Accountability in governance

  Accountability is a vital tool in governance, accountability is being answerable for one's action. As an aspect of governance it has been central to discussions related to problems in the public sector.

Democracy is a government of the people by the people and for the people, going by the definition of democracy. In governance, two(2) elements are involved; the leaders and the followers. A leader is the person who leads or commands a country while a follower is an adherent of particular cause. A leader is saddled with the responsibility of over-seeing the equitable distribution of nation's wealth to the people in a country.

Nigeria as a country has been governed by selfish leaders, the leaders who put personal before the interest of the nation. Since independence in 1960, bulk of the money accruable to the nation has
been stolen by the bad and corrupt leaders, in the sense that the crude oil has become a curse to the nation going by the level of corruption that have been perpetrated in the sector.
  
In a democratic government, the power is vested on the leaders by the followers, there is no leader without the followers, the followers always elect the leaders into power, in essence the power belongs to the masses hence a leader is elected into an office to protect the interests of the people.
In reality, in Nigeria, the masses always forget their power after the leaders are elected into the office, the leaders are left to do what they want with the resources of the country.

No wonder they embezzle the resoures they have at their disposal, it is only in Nigeria, you see our leaders stealing and  taking our money to other countries, thereby developing the economy of those countries leaving the masses back home to wallow in poverty, it is so sad that till date some loots attributed to Abacha are still being uncovered in Switzerland. I wonder how America as a nation has been able to reduce  corruption to the bearest minimum, then I got to know that the leaders are made to be accountable to the people, the leaders are always kept on their toes because they know they are answerable to the people.
  
In Nigeria, most people do not know their rights as a citizen of the country, they do not know it is their right to enjoy good and quality healthcare, good roads, constant water supply to every household but we have been made to believe we have no rights but privileges that should be celebrated, now we are fond of celebrating mediocrity as achievements. Also, we have been made to believe that suffering and smiling is our destiny.

As a citizen of this country, it is our right to know how the resources of the nation is being shared and spent, it is our duty to demand for proper accountability from the leaders, in doing so, they will be kept on their toes. Also,we must demand for  proper prosecution of corrupt leaders and anyone found wanting must be brought to book.
  
  As a new government is ushered in, I implore every Nigerian to be vigilant and demand for proper accountability from our leaders. We must do away with suffering and smiling mantra we are known for, an average man on the street deserves a good life and this can be achieved if the nation's wealth is evenly distributed across all social social strata.
  
Proper accountability is the key to the development of the likes of America , Great Britian and other developed world, for our democracy to thrive , we must hold our leaders accountable to us as power truly belongs to the people.

God bless Nigeria.
Long live Nigeria.