of the Citizen
The benefits ascribable to the Citizen of a State are usually contained in the documents that prescribe and regulate the State, e.g. the Constitution and laws. However, there are several general elements which reverberate amongst the generality of States and include;
- Freedom to express yourself.
- Freedom to worship as you wish.
- Right to a prompt, fair trial by jury.
- Right to vote in elections for public officials.
- Right to apply for federal employment requiring U.S. citizenship.
- Right to run for elected office.
- Freedom to pursue “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Citizen Welfare and Wellbeing
Welfare can be summarized as the provision of a minimal level of well-being and social support for citizens without current means to support their basic needs. In most developed countries, welfare is largely provided by the Government from tax income, and to a lesser extent by NGOs, Charities, informal social groups, religious groups, and inter-governmental organizations. Public assistance programs were not called welfare until the early 20th century when the term was quickly adopted to avoid the negative connotations that had become associated with older terms such as charity.
The concept of welfare has taken many forms and functions since the evolution of the State. In the Roman Empire, the first emperor Augustus provided the Cura Annonae or distribution of free grain for citizens who could not afford to buy food every month. Social welfare was enlarged by the Emperor Trajan whose program brought acclaim from many. The Song dynasty government (c.1000AD in China) also supported multiple programs which could be classified as social welfare, including the establishment of retirement homes, public clinics, and paupers’ graveyards.
It was predominantly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that an organized system of State welfare provision was introduced in many countries. Otto von Bismarck, Chancellor of Germany, introduced one of the first welfare systems for the working classes. In Great Britain the Liberal government of Henry Campbell-Bannerman and David Lloyd George introduced the National Insurance system in 1911, a system later expanded by Clement Attlee. The United States inherited England’s poor house laws and has had a form of welfare since before it won its independence.
But during the Great Depression, when emergency relief measures were introduced under President Franklin D. Roosevelt the focus changed., Roosevelt’s “New Deal” focused predominantly on a program of providing work and stimulating the economy through public spending on projects, rather than on cash payment to citizens.
Today, Welfare has taken a greater relevance in the functions of State, spanning many areas and attributes, all in the bid by States to provide for the Wellbeing of the Citizen.
Wellbeing on the other hand, can be defined as a good or satisfactory condition of existence, characterized by health, happiness and prosperity. Social development is about improving the well-being of every individual in society so they can reach their full potential. The success of society is linked to the well-being of each and every citizen.
Citizen wellbeing demands that the State invests in the people. It requires the removal of barriers so that all citizens can journey toward their dreams with confidence and dignity. It is about refusing to accept that people who live in poverty will always be poor. It is about helping people so they can move forward on their path to self-sufficiency. Many States achieve this through Welfare policies, i.e. a combination of programmes and packages designed to uplift the citizenry and enable platforms that promote wellbeing.
Education is one of the cardinal inputs in this regard and equally accords the State such benefits as human capital development to sustain development. In many developed States/countries the full spectrum of Welfare and Wellbeing initiatives and categories has grown immensely, covering any conceivable circumstance that may relate to the Citizen as nations continue to cater for their Citizens.
An example can be found with the UK Social Welfare spectrum enumerated below;
Benefits entitlement
Includes when and how benefit payments are made. Benefits are calculated depending on the eligibility of the citizen for the particular benefit.
Benefits for families
May include Child Trust Funds, childcare and the Maternity Grants
Careers and disability benefits
These are possible benefits for people living with disabilities and may include Living Allowance, Career's Allowance and Employment/Support Allowance
Child Benefit
Information about eligibility, claiming and when Child Benefit stops
Death and benefits
Includes Widowed Parent's Allowance, Bereavement Payment, Funeral Payment
Heating and housing benefits
Includes Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Weather Payment for those who cannot afford same, especially parents with family.
Jobseeker's Allowance and low income benefits
Includes Income Support, Budgeting Loans and Pension Credit
Tax credits
These are types of relief from tax and include Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and when tax credits stop
The Nigerian Citizen
Many of the duties and rights of the Nigerian Citizen are enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and are to be found in Part 4 of the document.
However, the first point of recon in the Nigerian State is that Government has not adequately identified the Nigerian Citizen. The State does not know the Citizens. Secondly, in continuation from the above, the State does not have adequate records of the number of Citizens within the Nigerian State and thus cannot determine the needs of the citizens.
Stemming from the above observations, it is obvious that the State, and by extension the government, cannot provide the prerequisite levels of expected benefits due to the citizens. Inversely, some believe that the State, having not provided the benefits, cannot demand the due duties and responsibilities from the citizenry. This has resulted in some of the issues we face as a nation and the current cries for restructuring, when in fact the fundamentals have not been satisfied.
Again, from the foregoing, we are yet to open the chapter of welfare and wellbeing in the evolution and development of the Nigerian State.