Elements of Government PDF PDF

ELEMENTS OF GOVERNMENT
AN INTRODUCTORY TEXT
Usman Bappi
Elements of Govt. introductory text: by Usman Bappi 1|Page
DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to Almighty Allah (SWA), to my Late Mother Haj.
Maryam Hassan Jauro Bappi (Innayi), and to my Father whom with all
efforts made me the Person I am, and also to my Wives and Daughter
(Maryam) for their patience, lastly to my protagonist Late Dr. Muhammadu
Bashiru Kuna, May Allah (S.W.A.) reward and give them Jannahtul Firdausi,
Amen.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Alhamdulillah, In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful the Most Gracious,
Peace and blessing be upon the Prophet Muhammad (‫ )ﷺ‬along with his
family and blessed companions. This work is not an exception for there is
no research or academic work of any meaningful value that has
commenced and completed by the author, researcher or investigator alone
without any form of assistance from others. However in the course of
writing this text, I have been indebted to many individuals which are too
numerous to mention, but courtesy demands that I mention the few whose
role has been indispensable.
First and foremost, I must be grateful to the Almighty Allah (SWA) for
seeing me through life in all ramifications; Most profoundly my gratitude
goes to Dr. Matthew Funsho Bello for his correction and guidance, And in a
special way and in high spirit I wish to extend my gratitude to the HOD
Pubic Administration, Dr. Umar Mahmoud, for the support and guidance he
accorded me, and also to all the staff of the Department of Public
Administration, Gombe State University for their support, encouragement
and understanding all these years.
My appreciation goes to my brothers and sisters the Bappi‘s and to my

students for their contribution in class and challenge to some issues raised
in relation to this field. I also wish to put in record the support of all my
friends and colleagues within and outside the University, for their
encouragement, observation and sharing the dream with me.

PREFACE
This book is a modest effort into the study of Elements of Government, the
book is a twelve chapter text which aims at providing students with the
basic issues of Government as a prelude to understanding ―The State‖ (i.e.
the Nigerian State) and to other readers who have interest in widening the
scope of their knowledge in the theory and nature of Government will find
the text interesting.
This text provides the frame-work for understanding and appreciating the
structure, nature and system of government practiced and the reasons why
such system is adopted for a particular state. The book starts with chapter
one by looking at the concept of politics and nature of man. The second
chapter of the book examines the state, It‘s features and the nature of
Nigerian state and state creation in Nigeria, chapter three operationalize
some forms of government such as monarchy, aristocracy and democracy,
with chapter four dealing with structure and organisation of government.
Chapter five is on the basic concept of government, while chapter six is on
the issues of the types of government, a country should adopt. Chapter
seven discusses the constitution and the constitutionalism, chapter eight
examines the rule of law. Chapter nine addresses the concept of political
party and party system, while chapter ten is on interest/pressure groups
and public opinion. Where chapter eleven discusses administrative agencies
in Nigeria with an appraisal of some agencies such as ICPC, INEC, NDLEA,
EFCC etc. the last chapter that is chapter twelve examines elections and
the electoral system. At the end a references and further reading list are
provided for those who wish to further their readings.
I accept full responsibility for the book short comings, if any but none is
deliberate.
Usman Bappi
Gombe, Nigeria
November 2015

Table of Contents
Dedication …………………………………………………………………………………………………….I
Acknowledgment…………………………………………………………………………………………II
Preface…………………………………………………………………………………………………………III
Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………………………..VI
One: Politics …………………………………………………………………………… 04
Introduction/Definition
Nature of Man…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 05
Politics and History……………………………………………………………………………………… 06
Politics and Economics
Politics and Ethics ………………………………………………………………………………………….06
Two: The state ………………………………………………………………………… 07

Definition
Characteristics ………………………………………………………………………………………… 07
State and Government
State and Society ………………………………………………………………………………… …….. 08
State and Nation
the Nigerian state…………………………………………………………………………………………….09
State creation in Nigeria
Three: Forms of Government ……………………………………………… ……. 09

Monarchy
Aristocracy ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………… 09
Democracy……………………………………………………………………………………… …………. 10
Four: Structure & Organization of Government …………………………… 11

The Executive
The Legislature ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 11
The Judiciary …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 13
The Military ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 15
Five: Government & Basic concepts of Government ……………………… 16

Definition, Characteristics and Function
Power ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 17
Authority
Legitimacy ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 19
Sovereignty
Political Culture And Political Socialization …………………………………………………….. 20
Six: Types of Government …………………………………………………… ……. 21

Unitary…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21
Federalism/Presidential………………………………………………………………………………………21

Nigerian federalism………………………………………………………………………………………. 22
Parliamentary ………………………………………………………………………………………… 23
Confederal ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 24
Seven: Constitution …………………………………………………………………. 25
Definition
Features ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 25
Sources
Types (Written & Unwritten). ………………………………………………………………………… 26
Eight: Rule of Law ………………………………………………………………………. 27

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………..…..27
Definition
Characteristics ………………………………………………………………………………………… 27
Factors limiting rule of law ……………………………………………………………………….. 28
Nine: Party System and Political Parties …………………………………….. 29

Definition of Party System
Types of Party System ……………………………………………………………………………… 30
Party Manifesto …………………………………………………………………………………………. 31
Definition of Political Party ………………………………………………………………………… 32
Types of Political Party
Function of Political Party …………………………………………………………………………… 32
Ten: Pressure Group And Public Opinion ……………………………………… 33

Definition of Pressure Group
Type of Pressure Group ………………………………………………………………………………… 33
Methods Used By Pressure Group
Definition of Public Opinion ……………………………………………………………………….. 34
Characteristics of Public Opinion
Agencies of Public Opinion ……………………………………………………………………………… 34
Types of Public Opinion ……………………………………………………………………………… 35
Eleven: Pubic Administration: Administrative Agencies

Definition …………………………………………………………………………..…………………………..45
Code of Conduct Bureau……………………………………………………………………………………..45
Federal Character Commission …………………………………………………………………………..48
Federal Judicial Service Commission……………………………………………………………………4
INEC, ICPC, EFCC & NDLEA ……………………………………………………………………………..50
Twelve: Elections and Electoral system and

definitions and concepts of elections ………………………………………………………………….60
definitions and concepts of electoral system…………………………………………………………69
REFERENCES/FURTHER READING LIST ………………………………………….. 40

Chapters One: Politics
Introduction
When we observed the life of men around us we cannot fail to be struck by
two facts: as a rule every man desires to have his own way, to think and
act as he likes: and at the same time every one cannot have his way
because he lives in a society, one man desire conflicts with those of
another. The relations of the individual member of society with another
therefore need regulation by government. When a body of people is clearly
organized as a unit for the purpose of government, then It‘s said to be
politically organized and may be called a body of politics or state. The
essence of such a society is that a group of people called the government
are clothed with authority to make laws and enforce them: they claim
obedience from members of the society whom they govern. Politics then
deals with a state or society; this means that politics refers to a people
organized by law within a definite territory.
Definition of Politics
According to A. Appadorai politics is seen as the science concerned with
the state and of the conditions essential to It‘s existence and development.
Politics is the art or science of government or governing, especially the
governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and
control of It‘s internal and external affairs.
Politics (from Greek: politikos, meaning "of, for, or relating to citizens") is

the practice and theory of influencing other people on a global, civic or
individual level. More narrowly, it refers to achieving and exercising
positions of governance - organized control over a human community,
particularly a state. Furthermore, politics is the study or practice of the
distribution of power and resources within a given community (a
hierarchically organized population). as well as the interrelationship(s)
between communities. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics).
A variety of methods are employed in politics, which include promoting

one's own political views among people, negotiating with other political
subjects, making laws, and exercising force, including warfare against
adversaries. Politics is exercised on a wide range of social levels, from clans
and tribes of traditional societies, through modern local governments,

companies and institutions up to sovereign states, to the international
level. Politics includes but not limited to the following;
1. The science or art of political government.

2. The practice or profession of conducting political affairs.
3. Political affairs.
4. Political methods or maneuvers.
5. Political principles or opinions.
6. The use of strategy or intrigue in obtaining power, control, or status.
The Nature of Man I

Though man shares with the other animals external and internal senses, he
is at the same time also endowed with two qualities peculiar to him,
knowledge and will. By knowledge is meant the power of generalization,
the conception of abstract ideas, and the possession of intellectual truths.
By will is meant that strong desire to acquire an object which after due
consideration of It‘s consequences has been pronounced by reason to be
good. It‘s quite different from animal‘s desire, nay, It‘s often the very
opposite of it. i.e. men are like trees different in character and style.
The Pig, the Dog, the Demon and the Wise Man
These are elements of the inner being, which are the trait of Man‘s nature.
Success lies in keeping these elements in balance.
According to Imam Al-Ghazzali: there are 4 factors inter-mixed elements
that dwell in a man‘s nature that are united against him, the qualities of:
1) The Beast (animalistic).

2) The Demon (evil intention).
3) The lordly (God-given wisdom/knowledge).
4) The Brutal (greed).
Every man has a mix of these four qualities, these all gather within a man‘s
skin as if they were a pig (Brutish). a dog (Predatory beast)., a demon
(Demonic), and a Wise Man (lordly and which may lead to good or may
lead to arrogance, i.e. to claim lordship like Pharaoh)..
The Pig = appetence, desire, lust, internal greed

The Dog = Anger, enmity, as It‘s in the nature of this animal to be savage,
to slaughter, to be wild
The Demon, it continues to stir up the appetence of the Pig and the enmity
of the wild beast.
And within Man there also lies a ―wise man‖, who, wards off the Demon,
and kills off the gluttony of the Pig by setting the enmity of the Dog onto it.
And if he is successful in doing so and maintains the balance then the
kingdom is safe. However if he is weak and he fails, then he is constantly
searching out new ways to satisfy the Pig and please his Dog. And thus the
scary reality of It‘s that most of mankind are not serving their Lord, but are
serving a Dog and a Pig, because their primary concern is their bellies,
sexual indulgence and getting even with the enemy. And so the irony
comes, as Imam Al-Ghazzali says, he whom disapproves of idolatry to a
stone, if the veil were surely to be removed, he would actually find himself
in prostration to a Pig, serving his appetite and that which he lusts. Or he
would find himself in prostration to a Dog, by planning and scheming to
become obedient to it. And as It‘s the Demon that arouses the Pig and the
Dog, in effect, Man is worshipping the Demon. If Man is able to bring all of
these elements under the lordly rule of the wise man, then he is able to
gain more knowledge, wisdom, understand the real nature of things. By
bringing the appetence of the Pig back within limits, he is able to gain so
much more honorable qualities, such as chasteness, contentment,
happiness, modesty and such. By holding back the anger of the Dog he is
able to gain courage, generosity, self-control, patience, gentleness,
nobility, dignity and such. Source: Al-Ghazzali I. (1921). The Nature of
Man, as translated by Syed Nawab Ali).
The nature of man II

Man as lion, donkey and dog. My friend said that the first stage of a
man‘s life is the stage of being a lion. This is the stage that precedes
marriage. Before an Arab marries, he thinks of himself as a lion in the
jungle. He is the king of the forest. He has the right to do whatever he
wants, the way he wants, when he wants without anyone‘s interference in
their lives. At this stage of his life, the man can fall in love with whomever
he likes, go wherever he wants, comes to his home whenever he wishes,
and wear what he wants. This is the stage of total freedom. Secondly,
when one marries, he changes from being a lion to being a donkey. My

friend and many of this theory‘s followers believe that when a husband has
children and a wife, he is doomed to spend his time working hard to earn
more money, more food, and more clothes for them. He works as hard as
a donkey to satisfy and afford their basic needs. He forgets about his own
needs. He doesn‘t take care of his look, his clothes and his food. All what
matters for him is to see his children eat and wear the clothes they want
and grow up the way they want.
Fathers and husbands forget about their own life. Their lives stop at that
point. All they think about is their children and their future. Those fathers
stop dreaming of better lives for themselves, of studying, travelling and
enjoying life. For this category of fathers/donkeys, their only duty is to
work as a donkey to serve their offspring and wives. When they become
old, time comes to move to the third stage of their lives: being a dog.
Meaning that the old men spend their whole days and nights barking like
dogs at home. They shout at everyone and everything. They criticize their
children‘s style of clothing, eating, and their friends. They comment on
their wives‘ every single deed no matter how small or big, good or bad.
They have always something to say about the food their wives cook. When
the kids open the doors, the old parents ask them to close the windows
and when the kids close the windows, the old men ask them to open the
doors. It‘s never easy to satisfy their desires. That is why our theorist
describes them as dogs. They keep barking and screaming all the time.
(http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2012/10/61921/morocco-mens-three-life-stages-a-lion-a-donkey-then-a-dog/).
Politics and History, Economics and Ethics

The subject matter of politics is closely related to history, economics and
ethics. History is records of past events and movements, their causes and
interrelations. It includes a survey of economic, religious, intellectual and
social developments as well as study of states, their growths and
organization and their relation with one another. Politics and history are
mutually interdependent. Some facts of history constitute a ground-work of
politics. According to Lord Acton: the science of politics is the one science
that is deposited by stream of history like the grain of gold in the sands of
river. Professor Seeley puts it well when he says politics is the fruit of
history and history is the root of politics. To illustrate It‘s the lesson of
history that people who are denied a share in political power are also
denied a share in the benefit of power: hence conclusion of politics that
Elements of Govt. introductory text: by Usman Bappi 10 | P a g e
democracy with all it‘s defects is the safest form of government. It has
been rightly remarked that politics is vulgar when not liberated by history
and that history fades into mere literature when it loses sight of relation to
politics.
Economics; is a study of mankind in the ordinary business of life: it

examines that part of individual and social action which is most closely
connected with the attainment and with use of the material requisites of
wellbeing. Briefly stated, it‘s the science of wealth. Economics touches
politics at more than one point because the production and the distribution
of wealth are largely influenced by government and because the solution
too many economic problems must come through political channels.
Indeed, so close is the influence of politics on economic conditions that
early writers on economic considered their subject as a branch of politics
and termed it political economy. Taxation, tariff laws, government
ownership of public utilities like railways and electricity, and state aid to
agriculture and industry are instance where government policy clearly
affects economic prosperity.
Ethics is a branch of studies which investigate the laws of morality and

formulate rules of conduct. It deals with the rightness and wrongness of
man‘s conduct and the ideas towards which man is working. What is the
basis of moral obligation? What do we mean by right action? How do we
distinguish a right action and a wrong one? These are some of the
questions with which ethics concerns itself. The relation between politics
and ethics is clear: for on every issue the question may be raised whether
It‘s right or wrong. Aristotle for instance said that while the state comes
into existence for the sake of life it will continue to exist for the sake of
good life. The right of individual which deserved recognition by the state
can be defined only in a moral context i.e. anti-gay bill, abortion bill, drink,
usury laws etc.).

Chapter Two: The State
State
Johnson Ugoji Anyaele (2003), defined state as ―a politically organized
body of people occupying a definite geographical territory with an
organized government entirely free from external control and with coercive
power to secure obedience from it‘s citizens and others‖ Moreover a state
is a legal entity with an organized government, which is free from external
control and has a sovereign power to make and enforce laws and even
regulate the conduct of it‘s citizens a state is the same as a country (i.e.
Nigeria).
Elements of State
1. A state has no minimum or maximum population.
2. A state must have a definite territory.
3. A state has a supreme authority as government.
4. A state must be sovereign.
5. It must have essential institutions to maintain law and order.
6. A state must be recognized by other states.
7. It must be relatively permanent in nature.
One major attribute of a state is population. For a state to exist there must
be a given number of people which has no minimum or maximum that will
occupy it, in fact without people a state cannot come into being. For what
constitutes a state is the people within it, there is no state of animals nor
spirit‘s but only state of people (mankind) the population of a state
includes it‘s own citizens who enjoys full civil rights and foreigners who
reside within the state what is important is that a state should not be too
small otherwise it will fall easy to aggressive state e.g. the aggressiveness
carried out by Iraq against Kuwait.
The population of some countries from highest to the lowest, China 1.3bn,
India 1.2bn, United States 318m, Indonesia 253m, Brazil 202m, Pakistan
196m, Nigeria 183m, Uganda 35m, Iraqi 33m, Benin 10m, Togo 6m,
Kuwait 3m, Qatar 2m, Gambia/Gabon 1.802m, Comoros 0.722m, Brunei's
0.408m, São Tomé and Príncipe 0.192m, and Vatican city 0.000085m (850
as at 2014/15)1
N.B. the list of some Nigerian states by population: Kano 10m, Lagos9.5m,
Kaduna 6.2m, Katsina 6m, Oyo 5.8m, rivers 5.2m, Bauchi 5m, Jigawa
4.5m, Benue 4.4m, Anambra 4.3m, Borno 4.2m, delta 4.1m.2
1. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African_countries_by_population)
2. (Source: http://www.population.gov.ng/index.php/state-population)
Territory, a state must possess a definite territory which has no limit to it‘s
size. This territory must have clear-cut boundaries that will separate it from
other states. As for the clear-cut the size of the territory, no definite size is
stipulated or agreed upon. A state can occupy large or small geographical
area and still be regarded as a state. The term territory refers to not only
hard surfaces of the earth but other things like airspace, waters, lakes,
mountains, natural resources etc.
Government, a state must have machinery called government, which will
steer it‘s affairs, government performs It‘s functions on behalf of the state.
The existence and survival of the state are maintained by the government.
The government is made of up elected and appointed men and women
responsible for holding ―supreme power‖ in the state.
Sovereignty, a state must have the supreme power to enable it make and
enforce laws. Such a sovereign state must be free from external control.
It‘s worthy of note that nowadays sovereignty belongs to people. The
Nigerian Constitution (1999) declares that ―sovereignty belongs to the
people of Nigeria from whom government through this constitution derives
all it‘s powers and authority‖. (Section 15) Regrettably, the sovereignty of
some countries especially Africans are being eroded by the so called super
powers who accidentally own military and financial might. They used their
military capabilities to intimidate and even venture into the affairs of these
countries undermining their sovereignty. E.g. US attacked on Vietnam and
Iraq and also the NATO attacked on Libya and the Syrian political civil war.
Recognition, a state must be recognized both internally and externally. The
people of the state must realized and recognised the co-operate existence
of their state, while other states in the international environment must
equally give recognition to an existing state.
Permanence, a state is relatively permanent unlike government which is
changed periodically, a state does not change, and It‘s permanent.
State and Government

State and government are two sides of the same coin, the government acts
as an agency or machinery by which the state maintains it‘s existence and
carries out it‘s functions. Government is formed as a result of the existence
of state. On the other hand the state cannot survive without one form of
government or the other, no matter how primitive such government may
be. However, the state and the government are not identical; they are
distinct from each other. The state as the entire community of persons is
made up of the government and the governed. The government on the
other hand, serves as an agency or machinery of the state by which It‘s
existence and It‘s functions are carried out. The state is therefore an
association while the government is an organization, while populations,
territory, government, sovereignty etc. are the indispensable components
of the state, the main organs of government are the legislature, the
executive and the judiciary. The state is a permanent entity while
government comes and goes without destroying the corporate existence of
the state.
State and Nation:

For the fact that the state and nation share certain characteristics increases
the tendency for the two terms to be used interchangeably and confusedly.
For instance, both the state and the nation are made of up people; the
area of difference is that while state has sovereignty, nation may not
necessary have; if it does have then, it‘s a state and at the same time a
nation. A nation is defined as a group who are banded together by a
common culture, common ancestry, common history or tradition, common
language, common religion and common Territory. In Nigeria, we have the
Yoruba, Hausa-Fulani and Igbo nation. In Middle East, Asia/North Africa we
have the Arab Nation.
Elements of a Nation
1) A nation must have population of people
2) It must have a common identity of language and culture
3) It may not have a clearly defined boundary
4) It may not have a sovereign government
State and Society
Society includes every kind and degree of relationship entered into by
people whether organized or unorganized, direct or indirect, conscious or
unconscious, cooperative or antagonistic. It includes the whole issue of
human relations and is without a boundary or assignable limit. It

encompasses all of humanity; society should include any of the multiplicity
of groups, unit or organization found among men. E.g. Society of Friends
society for advancement of human right clubs, criminal groups,
professional organizations, families, and kinship groups etc. Furthermore,
society entails the integration of people with like-mind, same interest and
principles for a harmonious settlement.
The Relationship between State and Society

1. Government is established by the state to regulate and hold society
together
2. State is concerned with social relationships expressed through
government.
3. Society may be organized or unorganized while state must be
organized for law and order under a government.
4. A state must have definite boundary and sovereignty while society
does not have.
The Nigerian State
The nature of the Nigerian state made it necessary for her to adopt the
federal system of government and with this adoption came agitations for
creation of states. Because of the multi-ethnic nations in Nigeria, the issue
of state creation has indeed dominated the Nigerian political scene. Nigeria
has witnessed a lot of structural rearrangement since independence from
three regions at Independence to 36 states.
The Nature of the Nigerian State

The nature of the Nigerian state is reflected in the people who inhabit the
country. The Nigerian state came into being through colonialism, that is, it
came as a result of the partitioning which took place during the Berlin
Conference of 1884 – 1885. West Africa was partitioned without recourse
to differences in language, tradition, culture, religion etc. This makes West
African States forced states. The colonial adventures divided the country
into three zone‘s and three major ethnic groups but in reality there are
about two hundred and fifty (250) ethnic groups in the country (Nigeria).
Hence, Nigeria is referred to as a polyglot nation. The Nigerian people with
their different cultures, language, religion, orientations, system of
government etc. came together as one country not because they agreed to
be together but because the colonial‘s wishes we should be together. At
independence, the nationalists only came together to fight the colonialists

but after the vacation of the colonial masters from the country, the
nationalists pitched their tents differently with their ethnic groups. This is
only obvious in the formation of political parties, the political party for the
Northern people was the NPC, and the NCNC was mainly for the Eastern
part of the country while the AG was for the Western people. The Nigerian
state is a developing country which has a weak economy, the wealth of the
country is in the hands of the few individuals and majority of the people
are living below poverty line. The Nigerian state is thus an instrument of
oppression of the poor in the hands of the rich. The issue of minority and
states creation will continue in Nigeria till the end of times. The reason is
that, the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa – Fulani, the
Igbo and the Yoruba. All the other ethnic groups are classified under the
minority groups. The minority ethnic groups are distributed in the former
three Eastern, Northern and Western regions. All the minority ethnic
groups formerly marginalized in the regions they found themselves and as
a result have continued to demand for their own regions or state singly or
in groups.
History of State Creation in Nigeria

The multi-ethnic nature of Nigeria brought about the issue of minorities
which has constituted a major problem militating against the development
of the Nigerian territory. Nigeria has three major ethnic groups of Hausa –
Fulani, Igbo and Yoruba and multiplicity of minor ethnic groups. Since the
amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates till the present
day there has been fear of domination of the minority ethnic groups by
their majority counterparts. In order to allay this fear, Sir Henry Willink
commission was set up in 1957 to look into among other issues, the fears
of domination of the minorities. There were political agitations for creation
of states by minority ethnic groups mostly those in the Mid-Western
Region, the Middle Belt, the South East and Ogoja, the Niger Delta and the
Eastern Region as a panacea to domination of the minorities. The
commission in it‘s reports did not think that the creation of new states
would solve the problem and as a result did not recommend for the
creation of more states but recommended constitutional provisions to allay
fear of ethnic domination of the minorities. The continuation of demand for
the creation of more states in the country after independence led to the
creation of mid- Western region in August 1963 out of the western region.
The creation of Mid-Western region increased the demand of other
minorities for the creation of their own states. It was such demands that
compelled the then Lt. Col Gowon to create twelve states out of the four
regions on May 27, 1967. General Murtala Mohammed increased the
number of states to nineteen when he announced on February 3, 1976 the
creation of additional seven states based on the recommendation of the
Justice Ayo Irikefe panel on state creation. The General Ibrahim Badamasi
Babangida administration added two more states of Katsina and Akwa-
Ibom in August 1987 and nine more states in August 1991 thereby
bringing the total number of states in Nigeria to thirty (30). General Sani
Abacha further increased the number of states in Nigeria to thirty – six (36)
on October 1, 1996. In spite of all these the demand for more states seems
to be growing.
State Creation and National Integration in Nigeria

The Advanced Learner‘s Dictionary defines integration thus: ―the act or
process of mixing people who have previously been separated, usually
because of colour, race, religion etc.‖. This definition reveals to us that
state creation and national integration are interrelated; this is to say the
more the number of states, the more the people of that nation or country
integrates. Integration refers to the process of bringing together (or mixing
together) cultural and socially discrete groups into a single territorial unit
and the establishment of national unity. Therefore, national integration is
the process whereby people transfer commitment and loyalty from small
tribes, clans, villages or petty principalities to a larger central political
system. The question is, can the people of Nigeria commit themselves to a
larger central political system? The answer is never. The two hundred and
fifty (250) ethnic groups in Nigeria hold each other in great distrusts; this
explains why political activities and offices are contested on ethnic and
other primordial lines. Apart from political activities, the states or regions
show more respect to themselves than to the central government. If
Nigerian people despite their inherent differences decide to commit
themselves to a broad based entity, national integration will be high.
Creation of more states in Nigeria would not solve the problems in Nigeria,
but all the ethnic groups should transfer their commitment and loyalties
from primordial to entities to the central political system, if Nigeria wants to
grow.
Reasons for the Continuous Demand for Creation of States in

Nigeria

a) Nigeria has about two hundred and fifty (250) ethnic groups. As a
result, there exist cultural and religious differences among the
groups. Creation of states would allow the continuity of autonomy of
the various groups in their culture and religion.
b) Some communities allege economic discrimination e.g. denial of job
opportunities and social amenities. This is the case with the oil
producing states of Nigeria and it makes them demand for their own
states.
c) Creation of states brings the government nearer to the people and
the people begin to get the feeling of government more than ever
before.
d) The minority ethnic groups also nurse the fear that their languages
and culture would be submerged by the majority ethnic groups if
they continue to stay under the government controlled by the
majority ethnic groups. Therefore, want to protect their language and
culture by demanding for states.
e) Political stability is enhanced by creation of states as many people
receive political education more.
f) Minority ethnic groups accuse the majority ethnic groups of
maladministration and political victimization and as such demand for
states creation to favour them.
g) The need for various units to get their fair share of the federally
generated revenue and income creates the urge to demand for state
creation.
h) The quest for even economic and social development by the people
makes them to demand for states creation which they believe would
enhance greater opportunities for economic and social development.

Chapter Three: Forms of Government
Monarchy
Monarchy is a system of government by a king, queen or emperor. It‘s
system that makes the office of head of state to be hereditary and not
elective e.g. Queen of England, Hassan of Morocco, KSA Saudi Arabia etc.
Features
1. No separation of power exists in the system.
2. It‘s practiced in countries with religious homogeneity.
3. The authorities of the state rest in the monarch.
4. A criterion for the leadership position is hereditary.
Advantages
1. Monarch promotes fast decision making.
2. Monarchy promotes unity and orderliness.
3. It promotes harmonization of different interest.
Disadvantages
1. It‘s not good to be adopted in a country that has many ethnic groups
and diverse cultural differences.
2. It does not create room for opposition and fair criticism.
3. It promotes despotism.
Types of Monarchy
1. Absolute monarchy: - is a type of monarchy where the king or queen
has absolute power. Nobody dares questions or opposes him/her.
2. Constitutional monarchy: - This is the type of monarchy that has
limited powers. It also a system whereby the queen or king is
supposed to act within the confines of the constitution.
Aristocracy
Aristocracy is the government by the best and must qualified people in the
state or by those seen as superior citizens to whom people look upon for
leadership. it‘s government by the privilege few i.e. nobility. Aristocracy is
not a game of numbers. It emphasizes quality of rulers rather than
quantity. It is government by the best citizens. It‘s ruled by able and
unselfish minority. (Unlike oligarchy), Aristocracy is not democratic since
authority is not derived from the people, even though it is exercised for the
interest of the state, government is controlled by few. Thus, aristocracy
limit it‘s opportunity for political participation.
Democracy:
Democracy has been described as government by persons freely chosen by
citizens to govern who also hold them accountable and responsible for their
actions while in government. A democratic system is one where rulers are
held accountable to the ruled by means of a variety of political
arrangements. Such arrangements include but are not necessarily
coterminous with, competitive multi-party elections held at regular
intervals. However, the main attribute of democracy is that those holding
political offices do not have automatic security of tenure but can be
challenged and even displaced in accordance with the will of the people
through a wide range of institutional mechanisms. Democratic struggle has,
over the last few years, become notable feature of African contemporary
history. In particular, the last two decades have witnessed remarkable
progress in the clamour for democracy in Nigeria because it has become
the only legitimate and viable alternative to authoritarianism of any kind.
State powers have to be shared between two or more levels of government
e.g. as in a federal system of government. The sharing of powers between
these levels of government is what is called decentralization. There are two
types of democracy which are direct democracy (ancient Greek cities) and
indirect democracy (modern democracy).
The Concept of Democracy

The term democracy is derived from two Greek words demo and krations
which means people‘s rule. In ancient Greece, every adult male citizen
participated in the process of reaching decisions for the governance of the
community. The practice then was called direct democracy which implied
that every adult male citizen must be physically present to participate in
taking decision over things that affect him and his community. Modern
societies are larger and more complex than societies in Ancient Greece.
The practice of direct democracy is therefore rendered impracticable as it
would be very cumbersome to be applied in modern day government. The
alternative form called Representative Democracy is applied to reduce the
disadvantages of direct democracy and consequently promote It‘s
advantages. Representative democracy implies situation where the people
elect people in a periodic, free and fair election to represent them in
government. Modern democracy spells out various rights for the individual
in the state e.g. freedom of expression of ideas, thoughts, etc. Democracy
has many definitions. It could be defined as government in accordance
with the principles of popular sovereignty, political equality, popular
consultation and majority rule. It can also be defined as a system of
government where people exercise power of governing the state through
representatives popularly and election by the people themselves. Abraham
Lincoln, a one – time President of the United States of America (USA),
defined democracy as ―Government of the people, by the people and for
the people‖. The definition is simplistic and emphasizes popular
participation by the people in the process of government.
Merit
1. Government of the people by the people and for people
2. It‘s based on popular free and fair elections
3. It promotes equality before the law
4. It guarantees freedom of speech
5. Democracy tolerates the existence of opposition
6. It‘s based on majority rule
7. It advocates for separation of powers.
8. It provides for rule of law
9. It promotes accountability of the leaders
10. It guarantees the supremacy of the constitution
Demerit
1. Democracy is too exorbitant to operate
2. It oftentimes leads to delay in decision making
3. It encourages lobbying
4. It promotes favourism and nepotism
5. Dictatorship of majority (Majority rule tyrannizes the minority).
6. It promotes quantity rather than quality
7. Rule of incompetent (self-seekers and opportunist).
8. It‘s a difficult system of government
9. It leads to political instability
10. Bad influence of political parties (propaganda).

Characteristics of Democracy
The Characteristics or features of democracy are as follows:-
a. Periodic free and fair elections are organized to enable the electorate
to vote into government good leaders and vote out bad one‘s.
b. The rule of law must apply equally to the citizens to guarantee the
existence of the fundamental human rights.
c. All government actions must be open to criticisms and must be
according to the decision, wishes and aspirations of majority of the
people.
d. Citizens have equal rights politically and economically
e. There must be freedom of expression of opinion by the people
f. The government should be accountable to the people who voted it
into power.
g. The judiciary must be independent to protect the rule of law
h. Government officials and government staff have fixed tenure of
office.
i. There must always be room for opposition party or parties in the
state or in government.

Conditions Necessary for the Effective Operation of Democracy in
a State
For democracy to be successfully operated in a country, certain conditions
must be available, some of the conditions that should be there include:-
a. The leadership in the country must be good and acceptable to the
people. He or she must not be forced on the people but must be seen
by the people to be their choice. He or she must therefore be elected
by the people.
b. The rule of law must not only be accepted by the leaders and the
people but must be respected by all and sundry.
c. The activities of the government must be open for the people
governed to understand them and to raise questions where possible.
d. The generality of the people must show willingness and great desire
to accept and practice democracy and It‘s ideals.
e. The populace should be well educated, enlightened and well informed
about the processes of democracy and the need for effective popular
participation.
f. Tolerance for one another‘s views and actions despite political
affiliations and differences must be allowed to exist among the people
and in the government processes.
g. Opposition must exist in the governance of the country. The
government in power must not only allow it but must not attempt any
form of intimidation on opposition. No attempt should be made to ban
opposition in the legislature and in government.
h. The judiciary must be independent so as to discharge It‘s functions
without fear or favor to the people and to uphold the principles of the
rule of law and equality of individuals before the law.
i. Elections of government officials and functionaries must not only be
periodically done but must be free and fair. This gives the people to
the opportunity to always have their choices of government
functionaries in government.

Chapter Four: Structure & Organization of Government
The Executive: Generally speaking, the executive branch of government

executes the laws created by the legislative branch, though this general
rule is modified in some political systems. For example, in a totalitarian
dictatorship, there may be no legislature, and hence the executive also
makes laws. The executive branch is sometimes divided into two parts, a
head-of state and a chief executive. The head-of-state is the person, or
group, that represents the nation to other nations. The chief executive is
responsible for all those roles of the executive that are not handled by the
head-of-state. The power held by these two positions is not consistent. In
Britain, for example, the head-of-state is the monarch, who has little actual
power over the executive branch. The Prime Minister is the chief executive
and holds a great deal of power. In France, the President is the head-of-
state and has a great deal of power over the executive. The Prime Minister
has been likened to a junior partner in the executive. The Israeli President
is elected by the Knesset and is largely ceremonial, much like Britain's
monarch. The Prime Minister holds the bulk of the power. In Russia, the
roles are again reversed, with the President holding the bulk of the power
and the Prime Minister being a junior partner. In the United States, the
President is both the head-of-state and the chief executive. While the
head-of-state is almost always a single person, the chief executive has
sometimes been a group, or committee, or people.
The method for choosing the executive varies greatly. In some cases, such
as in Britain, the head-of-state is a hereditary monarch and the chief
executive is the Prime Minister chosen from the Parliament. The people,
then, have no choice in the head-of-state and only a small segment of the
population have a choice of the Prime Minister (the Prime Minister is
chosen from all the Members of Parliament (MP) from the majority party -
each MP is elected in a local election). In Israel, the President is chosen by
the Knesset and the Prime Minister is a Member of the Knesset. In the
United States, the President is elected, indirectly through the Electoral
College, by the people. The terms spent by the executive in office also
varies. Monarchs generally hold life terms. Members of parliaments hold
maximum terms, though votes of no confidence in parliament can force
new elections sooner. Other executives hold their positions for a fixed
term, such as four years in the United States and Nigeria. In dictatorial
systems, terms are for life.
Types of Executive
A. Parliamentary Executive: The parliamentary executive refers
essentially to the prime minister in a cabinet system of government. He
emerges as prime minister by virtue of his leadership of the majority party
in government. Real executive powers are vested in the cabinet, consisting
of the prime minister and a number of ministers. Hence the executive is
the head of government but he/she is equal to other ministers. It‘s in this
sense that the executive in a parliament system is referred to as first
among equals. The executive holds office as long as it commands majority
in the parliament. A vote of no confidence by parliament forces the prime
minister and his cabinet (ministers) to resign en bloc. The classical example
of a parliamentary executive is Britain
B. Presidential Executive
A presidential executive is one who is both the head of state and head of
government. He is elected by a majority of eligible voters across the
country. Such an executive holds office for a fixed term, and can only be
removed from office through a process of impeachment. Nigeria has a
presidential executive.
Functions of the Executive

1. Policy formulation: The executive formulates policies that guide the
general administration of the state.
2. Implementation of policies: The executive also executes or
implements the laws made in the legislature or policies made by it (the
executive) and ensure obedience to them.
3. Giving Assent to Bills: The head of the executive arm signs or gives
assent to bills before they can become laws. However, the president can
veto any bill brought before him for signature which he does not support.
4. Initiation of Bills to the Legislature: The executive sometimes
initiates and submIt‘s bills to the legislature to pass into law for good
governance of the country.
5. Military Functions: It controls the armed forces and declares war
against any external or internal aggressors. (The head of the executive arm
of government is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces).
6. Maintenance of Law and Order: The executive uses the police to
maintain law and order in a country through the enforcement of law and
order.

7. Provision of Welfare Services: It‘s the executive that performs the
main functions of the government which is provision of welfare services to
the citizens.
8. Maintenance of External Relations: The executive maintains
external relations, signs treaties, etc., with other countries especially
friendly one‘s. In carrying out this duty, the executive normally visIt‘s other
countries, attends world conferences and meetings such as that of the
United Nations and also receives visiting heads of state or representatives
of other countries such as ambassadors to his/her own country.
9. Making of Budgets: It‘s the executive that prepares the total
proposed financial expenditure.
10. Pardoning of Convicts: The executive, through the powers granted
to it by the constitution, may reduce the sentence passed against a convict,
or delay the execution of the sentence.
11. Granting of Amnesty: The executive may, from time to time, grant
an amnesty to certain categories of state offenders. This applies especially
to political offences.
12. Inaugurating and Dissolution and of the Parliament: The
executive has power, in some countries such as Britain and Nigeria, to
summon and dissolve parliament.
13. Appointment of Judicial Officials. The executive appoints the Chief
Justice of the state, judges of the Supreme Court, and other high ranking
officials of the judiciary.
14. Delegated Legislation: While the legislature makes the major laws,
the executive is delegated the power to make minor laws like statutory
orders, edicts, etc. in turn, the executive, in exercise of delegated power,
issues statutory orders and rules for the governance of the country.
15. General Administration: The executive carries out general
administrative functions like recruitment of civil servants and exercising
disciplinary control over them, creation of employment opportunities for
the citizens, provision of food, shelter and rendering of other essential
services to the people of the country, etc.
Limitations to the Powers of the Executive President

1. In a presidential system, the president can be impeached by the
legislature if he violates or abuses the provisions of the constitution.
2. He must present the list of his ministers, judges and ambassadors to the
legislature for approval.

3. The term of the president is fixed by the constitution for a limited
period.
4. The constitutional review power of the Supreme Court can declare null
and void any unconstitutional action of the president.
5. As sometimes happens, the control of the legislature by another party
other than that of the president, acts as a strong check on the powers of
the president.
The Legislature
Generally speaking, the legislative branch makes the laws. Legislatures
usually consist of many members chosen by the people of the country.
Under a parliamentary system, the legislature remains in power for a fixed
term or until a vote of no confidence is taken and the majority loses the
vote. In a presidential system like that of the United States and Nigeria,
members of the legislature hold their office for a certain fixed term. After
elections, a majority party is determined, but there is no such thing as a
vote of no confidence. Though parties play a major role in the selection of
legislative leaders, individual members of the legislature are free to vote
however they wish without fear of bringing down the government as in a
parliamentary system. Another common system involves a legislature
composed of one party. Such systems are common in single party systems
such as China's National People's Congress. Though dissent is generally
allowed in such a system, the decisions of the party are rubber-stamped by
the legislature.
Functions and Powers of the Legislature

1. Lawmaking: One of the main functions of the legislature is making of
laws that guide and direct the affairs of a country. The legislature considers
and, where necessary, passes into law bills brought before it by It‘s
members, and by the executive. The legislature can repeal, amend or add
to existing laws.
2. Constitution making and amendment: It‘s the legislature that
draws up the constitution, and it plays a major role in the procedures for
amending the constitution.
3. Approval of executive appointments: The legislature has power to
consider and, where necessary, approve appointments made by the
executive.

4. Power to remove the executive: In a presidential system of
government, the president can be impeached by the legislature if he fails
to abide by the tenets of the constitution; while in a parliamentary system,
the prime minister and his cabinet can be removed through a vote of no
confidence by parliament. The legislature can also remove or recommend
to be removed, any judicial officer found wanting in his duties.
5. Budget approval: The legislature considers and approves the national
budget, prepared by the executive. In this way, the legislature controls the
running of the economy.
6. Training of future leaders: Membership of the legislature affords one
the opportunity of having requisite knowledge and experience to use in
running the country at the highest level, in the future.
7. Approval of treaties: International treaties negotiated by the
executive must be approved by the legislature before they are ratified by
the executive.
8. Judicial functions: The legislature in some countries serves as the
highest judicial authority or the last appeal court. In Britain, for instance,
the House of Lords serves this purpose.
9. Political education: Through It‘s debates and committee hearings, the
legislature helps to educate the people on the political situation in the
country. Legislatures maintain ties with their constituencies through
newspapers, radio and television.
10. Representation and expression of the people's interests: The
legislature is a platform through which members of the public, through
their elected representatives, express their opinion. Individual members of
the public and groups make – known their needs as well as their views on
various national issues through their representatives in the legislature.
11. Ratification of international treaties: The legislature approves
treaties entered into with other countries by the president or prime
minister.
12. Investigation of citizens' complaints: In many countries, the
legislature is responsible for establishing and/or supervising the 'public
complaints' agency-- popularly known as the ombudsman. This department
investigates complaints of members of the public against government
departments, agencies and institutions.

Types of Legislature
Unicameral Legislature: This refers to a situation in a country in which
there is only one legislative house or chamber. Examples of countries
operating the unicameral legislative system are Kenya, Greece, Israel and
Gambia.
Advantages
1. It averts unnecessary duplication, delays and possible deadlock in
passing bills.
2. It‘s relatively cheap to operate.
3. It fastens easy passage of bills.
4. It‘s good in times of emergency.
Disadvantages
1. It‘s not good for the federal system government.
2. It leads to the oppression of the minorities.
3. It may lead to bad and ill-divest legislations.
4. It makes nonsense of democracy.
5. It promotes hasty passage of bills into law.
6. It may become dictatorial or tyrannical.
Bicameral Legislature
This is the type of legislature with two (legislative) houses or bodies.
Usually one of the houses is identified as the lower house, while the other
is the upper house. The lower house or chamber is often made up of
members directly elected on the basis of universal, equal and secret
suffrage while the upper house consists of more experienced men and
women, some of whom are sometimes appointed to the house. Nigeria, UK
and the USA have a bicameral legislature.
Advantages
1. It accommodates different interest groups in either the upper or
lower house.
2. It ensures the success of a true federalism.
3. It ensures that bills and legislations are exhaustively discussed.
4. It prevents arbitrary and whimsical imposition of law on the people
by a single house.
5. It also promotes individual liberties.
6. It fights and protects the interest of the minorities.
Disadvantages
1. It leads to unnecessary delay in making laws and passing of bills.
2. It‘s very exorbitant to operate.
3. It can lead to unhealthy rivalry between the two houses.
4. It leads to duplication of functions, which results to waste of human
and financial resources.
Declining Powers of the Legislature

In most countries the power of the legislature has declined over the years,
while the powers of the executive continue to wax stronger. Reasons for
the decline in legislative powers include:
1. Limitations are imposed on the powers of the legislature by pressure
groups, public opinion and political parties.
2. Most legislative houses lack technical experts; and since most bills are
technical in nature, many members of the legislature do not understand
the content of such bills.
3. The need for the exercise of emergency powers by the executive is
another reason for the decline in legislative powers.
Bills
A bill is a proposed law to be discussed in parliament in order to become
law. For a bill to be turned into law, the head of state or president must
sign or assent to the bill.
Types of bills
1. Appropriation bill: An appropriation bill deals with the total estimated
revenue and expenditure of government in a financial year. This bill
originates from the executive arm of government.
2. Private member's bill: This is a bill brought to parliament by a
member of the legislature (the parliament).
3. Public bill: The bill comes from the executive arm of government, and
deals with matters or problems affecting the whole segments of a country.
4. Money bill: It has to do with specific projects involving expenditure,
emanating from the executive.

Stages of passing a bill into law in parliament
1. First reading: This is the stage at which the draft of a bill is presented
to the clerk of the house, by a minister or member of parliament-
depending on the type of bill. The clerk of the house normally notifies
members of parliament about the presence of the bill; and the title is read
out before them. It‘s printed (in leaflets), and circulated to all members for
study before the second reading at a future date.
2. Second reading: At this stage, the purpose of the bill is explained to
the house by the person who brought it.
3. Committee stage: The bill at this stage is referred to a committee
which can be a committee of the whole house, or a standing committee-
depending on the importance of the bill. A committee of the whole house
comprises all members, presided over by the speaker of the house or
president of the senate. The bill is considered section by section, and
amendments proposed and voted for, less important bills are referred to
standing committees of members of parliament.
4. Report stage: All the findings of the various standing committees are
reported to the house (or the bill placed before the house), after all
necessary amendments have been made. The chairman then reads the bill
in It‘s amended form to the house.
5. Third reading: This is the final stage, at which a thorough look is taken
at the bill to correct any errors connected with the drafting or amendment.
After this, vote is taken on the bill before It‘s taken to the president for his
signature. Once the president has signed, the bill automatically becomes
law.
The Judiciary:
This is the third arm of government vested with the authority to interpret
and apply the laws of the land in a given state when they are broken or
violated. They also adjudicate in disputes between the executive and the
legislature and between government and the citizens and organization or
between people. The judiciary acts as watchdog of the law by making sure
that laws made are obeyed and those who refused to obey (offenders) are
punished.
Generally, the judicial branch interprets the laws of the nation. The
structure of the judiciary varies greatly from one nation to another, based
on the legal tradition. The most familiar may be that of the United States,
where there is a Supreme Court that is the final court of appeals in the
nation. Below the Supreme Court are a series of inferior courts, starting
with the federal court where most cases are heard, and several levels of
appeals courts. Britain has a similar set up, but the House of Lords is the
court of final appeal. Israel has several judicial systems - the secular
system is divided into general law courts and tribunals. The general court
has a Supreme Court, district courts, and magistrates. Personal matters,
such as marriage and divorce disputes, are handled by religious courts.
There are four systems of religious court; Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and
Druze In Nigeria, the judiciary is made up of magistrates, judges and chief
judges-who preside over such courts as the Customary courts, Sharia
Courts as exists in 12 states in northern Nigeria today, Magistrate and High
Courts, as well as Appeal and Supreme Courts. They also preside over
tribunals, and administrative courts. Selection of judges is another point of
comparison. Generally, the selection process is divided between appointed
and elected. Appointed judges are thought to be free from political
pressure, and thus are able to best represent the people and the law.
Elected judges are thought to best represent the will of the people. Terms
vary from life to several years, in both systems of selection.
Functions of the Judiciary

1. Interpretation of Laws: this is the primary function of the judiciary in
a country.
2. Dispute Adjudication: The judiciary adjudicates in disputes between
the executive and the legislature, between other government departments,
between individual citizens, between citizens and governments, and
between organisations/groups and themselves or government.
3. Punishment of Law Breakers: As the watchdog of the law, the
judiciary makes sure that laws are obeyed and those who refuse to obey
the laws are severely punished.
4. Guardian of the Constitution: The judiciary interprets the
constitution, and protects it against violation. It can declare any action of
government unconstitutional, and therefore null and void.
5. Determination of Election Petitions: The judiciary performs the
function of hearing and determining election petitions in order to ascertain
true winners. For examples, the final outcome of the three presidential
elections in Nigeria in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011 were decided by the
Supreme Court.
6. Protection of Citizens' Rights and Liberties: It‘s the function of the
judiciary to protect the citizens‘ fundamental rights as enshrined in the
constitution. It‘s as a result of this function, performed by the judiciary that
has made it to be described as the last hope and defender of the
oppressed or the hope of the common man.
7. Lawmaking Function: Judicial officers advise on matters relating to
constitutional preparation and amendment.
Essential Characteristics of the Judiciary

1. Impartiality: the judiciary should be free and impartial in passing
judgment of any kind.
2. Permanence: the judiciary stays while legislature and executive come
and go.
3. Political neutrality: the judiciary should be neutral in politics. The
judges can vote but should not engage in partisan politics.
4. Reconciliation: the judiciary reconciles disagreement between the
other two arms of government wherever there is problem.
5. Longevity of judicial offices: there should be security of tenure for the
judges.
6. Independence; the judiciary should be independent from the
absolute control of either the executive or the legislature.
Note: the judiciary is said to be independent when it has the ability to
interpret the laws freely and pass judgment impartially without fear or
favour.
Problems on the Independence of the Judiciary

1. Inadequate court facilities such as stationary, light, water, verbatim
reporting machine.
2. Political interference by the government in power.
3. Political appointments: the executive arm often influences the
appointment of judges.
4. Insufficient personnel.
5. High level of bribery and corruption.
6. Poor working conditions and disobedience to court orders.
Judicial Independence and Its importance to a Nation

1. It helps to defend the rights and liberty of citizens.
2. It helps to fight against improper use of power.
3. It helps to ensure fair play in the adjudication of cases.
4. It promotes the appointment of qualified judges based on merit and
not on political consideration.
5. It helps to protect the constitution of a nation by objectively
interpreting it when the need arises.
How to Maintain Judicial Independence

The independence of the judiciary essentially refers to the insulation of the
judiciary from the control of the executive, the legislature and/ or any
other body. This means that judges should have full powers to try cases
brought before them without fear or favour. The independence of the
judiciary can be enhanced through the following means:
1. Judges should be appointed from proven members of the bar. This
should be based on the advice of a body of knowledgeable persons. In
Nigeria, such a body is the Judiciary Advisory Commission.
2. Judges and magistrates should have some level of immunity, as obtains
in almost every country, from prosecution for anything they say in the
performance of their duties.
3. Judicial officers should enjoy security of tenure, and may only be
removed on grounds of ill-health or gross misbehaviour.
4. Judicial officers should be well paid, and their remuneration should not
be subject to executive or legislative manipulation. Also, funding for the
judiciary should not come from the executive but from an independent
source guaranteed by the constitution.
5. Judges must not belong to any political party in order not to be
influenced by political considerations in the discharge of their duties.
6. Judicial officers must be seen to be persons of high moral standard. In
this way, they will gain the confidence of the people.
7. Judges must be provided with adequate security for their personal
safety.
8. The principle of separation of powers-with it‘s in-built checks and
balances should apply especially regarding the judiciary.

The Military
The military is one of the security apparatuses of the state under the
control of the Executive arm of government which is charged with the
defense of the country from external and internal invasions. A military
government is formed when some members of the Armed Forces of a
nation seize the existing machinery of government from the politicians. A
military government or Military Rule is established after a successful over-
throw of the existing government in a country in coup d‘état Military coups
can be either bloody or bloodless, depending on their nature.
Features of the Military Rule in Nigeria

The Armed Forces have features or characteristics which distinguish them
from other groups in all political systems. These features or characteristics
include following:-
1. The suspension and modification of some sections of constitution to be
in line with the military rule.
2. Dictatorial form of government.
3. A highly centralized system of government
4. Rule with decrees.
5. Absence of all forms of opposition.
6. Fusion of the legislative and the executive arms of government.
7. Inclusion of civilians in the administration
8. The use of coercion in the implementation of policies.
9. Absence of elections
10. Closure of the country‘s borders, sea and airports when the military
come to power
11. Imposition of dusk to dawn curfew whenever the military take over
power in a country.
12. The military anywhere in the world monopolizes the chief instruments
of violence in the political system
The military government of Nigeria is mainly divided into two levels of the
federal military government and the state military government with the
following organs and structures.
The Head of State/the President: The head of state sometimes called

the president is the Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed forces. As
the head of state he presides over the meeting of the AFRC, the council of
state and the council of ministers. It‘s his duty to appoint and dismiss
ministers, ambassadors, high commissioners, chief justice, judges of the
Supreme Court High Court judges etc. all subject to the approval by the
AFRC.
Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) or Supreme Military Council

(SMC): The SMC with the new nomenclature of the AFRC is the highest
legislative organ of the military government in Nigeria. It‘s composed of the
Head of State/the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces
who is the chairman, the chief or general staff, the chief and chairman
joint chief of staff, the Commandants of the army, navy and the air force
popularly called the service chiefs, the IG of police, Justice Minister,
Secretary of the Federal Military Government (SFMG/SGF) and the high
ranking military officers.
The Council of State: This organ advises the head of state that is the
president. It‘s made up of the Head of State/President as chairman, the
Chief of General Staff, former Heads of State and all state military
administrators or governors.
National Council of Minsters: This is the organ that implements the

decisions and policies made by the AFRC. It‘s headed by the Head of
State/President and assisted by the Chief of General Staff with all Federal
Ministers as members.
The State Military Administrator/Governor: The state military

administrator/governor is the chief executive and the head of the state
military government and the representative of the head of state in the
state. He is responsible to the head of the federal military government and
the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. The military governor
performs both the executive and the legislative functions. He is the
chairman of the state executive council. He appoints the state
commissioners and other state officials.
The State Executive Council: This organ is responsible for the

formulation and execution of the state military government, in decision and
policies as well as maintenances of law and order in the state. It‘s headed
by the military governor with the commander of the army unit in the state,
the state commissioner of police, the secretary to the state military
government (SSG), and state commissioners etc. as members.
Chapter Five: Government & Basic Concepts of Government
Introduction: Government can be described as a set of institutions

performing specified functions. A fundamental characteristic of government
is that it creates and allocates values. Indeed, It‘s a fundamental concept
of politics that any governmental action, be this the laws passed by
legislature or the rules made and applied by administrators or decisions
made by the Courts, have the intent or the effect of creating and
―allocating values.‖ The point, of course, is that governmental actions
which seek to create or promote certain values also involve the allocation
of values among the diverse groups composing the society and generally
entail the unequal (although not necessarily unjust) distribution of values.
In addition, governmental actions also entail uneven maximisation pattern

among values. In other words, governments discriminate as to what values
to create or promote among competing values; and which societal groups
benefit from what values. Significantly, the creation and allocation of
values through governmental action entails costs to some elements of
society in that the maximisation of a set of values invariably requires some
costs in terms of minimisation or deprivation of other values. A related
issue derives from the philosophical speculation concerning the end of
government. Government, It‘s generally believed, ought to promote the
public interest and all governments invariably justify their actions as being
in the public interest. A venerable notion of politics held by political
philosophers from Aristotle to the present is that it‘s a public activity that
involves public purposes, or public interests, or a public good, or some
distinctly 'public' aspect of human life. This concept of the public interest
entails the ideas that governmental actions ought to create and promote
values that are for the good of the general public and that are made with
the welfare of most of society in mind. Commenting along this line, Jeremy
Bentham has argued that the task of government is to promote the
greatest happiness of the greatest number (Baradat, 1997). Ascribing a
public interest concern to governmental actions will no doubt generate
much controversy.
In any case, such an understanding of the purpose of government reflects

poorly the popular perception of government as the self-seeking and self-
promoting activity of ambitious politicians. Neither common experience nor

systematic research would seem to give much support to the postulation
that government is motivated by a concern for the public good. At best,
the notion of public interest could only have been a normative expectation
of what ought to be the end of government. A key attribute of government
is It‘s authority, that is, It‘s right to make, administer and enforce legally
binding policies and rules on it‘s citizens. The notion that governmental
actions are under-guarded by authority dates back to Aristotle. In Politics,
Aristotle argued against those who say that all kinds of authority are
identical and sought to distinguish the authority of those who - occupy
governmental roles from other forms of authority such as the master over
the slave. Government, by this argument, functions with respect to society
as a whole and its rules are legally binding on all people within the
government's legal jurisdiction. Indeed, Aristotle defines the polis, or
political association as the ―most sovereign and inclusive association‖
(Aristotle, 1962). The German scholar, Max Weber has extended our
understanding of the authoritative basis of governmental action by
postulating that an association should be called political ―if and in so far as
the enforcement of it‘s order is carried out continually within a given
territorial area by the application and threat of physical force on the part of
the administrative staff (Gerth & Mills, 1946). According to Encyclopedia
Britannica (2009), the functions of the state are self-preservation,
supervision and resolution of conflicts, regulation of the economy,
protection of political and social rights, and the provision of goods and
services.
The next question to be asked is, how does the government performs It‘s
functions? What are the instruments through which the business of
government is executed? Regardless of the type of political system used by
any nation or society, there is a very typical and well-used set of divisions
in governments. Government is divided into different segments, branches,
or organs. These organs which fulfill the general functions of government
are made up mainly of the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary.
The Meaning and Scope of Government

Government in it‘s simplest meaning is the control of public affairs of a
country generally; Government is defined in three perspectives:
i. As an institution of a state
ii. As an art of governing
iii. As a recognized field of academic study.
Government as an institution of a State: - Government can be defined
as an agency or institution of the state which is responsible for making and
enforcing laws and or attaining the goals and aspirations of a state. It also
a machinery through which the will and aspirations of a state is achieved.
Government As An Art of Governing: - In this sense, government is

used to describe the activities of those people charged with the duty of
governing, that is the three organs arms of government responsible for
policy formulation and implementation.
Government as An Academic Field of Study: - Government can also

be described as an academic field of study in discipline of political science,
which teaches the organizational structure of a particular government in a
state and It‘s governing principles.
Scope of Government
Scope means area of study. Government, therefore, is made up of different
areas of study as outline below:
1) Theories and principles of government
2) Political science and theory
3) Public administration
4) International relation
5) Local government
6) Comparative politics
Functions/Features of Government in a State
1. To make laws and regulations for the citizens
2. To protect the fundamental rights of the citizens
3. To preserve and protect lives and properties
4. To promote socio-economic development
5. To maintain law and order
6. To administer justice
7. To make provision for basic infrastructure.
8. To provide welfare services
9. To provide welfare support to public
10. It has It‘s own personnel as the civil/public service
11. It generates revenue for development and functions
12. Defence
13. External relations/foreign affairs

14. Social services
15. Economic function
Reasons Why We Study Government
1) It helps us to know our fundamental human right
2) It helps us to actively participate in politics
3) It enables adult citizens to have enough political awareness.
4) It also enables us to know our duties/ obligation
5) It helps us to acquire leadership skills/ qualities
Basic Concept of Government
Power: - Is the ability to influence and control the action of others
through the possession of means of sanctions. By exercising power, others
may be forced to change their actions against their desire and compel
obedience on their part. Sanction which may be physical, social, or political
is an instrument of power which is used to influence the action of others.
Sanction applied when there is non-compliance.
Types of power
a) Political Power: The president or head of state and governors welds
this type of power.
b) Military Power: Power exercised by the army
c) Economic Power: - Power by the wealthy men of the society over
the poor or wealthy nations over poor nations.
d) Expert Power: - Power that is centered on one‘s skills and/or ability
to possess information and knowledge
e) Physical and Normative Power: - Physical power is based on
strength while normative power is based on morality.
The Concept of Political Power

According to Max Weber, ―power is the possibility of imposing one‘s will
upon the behaviour of other persons‖ (Gerth & Mills, 1946) Power,
according to him, involves domination – a reciprocal relationship between
the rulers and the ruled in which the actual frequency of compliance is only
one aspect of the fact that the power of command exists. Lasswell and
Kaplan (1950) define power as a special case of the exercise of influence.
It‘s the process of affecting the policies of others with the help of (actual or
threatened) severe deprivations for nonconformity with the policies

intended. Herbert Simon considers power as an asymmetrical relation
between the behaviour of two persons (Simon, 1965). For Amitai Etzioni,
power is a ―capacity to overcome part or all of the resistance to introduce
changes in the face of opposition (and this includes sustaining a course of
action or preserving a status quo that would otherwise be discontinued or
altered)‖ (Etzioni, 1970). Robert Dahl sees power as the product of human
relationships. For instance, A has power over B to the extent that he (A)
can get B to do something that he would not otherwise do. A person may
be said to have power to the extent he influences the behaviour of others
in accordance with his intentions (Dahl, 1957; 1991).
Power and Influence

According to Robert Dahl (1957; 1991), influence is ―a relation among
actors such that the wants, desires, preferences, or intentions of one or
more actors affect the actions, or predisposition to act, of one or more
other actors. There is often little practical difference between power and
influence. One person has influence over another within a given scope to
the extent that the first without resorting to either a tacit or an overt threat
of severe deprivations can cause the second to change his/her course of
action.
Power and influence are hence very difficult to measure because of the
presence of feed-back. This suggests that the power of every person is
limited in crucial ways. No one possesses unlimited power -even leaders at
the apex of power, including the likes of General Sani Abacha of Nigeria or
Adolf Hitler of Germany, who in their respective countries had maximum
power. In sum, power and influence are alike in that each has both rational
and relational attributes. They differ, however, in that the exercise of
power depends upon potential sanctions, while the exercise of influence
does not (Anifowose, 1999).
Sources of Power:
1. Inheritance, i.e. by virtue of birth
2. Constitutional means
3. Skills and charisma
4. The use of force like the army
5. Wealth acquisition
6. Position of authority

Authority
There are considerable disadvantages for a government which depends
mainly upon the use of force to maintain control. In the long run, It‘s
important for all people in positions of power to recognised the use of their
position as legitimate (rightful) by those over whom they have power.
Thus, according to Crick (1978): probably, all governments require some
capacity for or potentiality of force or violence, but probably no
government can maintain itself through time as distinct from defense and
attack at specific moments, without legitimatizing itself in some way,
getting itself loved, respected, even just accepted as inevitable, otherwise
it would need constant recourse to open violence which is rarely the case.
Authority is the quality of being able to get people to do things because
they think the individual or group has the right to tell them what to do. In
effect, those in authority are followed because it‘s believed that they fulfill
a need within the community or political system. Authority, then, is linked
to respect, which creates legitimacy and therefore leads to power.
Legitimate power or influence is generally called authority. It‘s power
clothed with legitimacy. It‘s the authentic form of power based on consent,
voluntary obedience and persuasion (Leslie, 1993). Legitimacy is the belief
in the rightness of an individual to make authoritative, binding decisions.
It‘s the belief in the right to give commands and the right to be obeyed. All
governments need authority for people to accept their right to make
decisions.
Authority: is the power or right to give orders and enforce obedience.

Authority gives one the right to command others to obey as a duty. The
power of authority is derived from one‘s office and the role the person
plays in a given society. Furthermore, authority means legitimate power
that is recognized by law and by the citizens. It‘s the lawful right to make
and enforce laws that must be binding on the citizens.
Types of Authority
1) Personal/ Charismatic Authority: - Is acquired as a result of
certain personal talents, qualifications or accomplishments. It‘s an
authority derived from one‘s exceptional ability and or achievement.
2) Traditional Authority: - Authority found in traditional societies
where the chief or council of elders, emperor, feudal lord or king

exercise such authority based on the beliefs, customs and traditions
of their people.
3) Political Authority: - Authority exercised by political office holders.
Political authority is the lawful right granted to the arms of
government to make and enforce laws/ polities. The source of
political authority is the constitution.
4) Legal Authority: - Authority bestowed on the constitution and
exercised by the three arms of government.
5) Delegated Authority: - This is the type of authority granted to the
subordinate by the superior to exercise some specific functions.
Max Weber’s Typology of Authority

According to the German political sociologist, Max Weber, there are three
(3) ideal types of authority. These are:
Traditional: The belief of this type is that legitimacy of an authority has

always existed. Hence people support the regime out of habit and custom.
Rulers exercising power of command are masters who enjoy personal
authority by virtue of their inherited status. Their commands are legitimate
in the sense that they are in accord with custom or tradition but they
possess the prerogative of free personal decision, so that conformity with
custom and personal arbitrariness are both characteristics of such rule.
Those who obey are followers or subjects in the literal sense. They obey
out of personal loyalty to the master or a pious regard for his/her time-
honored status. Weber says that this is the type of authority that is typical
of simpler, pre-industrial societies.
Legal Rational: This type of authority is based on a system of rules

applied judicially and administratively. Rulers are superiors, appointed or
elected by legally sanctioned procedures oriented toward the maintenance
of the legal order. People support the regime and obey it‘s rule because
the explicit rules and procedures of government make sense to the people
on rational grounds and not because of those implementing the law. The
governments of many countries have authority because they were elected
by a legal process and because they work within the law of the land. They
are constitutional governments. This type of authority is typical of modern
nations.

Charismatic: Here people support the regime because of an emotional
identification with the personality of the leader of the regime. The power of
command may be exercised by a leader –whether he/she is a prophet,
hero, or demagogue - who can prove that he/she possesses charisma by
virtue of magical power, revelations, heroism, or other extraordinary gifts
or personal attributes such as eloquence. The persons who obey such a
leader are disciples or followers who believe in his/her extraordinary
qualities rather than in stipulated rules or in the dignity of a position
sanctioned by tradition. Mao Tse Tung, Hitler, Tito, Mussolini, de Gaulle,
Ghandi, Mandela, Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello could be cited
as examples of leaders who wielded charismatic authority. Charisma is very
rare and hence, societies with charismatic leaders often have difficulties
replacing them. Each of Max Weber‘s authority type leads to It‘s own
peculiar regime legitimacy, and by implication, the type of regime
legitimacy influences political stability as depicted by Kelly (2008) below:
Sources of Authority
1. Charismatic
2. Legal
3. Traditional
Difference Between Power and Authority

What demarcates authority from power is that the former is
power/influence recognised as rightful while authority is government that
all accept as valid. It‘s exercise is therefore sanctioned by those who
approve the particular act or agent and is tolerated by those who
disapprove. Confronted with power, the citizens have a choice whether to
support or oppose. Confronted with authority, It‘s their duty to obey.
Resistance to power is lawful but resistance to authority is unlawful. Power
is naked; authority is power clothed in the garments of legitimacy. It‘s
founded on consent (Lipson, 1993).Those who oppose the government
may have to submit to the decisions of power, that is, governmental
decisions; but submission is different from acquiescence. The imperatives
of power may secure compliance; but this is not the same as allegiance.
The mood of authority is distinctive because it expresses itself imperatively
in a categorical way. In other words, language of authority is different from
the language of power and influence. Individuals, who are in an

institutional position to use the language of authority to issue commands,
orders, directives etc., to their subordinates, can usually also use the
languages of power and influence. They can threaten a subordinate or
promise to recommend him for a promotion (Anifowose, 1999). Thus,
underlying their authority is both power and influence. However, not all
power is strictly coercive. If positive inducements are combined with severe
sanctions to bring about the action desired, the relationship is one of
power but not of coercion in the strict sense. Most power holders claim
legitimacy for their acts, i.e. they claim the right to rule as they do. Equally
important is the fact that the obedience of the ruled is guided to some
extent by the idea that the rulers and their commands constitute a
legitimate order of authority. This is what J. J. Rousseau meant when he
stated that ―the strongest is never strong enough to be always the master
unless he transforms strength into right and obedience into duty‖ (cf.
Fasuba, 1978).
Summary of the Differences between Power and Authority

1. Force and Sanction (power requires some elements of
force/sanction).
2. Punishment (exercise of power is more grave than authority).
3. Legitimacy (military power lacks legitimacy but authority has
legitimacy).
4. Delegation (power cannot be delegated but authority can be
delegated).
Legitimacy
The termed legitimacy is derived from the Latin word ―legitumus‖ and it
means lawful or according to law. Therefore, legitimacy means a situation
of being lawful. It may also be said that legitimacy is the general
acceptance of the political system as the most appropriate and being in line
with the laws of the land. Therefore a legitimate government is one that is
constitutionally elected and is acceptable to the populace. Legitimacy is
the support and moral recognition by the citizens which makes a
government legal and acceptable.

Factors That Affect Legitimacy
1) Popular participation
2) Popular support
3) Good government
4) Foreign diplomacy
5) It enhances stability in government
6) It promotes mass participation in government
7) It produces a responsible government
8) It prevents dictatorship and arbitrary use of power.
Sovereignty
According to Bodin Jean, sovereignty is the supreme and final legal
authorities above and beyond which no further legal power exists.
Sovereignty is the exclusive power of a state. It‘s the political
independence of a state.
Types of Sovereignty
1. External Sovereignty: - This type of sovereignty has to do with the
freedom of a state to conduct its foreign affairs in accordance with
what it considers to be its national interest to declare war and also
negotiate peace without interference of any kind.
2. Internal Sovereignty: - Is the supreme and exclusive power of a
state to make and enforce laws upon the citizens and association
within It‘s territory.
3. Political Sovereignty: - Is the ultimate power of the people (i.e.
the electorates) to elect those that will govern them through
elections.
4. Legal Sovereignty: - Is vested in the constitution; It‘s the supreme
authority of a state to make and enforce laws with all the powers it
cares to employ without any external interference.
Characteristics of Sovereignty
1) Absoluteness (no restriction).
2) Permanence
3) Indivisibility (cannot be divided).
4) Sovereignty is perpetual and inalienable
5) It has no limitation to it‘s legal power
6) It‘s the political independence of a state
7) It‘s the supreme power of a state that is devoid of external control.
Limitations of Sovereignty
1. The supremacy of the constitution
2. The membership of internal organizations like OAU, UN, ECOWAS,
OPEC etc.
3. External aids
4. The influence of powerful nations like USA
5. The application of international laws.
6. Customs and traditions
7. Public opinion
8. Coup d‘état
9. Type of government
10. Pressure group
Political Culture
Political culture refers to the dominant state or situation of citizens‘
awareness of issues and stakes in the political system, their evaluation as
well as acceptance or rejection (as the case may be) of the system, and, in
the third part, their expectations about the relationship among actors and
participants in the political system. Unlike political participation that is a
process; political culture is a state, and the dominant state among various
states. This means that when we say that a country has a particular
political culture, the true situation is that that culture so identified is the
major one among others that exist. Like political socialization, political
culture also largely determines political behaviour, and the method with
which the behavioural school investigates political phenomena often focus
on it. In other words political culture may be seen as attitude, sentiments,
beliefs, ideas, and norms that guide the behaviour of the people in a
political system. Political culture therefore embraces such things as history
of the political system adopted, people reaction to elections, method of
electing their representatives. Etc.
Determinants of Political Culture

1. Ethnicity
2. Historical development
3. The impact of colonialism
4. Political instability
5. Socio-economic factor

What is Political Culture?
The definitions of political culture are many and varied. Roy Macridis
(1961) defines it as the ―commonly shared goals and commonly accepted
rules.‘ Dennis Kavanagh defines it as a shorthand expression to denote the
set of values within which the political system operates (Kavanagh, 1993).
Lucian Pye describes it as ―the sum of the fundamental values, sentiments
and knowledge that give form and substance to political process‖. Samuel
Beer (1958) says It‘s one of the four variables crucial to the analysis of
political systems. According to him, the components of the culture are
values, beliefs and emotional attitudes about how government ought to be
conducted and also about what it should do. Almond and Powell defined
political culture as ―the pattern of individual attitudes and orientations
toward politics among the members of a political system,‖ (Almond &
Powell, 1966). The basic distinction developed is that between
―secularised‖ and non-secularised political cultures. The former are
characterised by ―pragmatic, empirical orientations,‖ and a ―movement
from diffuseness to specificity‖ of orientations. Individuals who are part of
a secular political culture deal with others in terms of universalistic criteria
as against considerations arising from diffuse societal relationships such as
those of tribe caste or family (Almond & Powell, ibid.) They are aware that
institutions have specific functions and orient themselves to institutions in
these terms (Almond and Powell, ibid). Further, secularised, i.e., modern,
political cultures are characterised by bargaining and accommodative
patterns of political action which are relatively open, in that values are
subject to change in the basis of new experience. Modern states in which
―rigid‖ ideological politics continue to play a substantial role are those in
which, for some reason, "the bargaining attitudes associated with full
secularisation" have failed to develop (Almond and Powell, ibid)
Robert Dahl (1966, cf. Babawale, 1999) has singled out political culture as
a factor explaining different patterns of political opposition in a political
system. The salient elements of the culture for Dahl (cf. Babawale, ibid.)
are:
a. Orientations of problem-solving; are they pragmatic or rationalistic?
b. Orientation to collective action: are they cooperative or
noncooperative?
c. Orientation to the political system: are they allegiant or alienated?
d. Orientations to other people: are they trustful or mistrustful?
Foundations of Political Culture

According to Babawale (1999), a political culture, whether diverse or
homogenous, is a product of many factors such as geography, historical
development and experiences (coups, civil war, revolutions), diversity of a
nation‘s population (ethnicity, language and religion) pattern of traditional
norms and practices as well as varying levels of socioeconomic
development and socialisation processes. Sub-cultural variations may
hinder the development of a national political culture. In order to overcome
the problem arising from this, there is need for cultural transformation.
This involves changes in the values and attitudes of the people and the
emergence of shared orientations. A political culture is not static but will
respond to new ideas generated from within the political system, imported
or imposed from outside. Japan provides a good illustration of a state
subject to such internal and external pressures resulting in rapid changes
in the political culture of it‘s people. Among the facilitators of change in the
political culture of a nation are the processes of industrialisation,
urbanisation, massive investment in education, the mass media, mass
political mobilisation (through political parties and democratisation
processes) as well as the creation of symbolic elements such as national
heroes and political leadership, lingua franca, national flags and national
anthems, national public events and popular national constitutions. All
these can foster the spirit of emotional attachment and loyalty to the
nation thereby engendering national pride and unity. Political culture then
may be seen as the overall disposition of the citizens‘ orientations to
political objects. Orientations are predispositions to political action and are
determined by such factors as traditions, historical memories, motives,
emotions and symbols.
These orientations may be broken down into three viz:

a) Cognitive orientation (i.e. knowledge of, awareness and beliefs about
the political system, It‘s roles, It‘s inputs and outputs);
b) Affective orientations (emotions and feelings about political objects);
and
c) Evaluative orientation (judgment about political objects). The objects
of these subjective orientations involve three objective dimensions of
political life viz: system, process and policies.

Political Socialization
Political socialization is the process of transferring knowledge, beliefs,
attitudes and general dispositions about politics from one generation to the
other. It accumulates almost unconsciously through citizens and people‘s
interactions with social institutions such as the family, the religious houses,
the schools, the tertiary institutions, the media, and political parties and so
on. These institutions through which people are socialized into political
values are called agencies of political socialization. Social scientists,
especially those favorably disposed towards social learning theories;
believe strongly that whatever a man behaves like in the society and it‘s
politics- from activism to it‘s other extreme of apathy- is primarily a
function of how he or she was socialized by these agencies. It can also be
defined as one‘s training and orientation which gives birth to a patterned
political behaviour.
What’s Political Socialisation? Political scientists have offered various

definitions of political Socialisation. There is a general agreement; however,
that political socialisation involves the transmission of the political culture
of a group or the society to successive members of that group or society.
In order words, political socialisation refers to the process by which the
central values of the political culture are transmitted from one generation
to another. The following definition of political socialisation underscores the
popularity of the views that socialisation is mainly concerned with the inter-
generational transmission of political culture. According to Verba (1960),
political socialisation is ―the process by which the norms associated with
the performance of political roles as well as fundamental political values
and guiding standards of political behaviour are learnt.‖ Robert Levine
described the political socialisation process as entailing ―the acquisition by
an individual of behavioural dispositions relevant to political groups,
political systems and political processes‖ (Levine, 1963). Harry Eckstein
defines political socialisation as a ―process through which operative social
norms regarding politics are implanted, political roles institutionalised and
political consensus created either effectively or ineffectively‖ (Eckstein,
1988). Generally, analyses of the concept of socialisation have attempted
to distinguish between different patterns of socialisation through the use of
four interrelated analytical categories viz: agencies, process, time span and
change.
Agents of Socialisation
Agents of socialisation refers to the persons through which and the setting
in which the process of political socialisation is accomplished. In other
words, a person's political orientation and behaviour patterns are not born
with him. They are not instinctive. They are learned. Political learning is a
process of interaction between the learner and certain elements of his
human environment generally called ―socialisation agents.‖ There are
numerous socialising agents exercising different influences and varying in
the degree to which they reinforce or contradict each other. Generally
speaking, however, you may distinguish between the primary and
secondary agencies of political socialisation. The primary agencies refer to
the family, whether nuclear or extended. Secondary agencies refer to
schools, peer groups, occupation, the mass media, political parties, etc.
1. The Family
2. The School
3. The Peer groups
4. Political parties
5. The Mass media
6. Religious groups
7. Pressure groups
Methods of Political Socialisation
Direct Political Socialisation: This is a formal method of political

socialisation in which the individual consciously learns political behaviour.
First, direct political socialisation can take place through one's imitation of
the behaviour of others. That is, copying their values and beliefs. Children
are easily influenced so they copy the behaviour, skills and attitudes of
adults. They are influenced by what they see and hear. A second way
direct political socialisation occurs is through the formal training and
education provided by parents, teachers and peer groups. Parents teach
their children good morals, skills and habit. In the schools, individuals are
deliberately taught by their teachers to be good citizens. This is why
subjects like civics are taught to mould the students to be loyal disciplined
and to give support to political institutions. Individuals can also formally
acquire their political attitudes directly from membership of peer groups of
other political associations like political parties or churches. A third type of

direct political education occurs through the impact of direct political
experiences on the individual. For example, experiences with a policeman,
legislator, government official, political campaign or an appearance in court
affect the individual's political orientations toward the regime, political
institutions, it‘s incumbents or the political community.
Indirect Political Socialisation: This is an informal method of political

socialisation. It‘s indirect in the sense that one is unconsciously learning
roles, skills and attitudes without being aware of it. Indirect socialisation
involves acquiring values and orientations which are not political but which
influence one‘s political behaviour. It also entails the learning of non-
political but politically relevant aspect of behaviour while direct socialisation
involves the appropriate formal teaching of political values. One type of
indirect political socialisation is interpersonal transfer. This is where
attitudes towards authority are developed. It means that orientations
learned in other social bodies like the family, the church or peer groups are
transferred into political roles. For instance, if a child or an individual is
brought up under strict parental authority, he/she may expect political
leaders to operate under the same code of conduct.
Political Participation
Political participation has to do with the involvement of the people or
citizens of a country in the political affairs of that country. People
participate by influencing, directly or indirectly, the composition of
government, the policies they make, and the practices they institute.
Election is a major way of political participation. However, participation in
politics also includes many other ways in which citizens try to influence
governmental decisions. Such ways, apart from voting, include
campaigning, attending meetings, funding political parties, lobbying,
protesting, forming social movements, belonging to nongovernmental
organizations of civil society groups, and, to mention but just a few, joining
social movement. All the foregoing activities influence politics in one way or
the other, so, they are aspects of political participation. In summary
however, participation basically involves the attempts by private citizens to
influence the composition and decisions of government, a process which
goes beyond just voting or participating in electoral activities.

What is Political Participation?
Political participation encompasses the various activities that citizens
employ in their efforts to influence policy making and the selection of
leaders. According to Orum (1978), political participation refers simply to
the ―variety of ways in which people try to exercise influence over the
political process.‖ In a similar vein, McClosky (1968), sees political
participation as ―those voluntary activities by which members of a society
share in the selection of rulers and directly or indirectly in the formation of
public policy.‖ Lawson and Wasburn (1969) on the other hand describes
political participation as ―the process by which individuals acting singly or
through group origination, attempt to influence decision-making or alter
the manner in which it may be exercised in a particular society, People
participate in politics in many ways ―ranging from discussing political issues
or events, taking part in a demonstration or riots, voting, writing a letter to
political parties and seeking political offices‖ (Osaghae, 1988). In a federal
system such as Nigeria, people have many opportunities to participate in
democracy on national, state, and local levels. Some forms of participation
are more common than others and some citizens participate more than
others. According to Agbaje (1999), in modem society, participation tends
to take either of three basic forms, viz:
1. The form of elections or selections, when people seek to participate
in societal affairs through elected or selected representatives
2. The form of routine individual or group involvement in the day to day
affairs of the society
3. Through the shaping of public opinion on issues, events and –
personalities of the day.
From the above, It‘s clear that political participation is not a preserve of
only democratic political systems. In other words, political participation
takes place in all political systems. Political systems however differ with
regard to the degree of citizens‘ participation, type of participation, and the
level of their participation. For example, in a single party system where
elections are mere formalities, the degree of citizens‘ participation in
elections cannot be compared to a democracy where competitive party
elections take place periodically. Also, it should be noted that political
participation encompasses such acts as campaign and voting during
elections, riots against government policies, writing of protest letters to
one‘s representatives, etc. However, because of the emergence of liberal
democracy or representative democracy as the dominant model of
democracy and the salience of election under this system, there is a
tendency to associate political participation with elections, especially
participation in campaigns and voting. The literature on political
participation is therefore so overwhelmingly dominated by writings on
elections and electoral behaviour that it will be understandable for political
participation to be identified exclusively with the study of voting. Also,
giving the status of the United States as a prototypical liberal democratic
country, most mainstream analyses and models of political participation are
developed in the U.S. context, a unique case by any standard, suggesting
that the dominant models are strongly biased by domestic politics in the
United States.

Chapter Six: Types of Government
Unitary Government
A unitary system of government is one in which there is a single central
government that does not share power with any other body. It may only
delegate power to other subordinate bodies. A unitary government adopts
a unitary constitution. It‘s desirable in a small state with low population.
This is not to say that It‘s restricted to these states. Examples of countries
with a unitary system of government are Britain, France, Ghana, Italy,
Belgium, Sweden and Gambia.
Features or Characteristics of a Unitary Government

a) Power emanates only from the central government.
b) There is no constitutional division of powers between the central
government and lower units.
c) The constitution may not be supreme, for the central government
may modify it with it‘s powers. As a result, the constitution need not
be rigid.
d) National administrations are usually organized at two levels central
and local. The local authorities are subordinate to the central
government.
e) An important feature of the unitary system of government is
parliamentary supremacy.
f) Conflicts between the central government and the subordinate bodies
are almost non-existent in a unitary system.
g) The citizens often owe allegiance only to the central authority.
(undivided loyalty)
h) There is usually no 'final authority' to decide on conflicts of
jurisdiction between the centre and the local units.
i) A unitary government adopts a unitary (flexible) constitution.
Merits
a) There is only one source of authority, thereby making it easy for the
citizens to identify with the supreme power in a state.
b) Owing to the absence of competing centres of constitutional powers,
conflicts of jurisdiction are eliminated.
c) A unitary system of government is usually strong and stable.
d) The loyalty of the citizens in a unitary system of government is shown
only to the central authority.
e) Multiplicity of offices and services in a unitary system is reduced. This
also reduces administrative costs.
f) The decisions of government are quick, thereby saving time.
g) The constitution of a unitary system of government can easily be
amended to suit political, social and economic changes in a country.
h) It enjoys uniform-ness of nation-wide policies.
Demerits
a) A unitary system of government may promote dictatorship because
of the concentration of powers in a single central authority.
b) In a unitary system of government, the power of the local
authorities is drastically reduced.
c) The central authority in a unitary system is overburdened with power
and responsibility.
d) Minorities are often dominated by the majority group in a unitary
system of government.
e) It lowers local initiative as a result of relative lack of autonomy.
f) The unitary system of government tends to make government appear
very far from the people, especially those in the remote parts of the
country.
g) As a result of the centralization of political administration, unitarism
does not provide sufficient training ground for wider political
participation.
h) The system is not good for a large country with diverse ethnic
groups.
Federal System of Government or Federalism

A federal system of government is one in which powers are constitutionally
shared between the central government (that represents the whole
country) and the component units of government variously called regions,
local authorities, states, provinces and cantons-which are constitutionally
recognised and largely autonomous. Conditions for the adoption of
federalism include cultural and ethnic differences, fears of the domination,
economic factors, the size of the country, nearness of government to the
people, preservation of local authority, and security reasons. We shall
discuss these factors in our discussion of the Nigerian federation unit.

Characteristics of Federalism
According to Wheare (1964), the desire and capacity for federalism entails
a number of prerequisites involving among others ‗geographic proximity,
hope for economic advantage, wishes for independence, earlier political
ties and insecurity and similarities of traditional values‘. Following on the
classical model popularized by K. C. Wheare, Ronald Watts has drawn up a
list of structural characteristics distinctive to federations:
a. Two orders of government, each in direct contact with it‘s citizens

(state & federal)
b. An official, constitutional sharing of legislative and executive powers
and a sharing of revenue sources between the two orders of
government, to ensure that each has certain sectors of true autonomy
c. Designated representation of distinct regional opinions within federal
decision-making institutions, usually guaranteed by then specific
structure of the federal Second Chamber
d. A supreme written constitution that is not unilaterally modifiable but
requires the consent of a large proportion of federation members
e. An arbitration mechanism (in the form of courts or a referendum) to
resolve intergovernmental disputes
f. Procedures and institutions designed to facilitate intergovernmental
collaboration in cases of shared domains or inevitable overlapping of
responsibilities (Watts, 2001, p.8).
Ideally, nations decide to federate due to one or a combination of the

following three factors—socio-economic, political, or security
considerations. In terms of socio-economic factors, It‘s assumed that some
of the following factors are pertinent, namely the presence of shared
values, access to a larger domestic market, access to a seaport, access to
higher standards of living and the enhancement of welfare policies.
Politically, the considerations include the strengthening of existing relations
with the co-federating units and bringing about a stronger voice
internationally. Security wise, It‘s for the unit in question to be able to
protect It‘self from real or imagined threats to It‘s survival as an entity.
Merits of Federalism
a. The division of power among the component units fosters rapid
development in a federal system of government.

b. Federalism brings together people of different political, religious,
historical, geographical and social backgrounds-thereby promoting
unity among them.
c. Smaller units enjoy their autonomy in a federal system.
d. Federalism discourages concentration of power in a single authority,
thereby preventing the emergence of a dictator.
e. Federalism helps to bring government nearer to the people as a
result of the division of the country into relatively smaller
administrative units.
f. It encourages local political participation.
g. Federalism encourages the expansion of the local market for
enhanced economic development.
h. Duplication of offices in a federal system fosters the creation of more
employment opportunities.
Demerits of a Federal System of Government

a. Federalism leads to unnecessary duplication of organs and levels of
government. This makes the running of government very expensive.
b. Federalism results in a considerable waste of time, as a result of the
consultations among the various levels of government before
important decisions could be taken.
c. Federalism makes the coordination of state activities difficult,
because of the many component units of government.
d. Despite the fact that powers in a federal system are divided between
the central and component units, the fear of some groups dominating
the others still exists in many federal states. This fear sometimes
results in threats of secession.
e. Sharing of wealth between the component units, and among the
component units themselves, often give rise to conflicts in a federal
state. In Nigeria, for instance, the problem of revenue allocation is a
very serious one.
f. There is usually tension in the exercise of constitutional powers
between the central authority and the component units.
g. Federalism tends to lead to dual loyalty-people are sometimes first
loyal to their component units before showing allegiance to the
central authority.

Nigerian Federal System
Nigeria is a Federal Republic with a US-style presidential system. The
Nigerian federalism has been described as ―life-blood‖ of Nigeria‘s survival
as a multi-ethnic political entity (Onwudiwe & Suberu, 2005). The
bicameral National Assembly comprises a 109-member Senate and a 360-
member House of Representatives. Each of the 36 states has an elected
state governor and a state legislature.
Factors that Necessitated the Adoption of Federalism
1. Cultural Differences: The country was made up of people of different

ethnic groups, religions, customs, traditions and languages. The peoples
thus opted for federalism to retain as much as possible of their identity.
Similarly, these diversities created problems for the running of a unitary
system.
2. The Size of Nigeria: Nigeria with a territory covering 373,000 square

miles and with a population today of about 140 million, (according to the
2006 census) is so large that a centralized system of power and
administration will inevitably be very far from a large number of the
citizens and hence effective administration will be impaired particularly
when Nigeria has not developed modern effective transport and
communication systems to make communication easy from a centre. As a
result governmental powers need to, be decentralised for effective
administration. Federalism thus became an administrative convenience.
3. Economic Factor: In Nigeria, natural resources are scattered among

contiguous states, the units were encouraged to unite to form a federation
in order to pool these resources for greater economic development.
4. Fear of Domination: when Nigeria was about to attain her

independence, each major ethnic group felt the notions that by having a
Unitary form of government, the strongest ethnic group might politically,
dominate the others. There was also the fear that such domination by the
strongest ethnic group might continue for a long time to the extent that
the disadvantaged ethic group will continue to suffer from both political
and economic marginalization. This fear, for instance, contributed to the
assassination in 1966 of then Head of State Major General J.T.V. Aguiyi

lronsi, soon after his government promulgated decree number 34 which
(temporarily) changed Nigeria‘s federalism to a unitary system. Federalism
was therefore chosen so that each group would have some economic and
political freedom that will act as safeguard against domination.
5. The Desire of the British: Scholars have generally accepted the

centrality of British colonial administrators in creating the federal structure.
According to a report of the roundtable on ―Distribution of Powers and
Responsibilities in the Nigerian Federation,‖ the Nigerian federation
―neither emerged through a contract between states nor was it a voluntary
union of a number of originally independent states. It emerged through a
process of conquest and charters granted to British Companies from the
middle of the 19th century, when nationalities, which later composed the
federation of Nigeria, lost their sovereignty to the British Colonial authority‖
(Forum of Federations and IACFS, 2003). In the words of Uma Eleazu, ―the
roots of federalism in Nigeria must be sought partly in the process by
which the country came into being, partly in the administrative structure of
colonialism that was set up and partly in the varying responses of the
Nigerians to both the process and structure (cf. Akindele, 1996).
6. Security: The need for internal security and protection necessitated the
coming together of the component units together as a federation would be
stronger and more units.
Structure of the Nigerian Federalism

The foundation of federalism was laid in Nigeria by the amalgamation of
Northern and Southern Nigeria in 1914. Northern and Southern Nigeria
were recognised as near autonomous entities with some differences in the
administration of each. However, it was the Lyttleton Constitution which
came into effect on 1 October 1956 that introduced real federalism in
Nigeria. The constitution shared powers between the central and regional
governments, giving out details on issues which were exclusive to only one
level and those on which both could legislate. Regional premiers were also
provided for in the constitution. The Independence Constitution of 1960
followed the federal structure introduced by the Lyttleton Constitution with
minor modifications. The prime minister was the head of government
under the Independence Constitution, with a ceremonial president as head
of state. The Republican Constitution of 1963 created the Mid-Western
Region thereby increasing the regions from three to four. However, the
problem of unequal size of regions remained, with the Northern Region
larger than the three Southern Regions combined. On 27 May 1967 under
the administration of General Gowon, the four existing regions were sub-
divided into twelve states, with powers and functions similar to those of the
regions. The four regions were restructured into 12 states, with the former
Northern Region having six, the Eastern Region three, the Mid-West, one,
the Western Region, one; and the old Lagos Colony with some part of
Western Region making up a state. A military governor headed each state
with the exception of the East Central State with a civilian administrator.
This was an attempt to weaken the administration of Odumegwu Ojukwu,
the then governor of Eastern Nigeria from seceding from the federation
with the whole region. On 30 May 1967, three days after the creation of
states, Ojukwu still proclaimed the former Eastern Region, Republic of
Biafra action which eventually resulted in a three-year civil war.
The General Murtala Muhammad regime created seven new states on 3
February 1976, with the states bringing the number of states to nineteen.
In 1987, the Babangida Administration created two more states-Akwa Ibom
and Katsina. In 1991 under the same administration, nine more states
were created, bringing the number of states to thirty, excluding Abuja, the
Federal Capital Territory. The Abacha regime created additional six states
on 1 October 1996 to bring the total number of states to thirty six.
Features of Nigerian Federalism

1. The constitutions of Nigeria, from the Lyttleton Constitution of 1954
to the 1999 Republican Constitution have been written and rigid
constitutions-the amendment procedures of which would be
complicated and rigorous.
2. The constitutions have been dividing powers between the federal
government and the component units, formerly called regions, and
new states and local governments. Specifically, political power is
usually shared between the central and regional (state) governments
as follows:
a) Federal exclusive list: Currency, foreign affairs, defence,
immigration and emigration, and customs.
b)State exclusive list: State civil service commission, state
council of chiefs, state judicial service commission, and local
government service commission.
c) Concurrent list: This lists the powers shared jointly by the
central authority and regional or state governments. Matters on
the concurrent list usually include education, health, roads,
housing and agriculture.
d)Residual list: This list is made up of powers not listed in
either the exclusive or concurrent list. Residual powers are both
exercised by the central authority and the state or regional
governments. Matters on this list include markets, local
governments and chieftaincy.
3. In all the constitutions, the central government has been supreme

with exclusive powers on many subjects, and final authority on some
others.
4. There has been the existence of a multi-party system, except the
1989 constitution that stipulated a two-party system.
5. There has been a bicameral legislature of one form or another.
6. There has been the supremacy of the constitution, from which all the
various levels of government derive their power.
7. The Supreme Court gives judicial interpretation of the constitution.
8. Constitutional conferences usually take place to consult the people,
towards modifying the constitution.
9. Secession by any section of the federation is constitutionally
forbidden.
Problems of Nigerian federalism

a) Conflicts over Revenue Allocation Formula
b) Minorities Issue
c) Inter-Ethnic Rivalry and Conflict
d) Threat of Secession
e) Citizenship Question
f) Economic Underdevelopment
g) Problem of Democratisation
Parliamentary/Cabinet System of Government
This is a system of government where powers of government are shared
between the head of state and the head of government. Under this system
of government, the head of state performs only ceremonial functions while
the head of government or cabinet performs the main executive functions.
The head of state is the monarch, queen, king etc., and while the head of
government is the prime minister. Examples of countries with this system
of government are Britain, Italy, Canada, and India etc.

Features of Parliamentary Government
1. No distinct separation of powers.
2. Powers are shared between the head of state and the head of
government.
3. The principle of collective responsibility is upheld.
4. The head of state appoints the head of government.
5. The executive is under the control of the legislative.
6. The cabinet has ministers with portfolios.
Advantages
1. It enhances efficiency and accountability.
2. Too much power is not granted to the prime ministry as the chief
executive.
3. It‘s less expensive to run.
4. The prime minister cannot criticize his party.
5. Bills are easily passed into law without delay.
Disadvantages
1. It does not encourage complete separation of powers.
2. The executive could be dictatorial in nature.
3. The tenure of a cabinet system of government is always not stable
since the legislature can dismantle the entire cabinet with a vote of
no confidence.
4. There is fusion of powers.
5. The government is not popularly elected; hence, there is usually a
weak government.
Confederation
Confederation is the type of government in which sovereign states come
together as autonomous bodies to form a loose political union, in which the
central government is subordinate to the component governments. Each
autonomous state is sovereign, and has the constitutional right to secede
from the confederation. An example was the former Confederation of
Senegambia-made up of sovereign Senegal and Gambia.
Characteristics of a Confederation
1. It‘s a union of sovereign or autonomous states
2. There is no viable and effective executive authority.
3. There is no national armed force.
4. The component states retain their sovereignty and identity
5. Confederation has flexible constitution
6. The constitution makes the components states very powerful
7. Citizens have to obey only one government that is their government
8. There exists a voluntary membership of the union; hence, any
member state can secede at will.
9. Actual powers of government lie with the component units making it
difficult for the central authority to enforce it‘s decisions on the
autonomous states.
10. There exists instability in the system.
11. The component states retain their sovereignty and identity in a
confederation.
Merits of a Confederation
a) A confederation enables the component states to retain their
individual identities.
b) It makes it possible for a union to be forged among people of
different cultural backgrounds.
c) It brings weak component states together to form a strong nation
able to defend themselves as one against any external aggression.
d) A confederation reduces the fear of domination of one state by the
other because each autonomous state retains it‘s identity.
e) Members in a confederal state cannot be compelled to remain in the
union because of their constitutional right to secession.
f) A confederation is economically beneficial to the autonomous states
that have come together, as a result of possible economic projects
jointly implemented for the benefit of members of the union.
g) It enables many otherwise sovereign states to speak with one voice
on issues relating to foreign policy.
Demerits of Confederation
a) The component units' right to secede is a source of serious instability
in a confederal system.
b) Since the component units retain more power than the centre, the
authority of the central government to speak and act for the nation,
is undermined.
c) The citizens of a confederal state pay more allegiance to their own
governments than to the central government. This further reduces

the power and authority which the state ought to command over it‘s
citizens.
d) It does not encourage political unity, which is vital to the security and
development of the nation.
e) A confederal system does not encourage even development of the
country.
f) The power of regional governments to retain their own police and
armed forces fosters the potential of an outbreak of civil hostilities.

Chapter Seven: Constitution and Constitutionalism
Constitution
Constitution is the whole body of fundamental laws, customs, rules,
regulations, principles, norms and conventions by which a country is been
governed. The constitution therefore specifies the working of government,
the functions of it officials, the rights and duties of it‘s citizens.
Constitutionalism means adherence to the letter and spirit of the
constitution, that is, those who govern should govern according to the
dictates of the law. Constitutionalism denotes supremacy of the law.
Sources of Constitution
1) Customs, traditions and conventions
2) Constitutional conferences
3) Legislation and judicial precedents
4) Historical origin/documents
5) Decrees
6) International laws
7) Acts of parliaments
8) Past experiences
9) Intellectual works
10) The customary Law/ or natural Laws
Importance/ Functions of Law

1. Constitution defines the powers of the various organs of government.
2. It states the fundamental principles, aspirations and objectives of a
country
3. It helps to protect the rights of the citizens
4. It helps to prevent arbitrary rule by the leaders.
5. It explains the do‘s and don‘ts of the government
6. It specifies the system of government to be adopted.
Types of Constitution
1) Written and unwritten
2) Rigid and flexible
3) Unitary and federal

Written and Unwritten Constitution
A written constitution refers to the whole body of fundamentals laws,
customs, rules, regulations, principles, norms and conventions according to
which a particular government of a country operates are written or
documented down. This implies that a written constitution can be found in
a single document. Some changes like revolution, War, coup d‘état, gaining
of independence, etc., that may take place in a country may warrant
written down of a country‘s constitution. Countries like US, Nigeria, India,
France, Canada, Ghana, Gambia, and many other countries of the world
have a written constitution.
Features/Advantages of a Written Constitution

1. It‘s written or documented down in a single document
2. It has a preamble or introduction which expresses the essence 0f the
constitution
3. It stipulates the methods and condition for it‘s amendment and
change
4. It‘s very simple because it can be obtained in a single document
5. It spells out the fundamental human rights and duties of the citizens
of a country
6. It states and defines the organs of government, their functions and
relationship
7. A written constitution is rigid in nature
8. A written constitution ensures stability
9. It prevents dictatorship
10. It minimizes disputes between the executive and the legislature
Demerits
1. It‘s rigid in nature
2. It leads to constant litigation because It‘s easily accessible
3. It does not fit all types of government I.e. unitary
4. It creates overlapping functions i.e. probe by both the executive and
the legislature
5. It may not favour some sections of the country
Unwritten Constitution
An unwritten constitution refers to the whole body of fundamentals laws,
customs, rules, regulations, principles, norms and conventions according to
which a particular government of a country operates are not written down
or codified in a single document. Unwritten constitution seems to be
opposite of written constitution. Britain and New Zealand are good
examples of countries that have unwritten constitution. An unwritten
constitution is not synonymous with not existing law but what it means is
that these laws, customs. Etc., cannot be obtained from one single book or
document.
Advantages of Unwritten Constitution

1. It‘s flexible in nature
2. It makes easy for quick decision
3. It does not pose problem of amendments
4. It‘s non-rigidity makes it high degree of compromised between the
organs of government
5. It does not lead to constant litigation
6. It eliminates many areas of disputes because It‘s not found in one
document
7. It meets both present and future needs of a country
Disadvantages of Unwritten Constitution

1. It‘s prone to abuse by government since it‘s not found in one
document
2. It leads to dictatorship
3. It does not create room for individual citizens to know their rights
4. It does not suit federal government
5. It does not ensure stability
6. In case of disputes it has no easy reference
Constitutionalism
The term constitutionalism means that the power of government should be
defined and limited by the dictates of the body of the fundamental laws of
the land known as the constitution. That is to say those actions and the
activities of government and it‘s official should be in line with the provisions
of the constitution. The constitution therefore, outlines the different organs
of government, their functions and their relationship to each other. The
same constitution also specifies the rights and obligations of the citizens.
The principle of constitutionalism is not constitution in Itself but limits
government and individual actions and activities according to constitutional

restraints, it states that nobody no matter how highly placed is above the
law and that the law is not respecter of anybody. This principle of
constitutionalism empowers the judiciary to declare any action that
conflicts with the constitutional provision as null and void and ultra vires. It
also grants individuals the chance to challenge any actions of government
viewed as unconstitutional in the law court.
Importance of Constitutionalism
1. Equality before the law: it stresses the fact that nobody is above the
law irrespective of the person‘s position or wealth.
2. Limitation in the exercise of functions: this implies that the activities
of those who govern should not be absolute. There is constitutional
limitation In the exercise of their functions.
3. Fundamental human rights: constitutionalism enhances the
protection of the citizen‘s fundamental human rights.
4. Popular sovereignty: constitutionalism promotes the right of every
adult to vote and be voted for at any political elections.
5. Judicial independence: constitutionalism implies that only the
constitutional courts can enforce the people‘s rights like high courts,
appeal courts and finally the supreme courts.

Chapter Eight: Rule of law
The Rule of Law
Rule of law is the absolute supremacy of the law over everybody both the
rulers and the ruled. As principle that stresses the supremacy of the Law
over all. ―Those entrusted with the administration of a country should rule
or exercise their authority in accordance with the laid down rules of the
country, i.e. established laws, and those established laws should be
regarded as supreme. That is, the government should rule according to
the provisions of the constitution and that government should be subject to
the law which means that no one can be punished without trial. The rule of
law is fundamental to the principle of separation of power.
The rule of law is the basic fundamental principle of every constitution of a

nation but with slight difference from one country to the other in the
degree of It‘s application. Professor A.V Dicey in his book titled
―Introduction to the Law of the Constitution. 1885‖ based this concept on
three fundamental principles as explained below:
1) Principle of Impartiality: - No individual should be unduly

punished or deprived of his rights or property except by the violation
of the law of the land, which must be administered and established
by the law court after normal trial in the ordinary court of law. In this
case an accused is presumed innocent until he has been found guilty
by the court of law.
2) Principle of Equality before The Law: - No individual is above the

law, both the rule and the ruled are equal before the law, irrespective
of their social status. The law that applies to the rule should also be
applied to the ruled.
3) Principle of Fundamental Human Right: - Fundamental human

rights are
Inalienable rights of the individual person and therefore, should not
be deprived of any individual by the government.
Features of Rule of Law

1. Citizens must not be denied of their rights
2. No individual person should be duly punished without trial by the law
court
3. Every person (both the rulers and the ruled) is equal before the law.
4. The law of the land is supreme.
5. The legal system must work in accordance with the provisions of the
constitution.
6. Anybody suspected of any crime should be granted fair hearing.
Significance
1. Rule of Law promotes political stability in a state
2. It facilitates the operation of separation of powers
3. It guarantees right to personal liberty
4. It fights against the emergence of a tyrannical and despotic
leadership.
Limitations of Rule of Law

1) The immunity of the president: The president and the governors
cannot be sued until after their tenure due to the immunity they
have, (the immunity clause, 1999 CFRN)
2) Declaration of state of emergency: citizens of a country may be
denied some of their fundamental human rights and the application
of the rule of law is limited when a state of emergency is declared in
a state. State of emergency can lead to government acquiring wider
and uncontrollable power, indiscriminate and detention without trial
or at time secret trials.
3) Diplomatic immunity: ambassadors cannot sue and prosecuted in the
countries were they are serving rather they can only be repatriated
and this undermines the rule of law.
4) Poverty, Illiteracy and ignorance on the part of the citizens: these
greatest three enemies of man do not allow citizens of a country to
know and fight for their rights especially when they are infringed
upon.
5) Parliamentary immunity, members of the parliament cannot be sued
or prosecuted based on the statement they make on the floor of the
house (hallowed chamber) no matter how faults they may be, which
means they are not equal before the law with other citizens.
6) Type of government: the type of government adopted in a country
for instance military rule and one party system of government that
tends to be autocratic and dictatorial act are serious limitations to the
application of the rule of law.

7) Partial judiciary/integrity of the judge. The rule of law is also limited
by a partial judiciary or lack of independence of the judiciary. When
judges lack moral integrity no matter how independent the judiciary
may be, application of the rule of law will be in serious jeopardy.
8) Special or Administrative tribunal: this tribunal adopts special system
of trial different from that of ordinary courts which the rule of law
forbids and they do not allow appeal against their judgment.
9) Discretional powers: some time, government officials are granted
considerable discretional powers to enable them carry out their duties
effectively these officials often misuse these powers to the extent
that the rule of law may be seriously undermined.
10) Police brutality: in many countries especially developing one‘s, the
police arrest, detain and brutalized citizens for mere accusation of an
offence. These acts negate the rule of law, which say that an
accused person should be assumed innocent until a court of law
presided over by free, fair and impartial judge finds him guilty.
11) Someone‘s position, some citizens positions like the head of state,
ministers, judges, governors, etc. make the A.V Dicey‘s equality
before the law a hoax.
12) Economic position, those in position of the economic world
especially in Africa have use such positions to render the application
of the rule of law a ruse. Justice is purchased in court of law as
commodity and only the poor suffers the brunt.
13) Customs and traditions, the application of the rule of law is
undermined in a bit not to violate the customs and tradition of the
people.
14) Age limit and insanity, people‘s age plays significant role in
determining how the rule of law can apply to them. For instance,
children under seven (7) years old cannot be prosecuted, the legal
offence they committed notwithstanding. Insanity, the rule of the law
does not apply to mentally retarded person and are therefore, not
treated equally before the law.
15) Strike; when trades unions are on strike, the application of the
rule of law is put in serious jeopardy. For instance trade unions are
free from litigations for barbaric, brutal and unlawful acts of looting,
arson, beating of uncompromising people, etc.

Chapter Nine: Party System and Political Parties
Party System
Party system may be defined as a type of governmental political
arrangement in which political parties are permitted to operate for the
purpose of forming a government on political party basis. Normally the
constitution specifies the number of political parties that are to operate in
any country. The formation of government on party basis therefore
depends on the party that wins majority votes.
Types
1. Zero party system
2. One party system
3. Two party system
4. Multi-party system
Zero party system

Zero party system exists where elections are conducted and contested
based on personal attributes, capabilities and programmes presented by
individual‘s candidate. Candidate does not contest election under the
banner or on the platform of any political parties.
Feature/Merit
1. It‘s simple to operate
2. It reduces electoral malpractices
3. It leads to quick decision making
4. Electorates find it easy to decide on candidates
5. It saves time
Demerit
1. Election may be rowdy due to the number of candidates
2. It may lead to political instability
3. Popular irresponsible people may be elected for political office
4. Absent of political parties which may educate people
5. There is little or no opposition

One Party System
This is a party system whereby only one legal and legitimate political party
is constitutionally recognized in a given country. The formation or existence
of other political parties apart from the one duly registered and recognized
by the constitution is seen as treason and it may earn the leaders of such
party, arrest and imprisonment or deportation. One party system normally
operates in small states both in population and land mass and non-
multicultural society, i.e. Ghana, Zambia, Guinea, Tanzania, Zaire, Kenya
etc. have at one time or the other operated one party system.
Advantages
1. One party system unites the state/country.
2. It promotes quick decision making.
3. It alleviates incidence of election malpractices.
4. It facilitates rapid national development.
5. It leads to proper training of future leaders.
6. It‘s cheap to operate.
Disadvantages
1. It encourages bad rule.
2. It leads to victimization of opposition groups.
3. It perpetuates bad leadership in office.
4. It can lead to unpopularity of a regime.
5. It can lead to dictatorship.
6. It‘s undemocratic.
Two Parties System

This is a party system whereby only two major parties are legally and
constitutionally recognized and allowed to exist. Example Nigeria 92/93,
UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc.
Advantages
1. It makes for good government since the opposing groups are there
to watch and criticize bad policies.
2. It ensures and promotes stability in government.
3. It‘s more democratic since it gives room for freedom of choice and
association.
4. It ensures a wider scope of electorates choice.
5. It checks the emergence of dictatorship.
Disadvantages
1. It‘s very expensive to operate.
2. It leads to division of states into different factions.
3. The presence of an opposing party could lead to political instability.
4. It does not promote national unity due to the power tussle that
exists.
5. It promotes unhealthy party rivalry.
6. It encourages electoral malpractices.
Multi-Party System
This is the party system where more than two parties are constitutionally
recognized and allowed to operate and compete for gaining political power
in other to govern the country. Examples are countries like Nigeria,
Zimbabwe, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and India etc.
Advantages
1. It increases the level of political education and participation.
2. It prevents the emergence of dictatorship.
3. It‘s democratic in nature.
4. It offers the electorates the opportunity to make best choice of
candidates & party.
5. It enhances the principles of the rule of law.
6. It also creates forum for adequate representation of all shades of
political opinions.
Disadvantages
1. It makes for an unstable government because of the ideological
differences.
2. It engenders unhealthy competition among different political parties.
3. It creates room for electoral malpractices.
4. It‘s exorbitant to run.
5. It breeds corruption.
6. It leads to waste of the nation‘s resources.

Party Manifesto
This is the party‘s cardinal plan of programmes or their aims and objectives
which they intend to fulfill to the electorates if elected into power.
Relevance
1. It stipulates party‘s aims and objectives.
2. It provides room for electorates to assess & evaluate political parties‘
plans & programmes.
3. It helps to attract supporters, thereby increasing the membership of
a political party.
4. It helps to educate the electorates to have an insight on which party
to belong and also vote for.
5. It also helps the electorates to be informed on the credibility of a
candidate in a particular party.
6. It shows the ideological direction of a party.
Political Party
Political party can be broadly defined as an organized group of people with
common political ideology who come together for the purpose of winning
the elections in order to win the reign of power in government so that they
can put their ideologies into practice. It‘s also defined as the organized
group of people who share similar political opinions, principles, interest,
and beliefs with the aim of gaining political power and governing the
country. Example in Nigeria we have PDP, APC, SDP, PDM, APGA, LP, UPP,
NCP, UPN, & PPA etc.
Definition
According to Agbaje (1999), ―a political party is a group of persons bonded
in policy and opinion in support of a general political cause, which
essentially is the pursuit, capture and retention for as long as
democratically feasible, of government and It‘s offices‖. Following from the
above definition, a political party represents, therefore, at least three
things to It‘s members and on-lookers:
a. It‘s a label in the minds of It‘s members and the wider public,
especially the electorate.
b. It‘s an organisation that recruIt‘s and campaigns for candidates
seeking election and selection into public political office;
c. It‘s a set of leaders who try to organise and control the
legislative and executive branches of government (Wilson, 1992
cf. Agbaje, 1999).
In democracies therefore, a political party is a more or less permanent

institution with the goal of aggregating interests, presenting candidates for
elections with the purpose of controlling governments, and representing
such interests in government. It‘s thus a major vehicle for enhancing
participation in governance (Foley and Edwards, 1996, cited in Agbaje,
1999).
The Functions of Political Parties

a) Control of government: The implication of this function is that parties
are the main vehicles for recruiting and selecting people for government
and legislative office. In effect, although they are often criticized for filling
high level public positions with their own (people considered political rather
than technical), which expectedly are what they are supposed to do;
political parties provide a responsible vehicle to achieve control of the
government. In essence, political parties bring people together, develop
policies favorable to their interests or the groups that support them, and
organise and persuade voters to elect their candidates to office. But
although political parties are very much involved in the operation of
government at all levels, they are not the government itself.
b) Implementation of policies: The content side of responsibility of
political parties is to develop policies and programmes. It‘s pertinent to
note that there are different choices in the political market place – not only
in terms of candidates but also in terms of ideas; however, once in
government, a party can start implementing these ideas. In sum, the
manifestos of political parties serve as a ready source from which
government policies can be formulated.
c) Making policy: This feature implies that although political parties are
not policymaking organisations in themselves while not in government
however, they certainly take positions on important policy questions, one
of which especially is to provide alternatives to the position of whichever
party is in power. The input into policy making is through legislation.
d) Representing Groups of interests: Irrespective of the party, the

elected officials that represent the people called constituents make their
concerns known to their representatives. These elected officials however,
must not only reflect the concerns of their own political party but must also
try to attract support from people in their districts or states who belong to
the other party. They can attract this support by supporting bipartisan
issues (matters of concern that cross party lines) and nonpartisan issues
(matters that have nothing to do with party allegiance). Political parties
represent groups as well as individuals. These interest groups have special
concerns. They may represent the interests of ethnic minorities, of farm
workers, small business operators, particular industries, or teachers — any
similar individual who cooperates to express a specific agenda.
e) Simplifying the Policy Making Arena: With demands being

numerous and sometimes conflicting, political parties pick up demands
from society and bundle them into packages. In other words, political
parties are an important part of the political process because they are able
to discuss and evaluate these issues and shape human needs into policy
alternatives. Political parties appeal to as many different groups as
possible. They do so by stating their goals in a general way so that voters
are attracted to a broad philosophy without necessarily focusing on every
specific issue. In many countries, political parties are known for specific
ideology.
f) Political education
Political parties educate the electorate through campaigns and rallies which
stimulate their political awareness.
g) Systems maintenance
Political parties help to ensure political stability through the availability of a
pool of their members capable of running the government at any time.
Advantages
1. To nominate candidates for offices, campaign for them and if
successful, assume power.
2. To educate the electorates politically.
3. To mobilize electorates during election.
4. To serve as a check on the excesses of the executive arm of
government in a democratic setting.
5. Political parties usually have manifesto.

Disadvantages
1. Winning party officials tend to influence the leaders to marginalize
and oppress people and groups that did not give them vote.
2. Dishonesty and lack of independent opinion among politicians.
3. People see friends in other parties as enemies.
4. Inter-party violence.
5. Waste of public funds by some politicians.
Types of Political Parties

1. Mass parties
2. Religious parties
3. Caucus parties
4. Personal parties
5. Charismatic parties
6. Broker parties

Chapter Ten: Interest/Pressure Group and Public Opinion
Interest/Pressure Groups
An interest group (also advocacy group, lobby group, pressure group or
special interest group) is an organisation that seeks to influence political
decisions, typically through the use of financial contributions to politicians
to bias political opinion to create incentives for politicians to receive further
financial contributions. Public and private corporations work with lobbyists
to persuade public officials to act or vote according to group members‘
interests (Sullivan & Sheffrin, 2003). In the course of representing the
interest of their members these groups are often active participants in the
political process. They may have both well-defined political agendas and
the financial resources necessary to exert broad influence on the political
and regulatory process; utilizing direct lobbying, letter-writing campaigns,
and voter turnout efforts during elections. However, unlike political parties,
pressure groups are not interested in direct governance or in contesting
elections. They may however support particular candidates or parties they
regard of supportive of, or beneficial to their cause. An example of this is
the support given to the Action Congress (AC) in Lagos by the Lagos state
branch of Market Women Association, or the support given to the Labour
Party (LP) in Ondo state and the Action Congress in Edo state by the
Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).
Types of Interest Groups

a) Promotional or single-issue groups: Some interest groups are
formed to promote a particular cause which may not directly benefit their
members. Promotional or single issue interest groups do not usually expect
to profit directly from the policy changes they seek. However, the activists
who staff these groups may gain financially by attracting donations from
individuals and foundations that support their activities. Also, these interest
groups enjoy an image of non-partisanship, even though some of them
engage, necessarily, in clearly political activities. Promotional or single-
issue groups (cause or attitude groups) seek to influence policy in a
particular area, such as the environment (Green Peace, or Environmental
Rights Action in Nigeria), gun laws (National Rifle Association in the United
States) the protection of birds (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in
the USA), or animal rights (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in
the USA), human rights groups, and consumer protection (Nigerian
Consumer Protection Council). These groups tend to be aligned toward a
political ideology or seek influence in specific policy areas. While some
promotional interest groups do not generate their opposite, others do. For
example, the issue of abortion has generated interest groups for and
against. In America for example, while the National Right to Life Committee
(NRLC) is against abortion, the National Abortion Rights Action League
(NARAL) supports it.
b) Economic interest groups: These interest groups focus on the

economic well-being of their members. They include organisation that
represents big business, such as the Nigeria Association of Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (NACCIMA), and the Manufacturers Association of
Nigeria (NMA), as well as big labour- the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).
c) Professional or Occupational Interest Groups: These are interest

groups embracing workers of the same occupation or profession who try to
protect their work or work interest. The Nigerian Medical Association
(NMA), Nigerian Union of Teachers (NTU), Academic Staff Union of
Nigerian Universities (ASSU), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Nigerian
Union of Road Transport Workers, Nigerian Union of Textiles Workers and
Barbers Association.
d) Government Interest Groups: These are interest groups formed

from within the governmental framework. In Nigeria for example, there are
organisations formed to bring the issues of governance as it concerns
specific interests before the public opinion and the administration.
Government interest groups include the Governors‘ Forum, South-South
Governors‘ Forum, Northern State Governors‘ Forum, and the Association
of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON).
e) Religious Interest Groups: These are interest groups of people that

belong to the same religion and wish to influence government decisions in
favour of their belief or members. Examples are Christian Association of
Nigeria (CAN), Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (SCIA), Supreme Council
for Sharia in Nigeria (SCSN) and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN).
These groups representing the two biggest religions in the country – Islam
and Christianity - have been in the forefront of protesting government
policies whenever they feel such policies are not favourable to them. For
instance, CAN have stringently protested Nigeria‘s membership of the
organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) in the 1980s, and the
implementation of Sharia (Islamic law) since 1999 by 12 northern states,
The Muslim groups on the other hand have supported these developments.
In some countries such as USA, religious interest groups directly lobby to
sway public policy in their interests and in the process they become
involved in politics, to some degree. The Christian Coalition, which draws
most of it‘s support from conservative Protestants, has an agenda that
includes support for school prayer, opposition to homosexual rights, and a
constitutional amendment banning abortion. It became an important factor
in American politics, particularly in the Republican Party, in the early 1990s.
f) Ethnic Interest Groups

Ethnic interest groups, as the name implies, represent specific ethnic
groups either in their ethnic homeland, in foreign lands, or in the Diaspora.
In Nigeria these include Afenifere (Yoruba), Arewa People‘s Congress
(Hausa), Ohaneze Ndigbo (Igbo). In many instances, these groups have
functioned as ‗shadow states‘ for their members. However, in pressing
forth their demands and in contestations with other groups for scarce
government resources, the activities of these groups have been
characterised by violent rhetoric, confrontations, and even physical clashes
that have led to fractious controversy, bitter recriminations, and loss of
lives and properties.
Functions/Importance
1. It protects the interests of it‘s members both individually and
collectively.
2. It influences government policies in order to benefit their members.
3. It acts as watchdog over public policies.
4. It serves as a link between government and the people.
5. It provides welfare services to the people.
6. It offers expert advice to government on technical issues.
7. Interest groups educate both their own constituency and the public
8. Representation (Collective action is the most effective way of
influencing policymaking and bringing issues to a large audience.)
9. Contribution i.e. contribute to debate on issues of national
importance such as legislation that has to do with Child Rights, anti-
tobacco or same sex marriage.

Techniques Used By Pressure Groups to Achieve their Objectives
a) Lobbying
Lobbying is one of the ways in which interest groups shape legislation and
bring the views of their constituents to the attention of decision-makers.
The term "lobbying" conjures up images of favours, substantial honoraria
paid for brief appearances, and other unsavory exchanges verging on
bribery. In the main, however, such images do not help us fully understand
the intricacies of the inside game. This game does not always involve
money or favours. It‘s mostly about the politics of insiders. It‘s the politics
of one-on-one persuasion, in which the skilled lobbyist tries to persuade a
strategically placed decision- maker such as well-placed legislators,
chairpersons of important committees or subcommittees, or key members
of professional staffs - to understand and sympathise with the point of
view of the interest group. Lobbying the executive branch is another way in
which interest groups attempt to have their views heard. Career civil
servants and upper-level appointees in the executive branch have a great
deal of discretionary authority because Congress often writes legislation
broadly, leaving it to bureaucratic agencies to fill in the details. Given the
broad powers they carry, it behooves interest groups to establish stable
and friendly relationships with those agencies of the executive branch that
are most relevant to their interests. As with Congress, the key to success in
the lobbying game with the executive branch is personal contact and long -
term relationships. Once established, interest group representatives can
convey technical information, present the results of their research, help
public officials deflect criticism, and show how their group's goals are
compatible with good public policy and the political needs of the officials.
b) Strikes and boycotts

Occupational pressure groups may employ strikes and boycotts to achieve
their aims where other means fail. In trying to avoid the great loss that
may arise from a long-term strike, the owners of an organisation may
agree to what the pressure group demands. If the strike is directed at
government, the government may negotiate with the pressure group in
order to ensure industrial peace and political stability.

c) Publicity campaigns
Pressure groups organise intensive campaigns through meetings, rallies,
house to house campaigns, posters, handbills, stickers and conferences to
attract public support and get their aims achieved.
d) Mass media
Pressure groups advertise and sponsor programmes on the radio, television
and in newspapers to convince the citizenry to embrace their position as
the most appropriate one for the whole society.
e) Letters and petitions

Pressure groups write letters of information or complaint to officials of the
legislative or executive arm of the government to try to convince them of
their viewpoint.
f) Electoral politics
Pressure groups go out to campaign and vote for candidates who will be
sympathetic to their cause. They on the other hand campaign against
candidates they believe are not in support of their cause. In advanced
democracies such as America, interest groups have become key players in
electoral politics. Many interest groups rate members of Congress on their
support for the interest group's position on a selection of key legislative
votes. These ratings are then distributed to members of the interest group
and other interested parties in hopes that it will influence their voting
behaviour in upcoming elections.
g) Demonstrations
Pressure groups also use demonstrations which may be peaceful or violent.
In peaceful demonstrations, they march, carrying placards stating their
demands. If this fails, violence could be resorted to by pressure groups to
achieve their objectives. Examples are tertiary students who abduct school
administrators and burn vehicles.
h) Courts
Interest groups also go to court to challenge the constitutionality of
legislation or event. The case brought by the previously unknown group by
the name Association for Better Nigeria (ABN) to advance for the stoppage
of the conduct of the June 12 1993 presidential election, and also for the

annulment of the election is among of the queer but decisive cases of
interest groups use of the courts in Nigeria. The ABN courts not
only granted the two requests, but the court‘s decision was a key reason
the military government of Ibrahim Babangida publicly adduced for
canceling the June 12th election, widely acclaimed to be of good standards
and adjudged as one of the freest ad fairest in the country. Going to court,
however, is a secondary strategy for most groups, because they must have
their standing. This means that the group must be a party to the case and
be able to demonstrate a direct injury. Going to court, moreover, is very
expensive and beyond the means of many groups. When interest groups
get involved in court actions there are a number of things that they can do.
First, they can file amicus curiae (or friend of the court) briefs in cases
involving other parties. In this kind of brief, a person or an organisation
that is not a party to a lawsuit may file an argument in support of one side
or the other in hopes of swaying the views of the court. Second, interest
groups can become involved in court actions through the process of
appointment and approval of federal judges.
i) Warfare
If other means seem ineffective, pressure groups could employ (guerrilla)
warfare means to achieve their goals. Examples are the Mau- Mau struggle
for independence in Kenya, the independence struggles in Mozambique
and Angola, and the struggles of MEND in Nigeria‘s Niger Delta.
Factors that Militate Against the Success of Pressure Groups

1. Lack of adequate funds
2. Poor leadership/absence of dedicated members
3. Poor organization
4. Political instability
5. Ineffective political education
6. Intolerance on the part of government
The Strengths and Weaknesses of Interest Groups
Interest groups are inimical to the democratic process. This is the view
offered by Lewis (1996) when he stated that Interest group fights against
democracy and takes away It‘s authoritativeness, confuses expectations
about democratic institutions and corrupts democratic government by
treating all values as equivalent interests, renders government impotent by
multiplying the number of plans available, but not addressing

implementation, and demoralises government because it can't achieve
justice (because without a value-system, justice is not an issue for
discussion). Interest groups have also been usually regarded as narrowly
self-interested, out for themselves, and without regard for the public good.
This theme of selfish interests recurs throughout Nigeria‘s history. A good
example was the activities of youth groups especially the Youth Earnestly
Ask for Abacha (YEAA) who openly canvassed for the transformation of
General Sani Abacha into a civilian president. It‘s also often argued that the
politics of interest groups is usually not the province of majorities, but of
narrow, particularistic, and privileged interests. This, It‘s argued, is
problematic in two respects. First, it undermines systems stability, which is
vital for a functioning democracy. Second, and relatedly, it makes it difficult
for governments to formulate broad and coherent national policies.
Proponents of this view for example will support their argument with the
example of the ASUU strike which has paralysed university education in
Nigeria. To many, especially government functionaries, even though some
of the issues raised by ASSU have been addressed, but ASUU may still
proceed with the strike. ASSU therefore cannot be said to be fighting for
the ‗people‘s interests generally. Rather, their action is related to the
narrowness and the particularism of interest group politics and It‘s
undermining of both systems stability and political coherence.
To many, other examples depicting the ‗negative‘ consequences of interest

groups actions include strikes by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) or
Nurses over pay rise while several patients languish in pains in the
hospitals, with some even losing their lives due to lack of attention from
the doctors; or activities of militant groups in the Niger Delta, including
attacks of oil facilities and oil companies, which according to estimates
have caused the nation loss of an estimated $16 billion in export revenues
due to shut-in oil production. Militant attacks on oil infrastructure have also
crippled Nigeria‘s domestic refining capabilities (Energy Information
Administration, 2007). These and other examples, for many, show how
interest groups‘ concern for particularistic interest above the national
interests can constrain the smooth operation of the political process, lead
to inertia in the political system and hardship on the public.
However, for others including members of the interest groups and political
scientists who take a pluralist approach, interest groups do not hurt
democracy and the public interest but are an important instrument to
attain both. Pluralists believe that elections are essential to a democracy,
but they do not readily communicate what the people want in terms of
policy. This is better communicated to political leaders on a day-to-day
basis by the many groups and organisations to which people belong.
Public Opinion
Public opinion is defined as the collective beliefs, judgments and views of a
large majority of people on government policies and activities. It therefore
refers to what members of the public think or feel about government
proposed policies or actions already taken by government. The level of
literacy rate determines mainly how many people will be interested in
public issues. But public opinion may not always be the opinion of the
majority of the citizens of the country, at times some a just selfish opinion
of the opposition.
Functions/Importance
1. It makes people be aware of the activities of government.
2. It makes government to know the people‘s feelings and needs.
3. It helps people to express their views and mind on the
policies/activities of government.
4. It also helps in educating the mind of people.
5. It helps to re-shape or change the behaviour of the general public.
6. It enhances directives for public policy.
7. It helps in bringing down unpopular government.
Agents of Public Opinion

1. Mass media (magazines, newspapers, radio, television & journals.).
2. Political parties.
3. Pressure groups.
Formation of Public Opinion

Public opinion can be formed through:
1. Ideology
2. Political parties and pressure groups
3. Values, norms and views of some people
4. Opinion leaders
5. Mass media communication

Types
1. Majority opinion: is a situation that arises when most people hold the
same view on an issue bordering on government policies, activities or
even on the general public.
2. Minority opinion: the minority sometimes holds certain view which
might be so influential and vocal, such that people regard their views
as public opinion.
3. Informed opinion: opinions held by well-informed people who are
acquainted with the fact of which can be skillfully presented and
argued.
4. Group opinion: are opinions held by a certain group of people like the
traders, factory workers or professional bodies.

Chapter Eleven: Public Admin: Administrative Agencies
An administrative agency is a governmental authority in which the full
paraphernalia of power – that is, legislative, executive, judicial, and quasi-
judicial powers – resides. With governments the world over venturing into
socio-economic and political activities that were hitherto mostly handled by
individuals, there has been the need to create myriad of governmental
agencies charged with the responsibility of implementing the projects and
programmes of government
Definition of Administrative Agencies
According to the US Federal Administrative Procedure Act 1946, an

administrative
―Agency means each authority … of the Government of the United

States other than Congress, the courts.”
In other words, an administrative agency is constituted by the executive

branch of government. You should note that the executive branch of
government may be called an administrative agency because it implements
the laws enacted by the legislature. Also, the executive arm may be so-
called by virtue of the fact that there are constitutional provisions which
expressly delegate power to it. Again, when an enabling Statute delegates
power to an administrative agency, It‘s the executive that, in fact,
inaugurates or empanels the administrative agency.
Kenneth Culp Davis has offered a more descriptive or functional definition
of an administrative agency. According to him,
“Administrative agency is a governmental authority, other than a

court and a legislative body, which affects the rights of private
parties through either adjudication, rulemaking, investigating,
prosecuting, negotiating, settling or informally acting.‖
Another definition of administration agency is that:
Administrative agencies are lawmaking bodies with limited

powers delegated by Congress. Administrative agencies specialize
in specific issues that require expertise. Administrative agencies

are established by Article 1 Section1 of the federal constitution
which reads: “[all legislative Powers herein granted shall be
vested in a Congress of the United States.” The “necessary-and-
proper” clause in the eighth section of the Article 1 states that the
Congress shall have power “[to make all Laws which shall be
necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing
Powers, and all other Powers … in any Department or Officer
thereof.‖
(http://system.uslegal.com/administrative-agencies) You should note that

an administrative agency may be called by different names such as a
commission, board, authority, bureau, office, officer, administrator,
department, corporation, administration, division, or agency. Also worthy of
note is the fact that for agencies that are created by the constitution or
whose existence is constitutionally recognized, their powers and functions
are to be found in the Constitution itself. On the other hand, the powers or
functions of statutory agencies are contained in the enabling Acts. It‘s this
cluster of powers and functions – with which they affect the private rights
and obligations －that make administrative agencies tick.
Administrative agencies are ubiquitous in the sense that they are found
everywhere – at the Federal, State, and local government levels. And
administrative agencies appear to be jacks-of-all trade – doing those things
that all the other arms or branches of government can do. For example,
they are, like the legislature, authorized to prescribe rules and regulations;
to, like the prosecutors and judiciary, empowered to determine whether or
not the law has been violated and to impose penalty as appropriate; and
to, like the President of the country, confer privileges on persons or
institutions they deem fit.
Powers and Functions of some Federal Administrative Agencies

As we have earlier observed, agencies could be created either by the
Constitution or by Statute. In the former, the Constitution directly
recognizes or creates some agencies and vest in them appropriate powers
and functions. As far as the latter is concerned, the National Assembly
creates or authorizes the creation of agencies when it delegates power to
an administrative agency. Recall that since the National Assembly has the
exclusive capacity to legislate on the 68 items contained in the Exclusive
List of the CFRN 1999, It‘s potentially the greatest creator of administrative
agencies. Note that the status of the agencies created by the CFRN and by
Acts of the National Assembly differs. Such difference is a direct reflection
of the discrepancy between the constitution and a statute. We will now
discuss some constitutionalized agencies and statutory agencies. S. 153(1)
of the CFRN directly creates many agencies including, inter alia, the Code
of Conduct Bureau, Federal Character Commission, Federal Civil Service
Commission, Federal Judicial Service Commission, and the Independent
National Electoral Commission. By virtue of S. 153(2), the composition and
powers or functions of these bodies are contained in Part I of the Third
Schedule to the CFRN. We shall look at them seriatim.
Code of Conduct Bureau

The Code of Conduct Bureau, which consists of a Chairman and nine other
members, is empowered in Paragraph 3 to:
a. receive assets declarations by public officers;

b. examine the declarations in accordance with the Code of Conduct or
any law;
c. retain custody of such declarations and make them available for
inspection by any citizen of Nigeria on such terms and conditions as
the National Assembly may prescribe;
d. ensure compliance with and, where appropriate, enforce the
provisions of the Code of Conduct or any law relating thereto;
e. receive complaints about non-compliance with or breach of the
provisions of the Code of Conduct or any law in relation thereto,
investigate the complaint and, where appropriate, refer such matters
to the Code of Conduct Tribunal;
f. appoint, promote, dismiss and exercise disciplinary control over the
staff of the Code of Conduct Bureau in accordance with the provisions
of an Act of the National Assembly enacted in that behalf; and
g. Carry out such other functions as may be conferred upon it by the
National Assembly.
You should note that the nucleus of the duties of the bureau is the
prevention and control of corruption amongst public officers. These officers
are required to periodically declare their assets so that any accretion to
their wealth can be justified or queried. The bureau does this against the
background of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers (Part I, Fifth

Schedule). Any violation is forwarded to the Code of Conduct Tribunal (Part
I, Fifth Schedule) for necessary action.
Federal Character Commission

Set up by Paragraph 7 of the Schedule, the Federal Character Commission
in
Paragraph 8 has power to:
a. work out an equitable formula subject to the approval of the National
Assembly for the distribution of all cadres of posts in the public service
of the Federation and of the States, the armed forces of the
Federation, the Nigeria Police Force and other government security
agencies, government owned companies and parastatals of States;
b. Promote, monitor and enforce compliance with the principles of
proportional sharing of all bureaucratic, economic, media, and political
posts at all levels of government;
c. take such legal measures, including the prosecution of the head or
staff of any Ministry or government body or agency which fails to
comply with any federal character principle or formula prescribed or
adopted by the Commission; and
d. Carry out such other functions as may be conferred upon it by an Act
of the National Assembly.
Federal Judicial Service Commission

Paragraph 12 of the Schedule establishes the Commission. It has power to:
a) Advise the National Judicial Council in nominating persons for the
appointment of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), a Justice of the
Supreme Court, the President of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Judge
of the Federal High Court, a Judge of the Federal High Court, and the
Chairman and members of the Code of Conduct Tribunal;
b) Recommend to the National Judicial Council, the removal from office
of the judicial officers specified in sub-paragraph (a) of this
paragraph; and
c) appoint, dismiss and exercise disciplinary control over the Chief
Registrars and Deputy Chief Registrars of the Supreme Court, the
Court of Appeal, the Federal High Court and all other members of the
staff of the judicial service of the Federation not otherwise specified
in this Constitution and of the Federal Judicial Service Commission

Independent National Electoral Commission
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is in Paragraph 15
empowered to, inter alia, organize, undertake and supervise all elections to
the offices of the President and Vice-President, the Governor and Deputy
Governor of a State, and to the membership of the Senate, the House of
Representatives and the House of Assembly of each State of the
Federation; arrange and conduct the registration of persons qualified to
vote and prepare, maintain and revise the register of voters for election
purposes. The Commission is also charged with the duty of registering
political parties, and monitoring their organization and operation. For a
country like Nigeria that is still trying to find It‘s democratic feet, the role of
INEC cannot be overemphasized. The country has had the problem of
electoral rigging every time elections are held with the latest being the
2015 elections that brought the different regimes at both Federal and
States levels to power. You will recall that one of the reasons for Buhari
and Atiku‘s seeking judicial invalidation of the election of the late President
Yaradua was because of the massive rigging that marked the elections.
And Yaradua‘s inauguration of the Uwais Panel was borne out of his desire
to put in place a system that would guarantee that every vote counts.
Likewise the choice of Professor Attahiru Jega as INEC chairman by
President Jonathan.
Statutory Agencies
In It‘s capacity as the law-making arm of government, the National
Assembly has enacted or is deemed to have enacted so many Statutes
which authorized the establishment of administrative agencies. Such
Statutes include the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act
2004, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) Act 2000, and
NDLEA Act of 1989. Note that these statutes respectively established the
EFCC, ICPC, and NDLEA.
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

This is an anti-corruption, anti-money laundering agency established to
combat corruption, money laundering and other financial crimes. It was
established by the Federal Government in response to the external stimuli
generated by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Money Laundering.
FATF had declared Nigeria to be Non-Cooperating Country or Territory
(NCCT), that is, a country which inadequately provided against money
laundering. Some of the functions of the Commission under S. 6 of the Act
includes the investigation of all financial crimes including advance fee
fraud, computer credit card fraud, contract scam, etc.; the coordination
and enforcement of all economic and financial crimes laws and
enforcement functions conferred on any other person or authority; and the
adoption of measures to identify, trace, freeze, confiscate or seize
proceeds derived from terrorist activities, economic and financial crimes-
related offences or the properties the value of which corresponds to such
proceeds. Additionally, S. 7 of the Act empowers the Commission to cause
investigation to be conducted as to whether any person, corporate body or
organization has committed an offence under the Act. Moreover, the
Commission is empowered to cause investigations to be conducted into the
properties of any person if it appears to the Commission that the person‘s
lifestyle and extent of the properties are not justified by his source of
income. In a country like ours where many persons have assets or wealth
whose origin they cannot confidently disclose, the relevant provisions of
the Act are salutary. The EFCC appears to have made some modest
progress in It‘s task of cleansing our corrupt system as manifested in the
number of convictions it has recorded and, most important, the assets it
has confiscated or forfeited. However, the EFCC appears not to be making
use or good use of S. 7 as it tends to generally believe that It‘s capacity to
investigate a corruption allegation is dependent on the willingness of
aggrieved members of the public to report to or petition the body.
Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offence

Commission (ICPC)
The setting up of the ICPC in 2000 was about the first attempt by the
country to tame the hydra-headedness of corruption both in high and low
places. Under S. 6 of the Act, the Commission has a duty to receive and
investigate any report of the conspiracy to commit or attempt the
commission of the offence of corruption. As we can notice clearly, the
ICPC predated the EFCC. The relationship between the two agencies is that
while the ICPC focuses more on corruption generally, the EFCC concerns
It‘self with particular aspects of corruption bordering on financial crimes.
There are, however, cases of overlap in their functions. This has generated
calls by some individuals for the government to rationalize the two
agencies.

National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)
S. 3 of the NDLEA Act 1989 provides for the functions of the NDLEA. Some
of them are the:
a) Adoption of measures to eradicate illicit cultivation of narcotic plants
and to eliminate illicit demand for narcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances with a view to reducing human suffering and eliminating
financial incentives for illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances;
b) Adoption of measures to identify, trace, freeze, confiscate or seize
proceeds derived from drug-related offences or property whose value
corresponds to such proceeds; and
c) With a view to ascertaining whether any person has involved in
offences under the Act or in the proceeds of any such offences, to
cause investigations to be conducted into the properties of any person
if it appears to the agency that that person‘s life style and extent of
the properties are not justified by his ostensible source of income,
taking such measures that may ensure the elimination and prevention
of the root causes of the problems of narcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances;

Chapter Twelve: Elections and Electoral System
Elections: Definition: An election may be defined as an act of choosing or
selecting candidates who will represent the people of a country in the
parliament and in other positions in the government. Election is also said to
be a contest between competing political parties or group for government
power, Elections became imperative as a result of impossibility of direct
representation in the modern states. Direct representation as practiced in
the small ancient Greek city gave way to indirect representations as a
result of the growth of modern nations. In this indirect representatives,
citizens, through elections choose those who will represent their interests
and opinions in the legislature and other government positions.
Why Its Necessary To Hold Elections in A State

1. Choosing of representatives: elections make it possible for the citizens
to choose those that will represent their interest and opinions in the
government.
2. For changing of governments in a country through peaceful means.
3. Negates obnoxious policies: elections make it possible for people to
decide the type of policies that should be adopted by government by
choosing political parties with policies of their choice through the
manifestoes they presented to them during electioneering campaign
4. Makes rulers accountable: elections make it possible for the leaders to
submit themselves to the electorate in order to renew their mandate to
the people when they are in power
5. Fosters democracy: democracy that makes it possible for people to
participate in the government of their country thrives/grows and
develops more through elections.
6. Used to measure public opinions: elections are used to measure public
opinion on certain issues in a country.
7. Education of the electorate: electorate is educated more during
election periods on their political right by political parties and electoral
commission.
8. Bestows legitimacy: elections legitimize the rule of any government or
representative in a country.
9. Integration of various groups: various ethnic, religious and political
groups come together in order to win elections
10. Used to test popularity of rulers: Elections are used as barometer for
gunning the popularity of political leaders.

11. Used to check Government excess: fear of being removed from power
through elections help to curtail the dictatorial and tyrannical
propensities of government in power.
12. People are placed on equal status: people who are qualified for
elections are given equal political opportunity to vote and be voted for.
13. Environment of healthy competitions: Elections encourage and
promote healthy political competitions in a country.
Demerits
1. Election causes polarization of the people of a country in to
antagonistic groups.
2. The division of the people caused by elections does not make for
peace and unity in a country.
3. Elections enthrone political demagogues who deceived the people with
their hypnotizing manifestoes and sugar – coated tongue.
4. A lot of public funds are wasted in conducting elections.
5. as a result of the fact that politics is a game of number, minority
groups are not favored by elections.
6. Elections breed nepotism, divisionism and ethnocentrisms.
7. As a result of ringing and other vices associated with elections,
mediocre get elected in to offices.
8. Elections cause uneven development as a result of neglect of areas
that failed to vote for the party in power.
9. Many technocrats are scared away from government as a result of the
evils associated with elections.
Types of Election
There are two types of elections viz: direct and indirect electrons.
a) Direct election: this is a method by which citizens of a country who
are qualified vote in an election by casting their votes directly in
order to elect those that will represent them either in the legislature
or the executive arm of government.
b) Indirect election: This is a method by which citizens of a country
elect their representatives indirectly through the Electoral College.
Direct election is more democratic than indirect election because the
elected representatives reflect popular choice as all qualified adults
are given the opportunity to participate in the election of their
Representatives.

Merits of Direct Election
1. It gives citizens of a country equality of votes.
2. Elected representatives reflect popular choice.
3. Direct election is more democratic.
4. It‘s a necessary tool for a representative‘s government.
5. It makes voters to know more of their representatives.
6. Direct election gives citizens of a country the opportunity to select
people of their choice.
7. Voters will show more interest in government affairs when they elect
their representatives directly.
8. It‘s not prone to corruption because it will be difficult to bribe.
9. Direct election gives the voters opportunity to select the type of
political policies they will be governed with by voting directly for the
political party with the type of manifesto of their choice.
Demerits of Direct Election

1. It does not give voters opportunity to critically scrutinize the
candidate before voting.
2. Many voters involved in direct election are illiterates who vote
blindly.
3. It encourages violence during polling as a result of the many people
involved.
4. Majority of the Voters are denied the opportunity of voting as a
result
Merits of Indirect Election

1. It gives few well-informed people the opportunity to critically
scrutinize the candidates before voting.
2. Indirect election is a more mature election than the direct election.
Candidates elected through indirect election seem more qualified
than their counterparts of direct election because their electors are
few and more competent.
Demerits of Indirect Election

1. It‘s prone to corruption because, the few people involved in the
Electoral College can easily be bought over.
2. It does not given citizens equality of votes.

3. Voters do not show interest in government affairs since they did not
directly elect the rulers.
4. Elected representatives do not reflect popular choice.
5. Indirect election is less democratic.
6. It does not allow voters to know their representatives
7. The representatives seem to be imposed on the citizens.
8. Government policies are not in line with the choice of majority of the
citizens since they were not given the opportunity to choose
manifestoes of their choice.
Free and Fair Elections

A free and fair election refers to one conducted in an atmosphere
devoid of harassment, intimidation and other coercive means in order to
bend the will of the voters and according to constitutional procedure. In
this type of election, all election vices are eliminated; the will of majority of
voters prevails. Candidates who did not win election are never imposed on
the voters in a free and fair election.
Factors That Aid Free and Fair Election

1. The country should be divided into constituencies on equal population
basis to ensure equal representation.
2. A body to conduct the election known as electoral commission should be
made to be independent and non-partisan.
3. The electoral commission should make proper arrangement to compile
names of eligible voters.
4. Voters list should be publicly displayed for objections and complains that
may arise from voters.
5. Adequate security arrangement must be made to create conducive
atmosphere during polling day devoid of any form of harassment and
intimidation of voters
6. All necessary election materials like ballot boxes, papers, etc should be
adequately supplied at the appropriate time to avoid problem of
logistics.
7. People of transparent honesty and proven integrity should be selected
as officials of the electoral commission.
8. Election officials should be given adequate training.
9. Secret voting should be adopted
10. Public counting of votes at places the voting took place should also be
adopted
11. Results of elections should be announced as soon as counting is
completed.
12. Certain persons like lunatics, under-aged persons, criminals,
bankrupts, etc should not be allowed to vote.
13. Provision should be made for challenge of election results in the court
of law.
14. Double voting, impersonation and other election vices should be
properly checked
15. There should be adequate remuneration for election officials.
16. The electoral commission should be adequately backed up with laws to
enable it command respect and obedience from political parties and
candidates which will ensure free and fair elections
Ways by Which Elections Are Rigged

The justice Bolarinwa Babalakin Judicial Commission of inquiry into the
affairs of the Federal Commission (FEDECO) over it‘s conduct of the 1983
elections in Nigeria, the summary of it‘s findings and recommendations to
the government identifies the following ways by which 1983 elections were
rigged:
1. Compilation of fictitious names
2. Illegal compilation of separate voters list
3. Abuse of the revision of voters list exercise
4. Illegal printing of voters card
5. Illegal possession of ballot-boxes
6. Stuffing of ballot-boxes with ballot-papers
7. Falsification of election elections results
8. Thumb printing of ballot-papers
9. Voting by under-age children
10. Deliberate refusal to supply election materials to some areas
11. Announcing result where no elections were held
12. Unauthorized announcement of elections results
13. Harassment of candidates, agents and voters
14. Change of list of electoral officers
15. Switching of fake ballot-boxes prestuffed with thumb printed fake
ballot papers with genuine ballot-boxes.
16. Inflation of figures

The Electoral Systems
Definition: The electoral system may be defined as the process and
procedure by which citizens of a democratic country select through either
direct voting or indirectly those who will represent them in the parliament
and other positions in the government. As a result of the growth of
population, Great expansion of countries, specialized art of modern
government, etc., direct representation or democracy practiced in the
ancient small Greek city whereby the citizens meet together in one place
has given way for indirect representation, in this form of indirect
representation, citizens choose those who will represent their interest and
opinions in the legislature and other government positions. This is what is
known as the electoral system.
Citizens who are qualified under the law to vote in an election in order to
select their representatives are called electorate. The election can be either
direct or indirect. A body known as Electoral commission is appointed
charged with the responsibility for conducting and organizing elections in
the country. The electoral commission goes with different names in
different countries for instant, It‘s presently known as Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Nigeria.
Features
An impartial and independent Electoral Commissions.
1. Periodic and regular elections.
2. Adoption of secret voting system.
3. Delimitation of the country into constituencies.
4. the adoption of universal adult suffrage
5. Voting atmosphere devoid, of fear of molestation and victimization.
6. Provision for the representation of all interest groups in the
legislature.
7. There should be an acceptable method of nominating candidates for
elections.
8. The requirements for qualification as election candidate must be
clearly stipulated.
9. Complication of comprehensive voters register that should embrace
all qualify voters.
10. Regular and periodic public display of voters list.
11. Periodic revision of voters lists.
12. The electorate should be given adequate political education.
13. There should be an independent judiciary that will handle election
petitions without fear or favor.
14. Ballot boxes should be tightly secured.
15. Counting of votes should be publicly done and the result released
immediately.
16. polling offices and officers, ballot boxes and papers and other
necessary election personnel and materials should be adequately
provided and on time,
17. There should be a period for political parties to campaign for votes.
18. Certain parsons like lunatics, under aged persons, criminals
bankrupts etc. should not be allowed to vote in an election.
Types of Electoral System

1. Adult suffrage: this type of electoral system in which all duty men
and women who are not disqualified for one reason or the other are
allowed to vote.
2. Male suffrage: in this type of electoral system, only adult male are
allowed to vote women are prevented from voting.
3. Property suffrage: owners of property or assets are allowed to vote in
this type of electoral system.
4. Tax payer‘s suffrage: only those who show evidence of tax payment
are allowed to vote in this system.
Electoral Commission
An electoral commission is a body charged with the responsibility for
organizing an conducting free and fair election in a country, the electoral
commission is headed by an individual known as the chairman. The
commission which is the final arbiter in an election has legal and
constitutional backing to carry out It‘s functions. The appointment of
members of the commission is for a fixed period of time. Electoral
commission takes different names like in Nigeria it was called federal
electoral commission (FEDECO) in the second republic and in the third
republic National Electoral Commission (NEC). And now the fourth republic,
It‘s known as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

Characteristics of An Electoral Commission
1. It‘s a body with the responsibility for organizing and conducting free
and fair election in a country.
2. It‘s headed by an individual known as the chairman.
3. Electoral commission by right is an independent organ of government.
4. It‘s politically neutral and a non-partisan organization.
5. It has branches in different parts of a country.
6. The integrity and transparent honesty of members of the commission
should not be in question.
7. It‘s member are given adequate security to avoid intimidations and
harassment from political party thugs.
8. Electoral commission is given legal and constitutional backing to carry
out its function.
9. It‘s the final arbiter in an election.
10. The appointment of it‘s members is for a fixed period of time.
11. The commission uses the force of law in order to command obedience
from political parties and candidates.
Powers/Functions of Electoral Commission

1. The electoral commission divides the country into constituencies.
2. It registers eligible voters for election.
3. It determines the type of voting to be adopted.
4. The commission builds polling booths in all the constituencies.
5. It provides ballot boxes and papers and other election materials.
6. Display and revision of voters‘ lists are carried out by electoral
commission.
7. The commission screens and registers political parties.
8. Another function of electoral commission is the appointment and
training of electoral offices.
9. It also screens and registers eligible candidates for elections.
10. Electoral commission organizes and conducts election in a country.
11. The commission enlightens and educates the electorate about the
processes of election.
12. It works in conjunction with the law enforcement agencies in order
to provide adequate protection for the voters when they are voting.
13. The commission carries out the functions of counting the voters.
14. Election results are announced by the commission.
15. The commission disburses government financial grants to political
parties.
16. Electoral commission arranges for the auditing of the accounts of
political parties.
Measures of Ensuring The Independence &Impartiality of The

Electoral Commission
1. The electoral commission must be made autonomous rather than
appendage of the executive arm of the government.
2. There should be no political interference in the affairs of the
commission.
3. Officials of the commission should not be appointed by the executive
arm of the government but by organizing election.
4. Persons to be appointed as official of the commission must be those
with proven integrity and transparent honesty.
5. Dismissal of the officials of the commission should also not be done
by the executive arm of government.
6. Merits should be the yardstick to be used in appointing official of the
commission so that experienced and persons of proven ability and
drive should be appointed.
7. Funding of the commission should be done from an independent fund
not from the executive.
8. Officials of the commission should be adequately remunerated not to
make them to look beggarly.
9. Their salaries should be paid from the consolidated fund.
10. Officials of the commission should be appointed for a fixed period.
11. Security of tenure of office should be granted to members of the
commission.
12. Result declared by the commission should be made in a way that
they can be challenged in the court by the citizens‘ especially
aggrieved one‘s.
13. Voting must be done secretly while counting of voter should be
publicly done.
14. The commission should be adequately funded to enable it recruit
high level administrative and technical manpower.
15. Ballot boxes and papers should be effective secured.
16. The commission should be adequately backed up with law to
enable it command respect and obedience from political parties and
candidates.

ELECTORAL COLLEGE
This is a system whereby compositions of electors are selected by the
people to choose persons into political offices. It‘s a body of directly
elected representatives who come together for the purpose of electing
other representatives on behalf of the people. This system can be
employed where none of the contestants in an election secures absolute
majority. The Electoral College can then decide the winner between the
two leading candidates by simple majority.
Merits of Electoral College

1. Only a few qualified and eminent people will vote. This makes for
easy and proper identification of candidate and purpose.
2. Too much time is not wasted on elections. Voting is done and
completed in a short time.
3. A clear cut winner emerges at the Electoral College. This is because
the winner is decided by simple majority.
4. The system is very simple and cheap.
5. Electoral malpractices are minimized because only few people vote.
Demerits
1. The Electoral College does not reflect popular vote as the elector can
change the wishes of the majority of voters.
2. The people are disenfranchised at the second election i.e. they are
denied their right to choose their representatives.
3. The best candidate may not win the election, especially when he is
not wealthy enough to bribe the Electoral College to influence the
outcome of the election.
4. The system is old-fashioned and undemocratic. It may encourage
oligarchy.
5. Some of the electors may not possess any enviable quality than other
citizens who are not allowed to vote.
6. After-all, the best candidate may not win the election.
Concepts of Electoral College

General Election: It‘s an election conducted among various political
parties to choose or elect the representatives of the people into elective
post.

Plebiscite: like referendum, It‘s a ―yes‖ or ―no‖ election on issues of
national importance. It may be on public or political question like issues of
minorities in a political question set up.
Bye-election: this is an election held to fill a vacant seat in a

constituency, due to resignation, death or nullification of an election by a
court. Bye-election is conducted only in the constituency where vacancy
occurs and only registered voters in that constituency are eligible to vote.
The winner of a bye-election serves the remaining term of the member
whose seat or office is vacancy.
Run-off Election or Second Ballot: A run-off election or second ballot

usually takes place to decide a winner after the first election has failed to
produce a winner with absolute majority. After the first election, all
candidates who secured less than 10% of the total votes are asked to
withdraw, and a second election is organized within a week: the winner
may be decided by simple majority.
Primary Election: this is an election conducted within a political party to

choose the candidate or flag bearer of the party at the general election.
The flag bearer carries the banner and represents the interests and
programmes of the party.
Referendum: this is a type of election in which an important political

matter likes a proposed law on constitutional amendment or some
important government policy is referred to the electorate for final approval.
A referendum does not entail voting for a candidate.
Electoral Constituency
Definition: An electoral constituency may be defined as an electoral district
carved out for purpose of representing the interests and opinions of people
of the area in the parliament. Division of a country into constituencies is
known as delimitation. A country is divided into constituencies in order to
distribute parliamentary seats equitably which will guarantee equal
representation in government. For delimitation to be properly and equitably
done, certain factors must be taken into consideration.

Factors that Affect Delimitation
1. Population: the number of people living in a particular area should be
taken into consideration when delimiting a country into
constituencies.
2. Geographical size: An area no matter how densely populated must
attain certain geographical size before it can be made constituencies.
3. Geographical Contiguity: the component sections of an area to be
made a constituency must be close to each other and not separated
by hills, mountains and large rivers.
4. Historical Experience: people with similar historical experience should
be considered and grouped together under the same constituency.
5. Language: it will be appropriate if people who speak the same
language are grouped together in the same constituency for effective
communication.
6. Customs, Culture and Tradition: Towns, villages or hamlets belonging
to different cultural zone‘s with different customs are not supposed to
be grouped on the constituency.
7. Administrative Convenience: How the areas that are considered to
be giving a constituency are administered chieftaincy-wise as a unit
for long should be considered before the delimitation of the
constituency.
8. Importance of An Area: An area may not fulfill some or all the
condition required for it to be giving the status of a constituency, but,
because of It‘s important position may be made a constituency.
9. Number Of Seats: the number of seats available and to be allocated
to each constituency.
10. Minority Consideration: In a multi-ethnic nation like Nigeria,
minorities would resent being grouped with majority ethnic groups;
they should therefore be given their own constituencies irrespective
of other consideration.
11. Religious Affiliation: In a country where there is sharp religious
demarcation, consideration should be given to different religious
groups when delimiting the country into constituencies.

Problems of Delimitation of constituencies
1. Absence of accurate population census: many west African countries
lack reliable demographics figures that will make equitable
distribution of constituencies possible
2. Inadequate means of transportation and communication: many areas
of West Africa are inaccessible as a result of lack of good roads and
means of sending and receiving messages.
3. Ethnic problem: multi ethnic groups create problem in delimitation of
constituencies because, each ethnic group will like to have a
constituencies no matter how small in terms of population and
geographical size.
4. Religious difference: where there are many religious groups and
differences problem will arise if these different religious groups are to
be lumped together in same constituency.
5. Different historical background: problem arises when different areas
with different historical background are to be grouped together in the
same constituency as a result of their smallness in size and
population.
6. Political gerrymandering: the political party in power may manipulate
the delimitation in order to give it undue political advantage in
subsequent elections.
7. Poor town planning: this creates problems in dividing a town onto
constituencies as buildings are not properly arranged in roads or
streets.
8. Spatial dispersion f people: many people living in many rural areas of
West Africa are scattered in bushes without any sign of human
settlement in those areas.
9. Lack of trained manpower: delimitation of constituencies is not
handled by experts as a result of inadequacy of trained man power in
West Africa.

REFERENCES/FURHTER READING LIST
Al-Ghazzali I. (1921). The Nature of Man. as translated by Syed Nawab Ali.
Anifowose, R. (1999). ―Power, Influence and Authority.‖ In:
Anifowose, R. and Enemuo, F. (Eds). Element of Politics. Lagos: Malthouse Press Ltd.
pp. 103-123.
Appadorai A. (1978). The Substance Of Politics. Oxford University Press.
Adegwe J. F. (1979). Essentials of Government, Ibadan University Press.
Adekunle A. (1976). Elements of Government for ‗A‘ Level Students, Lagos: Aromolaran
Publishers.
Adino O. L. (1994). Advanced Key Points on Government, Golden Publishing Company.
Ball, A. (1988). Modern Politics and Government. Hong Kong: ELBS and Macmillan.
Crick, B. (1978). ―Basic Concepts for Political Education.‖ In: Crick, B and A. Porter, A.
(Eds). Political Education and Political Literacy. London: Longman.
Dahl, R. (1957). ―The Concept of Power.‖ In: Behavioural Science, Vol. 2. July. pp. 201-
15.
Dahl, R. (1961). Who Governs? New Haven: Yale University Press.
Dahl, R. (1991). Modern Political Analysis. (5th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Dibble C. C. (1999). Essentials of Government for SSS, Tolland Publisher Limited, Lagos.
Dicey A. V. (1959). Introduction to the Law of the Constitution, London Macmillan.
Dicey A. V. (1985). Introduction to Study of the Law of the Constitution, London

Macmillan.
Enemuo, F. (1999). ―Political Ideas and Ideologies.‖ In: Anifowose, R. and Enemuo, F.
(Eds). Element of Politics. Lagos: Malthouse Press Ltd.
Etzioni, A. (1970). ―Power as a Societal Force.‖ In: Olsen, M. (Ed.). Power in Societies.
London: The Macmillan Co. pp.
Fasuba, A. (1978). Elements of Government‖. Ado-Ekiti: Omolayo Standard Press and

Bookshop Co. (Nig.) Ltd.
Friedrich, C. (1963). Man and His Government. New York: McGraw Hill Book.

Golhamer, H. & Shills, E. (1965). ―Types of Power and Status.‖ In: Ulmer, S. (Ed.).
Introductory Readings in Political Behaviour. Chicago: Mcnally and Co. Pp. 334-342.
Hornby A.S. (2000). Oxford Advance Learners Dictionary, Oxford University Press.
Ibeyemi O. et al. (1998). Round up Government, Ibadan Longman Publishers.
Johnson U. A. (2003). Comprehensive Government For SSS I,2, & 3. Johnson Publishers
Limited Lagos.
Lasswell, H. & Kaplan, A. (1950). Power and Society. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Lawson, K. (1997). The Human Polity: A Comparative Introduction to Political Science.

(4th ed.). Boston: Houghton
Lipson, L. (1993). The Great Issues of Politics: An Introduction to Political Science. (9th
ed.). Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall.
Mills, W. (1953). The Power Elite. New York: OUP.
Nwnako B.C. (1990). Authority in Government, Almond Publishers.
Shively, W. (2005). Power & Choice: An Introduction to Political Science. New York:
McGraw Hill.
Simon, H. (1965). ―Notes on the Observation and Measurement of Political Power.‖ In:
Ulmer, S. Introductory Readings in Political Behaviour. Chicago: McNally and Co. Pp.
303 -376.
Swinburn, I. & Renwick, A. (1981). Basic Political Concepts. London: Hutchington.
Toluhi J. O. (1995). A Comprehensive Course on Elements of Government, Ilesha

Fatiregun Press.
Webb, K. (1995). An Introduction to Problems in the Philosophy of Social Sciences.

London: Pinter.

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ELEMENTS OF GOVERNMENT

Elements of Govt. introductory text: by Usman Bappi 2|Page

My appreciation goes to my brothers and sisters the Bappi‘s and to my

Elements of Govt. introductory text: by Usman Bappi 3|Page

Elements of Govt. introductory text: by Usman Bappi 4|Page

Two: The state ………………………………………………………………………… 07

Three: Forms of Government ……………………………………………… ……. 09

Four: Structure & Organization of Government …………………………… 11

Five: Government & Basic concepts of Government ……………………… 16

Six: Types of Government …………………………………………………… ……. 21

Elements of Govt. introductory text: by Usman Bappi 5|Page

Eight: Rule of Law ………………………………………………………………………. 27

Nine: Party System and Political Parties …………………………………….. 29

Ten: Pressure Group And Public Opinion ……………………………………… 33

Eleven: Pubic Administration: Administrative Agencies

Twelve: Elections and Electoral system and

REFERENCES/FURTHER READING LIST ………………………………………….. 40

Elements of Govt. introductory text: by Usman Bappi 6|Page

Politics (from Greek: politikos, meaning "of, for, or relating to citizens") is

A variety of methods are employed in politics, which include promoting

Elements of Govt. introductory text: by Usman Bappi 7|Page

1. The science or art of political government.

The Nature of Man I

1) The Beast (animalistic).

Elements of Govt. introductory text: by Usman Bappi 8|Page

The nature of man II

Elements of Govt. introductory text: by Usman Bappi 9|Page

Politics and History, Economics and Ethics

Economics; is a study of mankind in the ordinary business of life: it

Ethics is a branch of studies which investigate the laws of morality and

Elements of Govt. introductory text: by Usman Bappi 11 | P a g e

State and Government

State and Nation:

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The Relationship between State and Society

The Nature of the Nigerian State

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History of State Creation in Nigeria

State Creation and National Integration in Nigeria

Reasons for the Continuous Demand for Creation of States in

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The Concept of Democracy

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The Executive: Generally speaking, the executive branch of government

Functions of the Executive

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Limitations to the Powers of the Executive President

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Functions and Powers of the Legislature

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Declining Powers of the Legislature

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Functions of the Judiciary

Essential Characteristics of the Judiciary

Problems on the Independence of the Judiciary

Judicial Independence and Its importance to a Nation

How to Maintain Judicial Independence

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Features of the Military Rule in Nigeria