GOVERNMENTVS COMMUNITY PROPERTY

Most times I wonder why some Nigerians vandalise government property and why some show this nonchalant attitude when it comes to protecting government infrastructure in their community. Aren’t the infrastructure that are being vandalised - schools, street lights, roads, electric poles, public buses, put in place for our benefit?

I recently went to a secondary school in Benin City which has been renovated by the state government and I found out that some of the chairs have been broken, the windows destroyed by some people and human excreta littering the whole place. As a matter of fact there have been reports on television of how some schools structures in the state have been destroyed and how some come to steal some of the infrastructural facilities in the premises. Recently, there was a case of the comrade bus that was burnt down by some students and other passersby as a result of a dispute between the government and the university. There are other sundry cases where some deliberately misuse, damage government property because they assumed that what they have damaged is not theirs. This is common in all the states of the federation.

Government property is our property. We are the ones making use of these structures - the school in the community together with the buses - belong to us all and that is why they are used by everyone.

Nigerians must begin to protect Nigerian property. Otherwise when public property is being destroyed, the government will continue to make a budget for the same project every year thereby giving corruption a chance to thrive.

Let’s begin to show concern and value for public utilities and discourage any form of vandalism by any group of persons for whatsoever reasons.

Benin City