POWER

The concept of power is central to discussions on governance and politics. Essentially,

politics is about the struggle for power, and therefore power is a crucial element in political
administration. This is because the person or group that controls power determines the
direction of governance. But still, power is a ubiquitous concept. It is present in all forms of
human relationship. Power is a common element in both private relationships (family, and
informal), and also in the public sphere (institutions, government, etc).

Power can be described as an act which allows a person or a group of persons to command
the obedience of some other persons or group of persons. It is the ability of ‘A’ to make ‘B’
do what ‘B’ may not want to do. The hypothetical case of ‘A’ and ‘B’ can be applied to
relationships among individuals in their private lives, and could also be applied to
individuals/groups in the public sphere.

In the scenario painted above, a father is represented as ‘A’, while the child is ‘B’. If the
father ‘A’ is able to compel the child ‘B’ to study a course that is not on the child’s wish list
in the University, the father has exercised the power he has over the child. Similarly, if a
government ‘A’ compels its citizens ‘B’ to be on lockdown, even when majority of the
citizens do not wish to be on lockdown, the government has simply exercised its power.
These examples are indications of the exercise of power.

According to David Easton, power is a relationship in which one person or a group is able to
determine the actions of another in the direction of the former’s own ends. Hans Morgenthau
defines power as the control a man has over the minds of others. In effect, the focus is on the
interest of whoever is exercising the power, while the person that is being instructed or
directed acts on the basis of the former’s interest, irrespective of what his/her personal wish,
plans, or thoughts, might be.

Features of Power-

1. Power is relational: power exists within the context of relationships. It can only be
exercised in relation to other people, that is, the father that compels obedience from
his son even in the face of discontent from the son, naturally has a family relationship
with the son. It is within the scope of father-son relationship that made the father
exercise his power, whether rightly or wrongly. Similarly, the Nigerian government
has a relationship with Nigerian citizens, which explains the ability and willingness of
the government to compel obedience from the citizens. For purposes of clarity, it must
be emphasised that the Nigerian government has no powers over citizens of other
countries in their land; just the same way Mr. Akarigbo has no powers to compel
obedience from Mr. Nwosu’s children.

2. Power is situational: power is driven by extant situations. The circumstances that exist
determine the bearer of power, thus, when situation or position changes, form of
 power changes. For instance, in our family example above, the son could be ‘A’,
while the father could be ‘B’. In effect, the circumstances and peculiarities of the
family could tilt the power equation in favour of the son, such that, the son ‘A’ could
make the father ‘B’ do what he would ordinarily not do.

3. Power must be backed by the threat of sanctions, or indeed, actual sanctions. In other
words, the possibilities of punishment if ‘B’ refuses to do what ‘A’ wants him to do,
would make ‘B’ do what ‘A’ wants, even if ‘B’ would not want to do such.

Sources of Power-

1. Knowledge: specialised knowledge or expertise gives the holder a form of power over
the uniformed. A person that derives his power from knowledge may be regarded as
indispensable and his decisions treated with utmost respect.

2. Social status: being at the upper rung of social ladder bestows respect on individuals
in the society. Through social standing that may have been acquired by any means
(family background, political connection, self-made wealth, etc), an individual may be
able to control power, and thereby influence others in carrying out his wish, even if it
is against the wish of those he exerts his power over.

3. Politics: this is a critical source of power that could have both legal backing. In a
democratic system, such power is acquired by an individual through the ballot box
(election into public office). Power can be exercised here within the limitations
granted by law.

4. Personality traits: an individual’s character can cause others to revere and respect him.
This may give him the privilege of making them do what he wants, even if they would
rather do something else. Under this circumstance, the power is derived either through
admiration or fear of the person wielding power.
INFLUENCE

In context, influence is very similar to power. It is concerned with the prompts that make
people act in ways dictated by another. Influence makes people act or modifies their thoughts
and actions in consideration of the influential person’s preferences or desires.

According to Robert Dahl, influence is a relationship 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.

Usually, the exercise of influence does not necessarily require the use of threat or sanctions or
deprivations to make the other modify their thoughts and actions. However, influence can
still be said to be either of coercive influence or non-coercive influence.

A coercive influence is that influence that is based on the communication of negative

consequences for non-compliance with the expectations of the influencer.

A non-coercive influence is often without all of the above. Parties (influential and influenced)
often modify their behaviour with the reasoning that it is the right thing to do. This form of
influence is actually authentic, and could also be regarded as legitimate.

Influence has strong relationship with power. The major difference between both concepts is
the use or the threat of the use of sanctions. ‘A’ has influence over ‘B’, when without the use
of threat or the threat of the use of threat, ‘B’ is willing and changes its course of action in
response to ‘A’s demands.
AUTHORITY

The word authority has its origin in the old Roman language. It is derived from ‘auctor’ or
‘auctoritos’ which ordinarily means counsel or advise. Authority is the ability of man to get
his proposal or thoughts accepted by others. According to Herbert Simon, authority is the
ability to make decisions which guide the actions of others. It is the relationship between
individuals; superior and subordinate. The superior frames and transmits decisions with
expectations that they will be accepted by the subordinate. The subordinate accepts such
decisions and his conduct is determined by them.

Sources of Authority

According to Max Weber, there are three main sources of authority, namely; traditional,
charismatic and legal-rational authority.

Traditional authority derives from longstanding tradition and customs: The categories of
individuals that wield this type of authority are traditional title holders who are empowered
by customs and tradition. The status of such person is recognised by members of the society.
Examples are; Ooni of Ife, Sultan of Sokoto, Obi of Onitsha, etc.

Charismatic authority refers to the authority made possible by the personality of the person in
the position of authority. It is based on the acceptability of the personal skills and inherent
skills of the person. Examples of people that wielded charismatic authority; Late Nelson
Mandela, Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, etc.

Legal-rational authority is based on instituted authority derived from specific codified rules
and regulations, that empowers the authority holder to lead. Examples include, government
functionaries, leadership positions in formal institutions, etc.

Characteristics of Authority

Legitimacy, this means that even without legal backing, as is the case in charismatic
authority, the legitimacy of the leader is recognised and accepted by all.

Dominance, the person in the position of authority has the task of providing collective
direction and insight.

Reason: the extent of a person’s authority is based on the ability to make elaborate reasoning
to convince others to do his will

Responsibility and accountability, holding authority also implies that one is answerable to
another higher authority.
LEGITIMACY

The concept of legitimacy is derived from the Latin word Legitimus, which means lawful. It
involves the capacity of the system to engender and maintain the belief that existing political
institutions are most appropriate for the society. Legitimacy can be defined as the extent to
which the population accepts naturally without questioning the organisation to which it
belongs. Legitimacy is that principle which indicates acceptance on the part of the public of
the occupancy of a political office by a particular person, or the exercise of power by a person
or group either generally or in some specific instances, on the grounds that occupancy or
exercise of powers is in accordance with some generally accepted principles and procedures
of enforcement of legitimacy.