GNS 111/127

CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION

COURSE OUTLINE

Course: CITIZEN EDUCATION

course code: GNS111
GeneralObjective1.0: Understand the Constitution of Nigeria
GeneralObjective1.0: Understand the Constitution of Nigeria
Resources
1-4
1.1Explain the term constitution
1.2Distinguish the different types of
constitution
1.3Highlight some provisions of an
International Constitution
1.4Explain the effectiveness of
International Constitution
1.5Explain the supremacy of the
Nigerian Constitution Tootherlawswith
emphasis on the 1989 constitution
1.6Evaluate the main parts of the
Nigeria Constitution
1.7Draft a constitution for an
association
1.8Trace the historical development of
the Nigerian Constitution
1.9Discuss the merits and demerits of
each of the Nigerian constitutions
1.10Explaintheconcept of "rule of law"

GeneralObjective2.0: Understand the federal system of government in Nigeria

5-7

2.1Describe a federation
2.2Distinguish a federation from a
confederation
2.3Outline the basis for the federal
system in Nigeria
2.4Examine the evolution, structure
and functions of the federal system in
Nigeria.
2.5Analyse the relationships among
the three tiers of government in Nigeria
2.6Evaluate
the formula in operation in Nigeria
2.7Compare and contrast other
federation with Nigeria

GeneralObjective3.0: Know the constitutional rights and obligations of Nigerian citizens

3.1Examine the significance of rights

and obligations in Nigeria
3.2Assess Government Protection Of
fundamental rights as contained in the
Nigerian constitution

8-9

3.3Evaluate the responsibilities and

duties of Nigerian citizenship and the
benefits for performing them
3.4Assess the responsibilities and
duties of constituted authority the
people
3.5Evaluate the responsibilities and
duties of government the people

General Objective4.0: Understand Citizenships

4.1Discuss the significance of citizenship
4.2Analyse the principles and benefits of citizenship
4.3Explain the difference in the modes of acquiring
citizenship
4.4Evaluate the merits and demerits of each type of
citizenship
4.5Analyse the basis for the acquisition and withdrawal
of Nigerian citizenship
4.6Examine the benefits derivable from Nigeria
citizenship

GeneralObjective5.0: Fundamental Objectives and directive principles of state policy

5.1State the fundamental obligations of government as
provided in the constitution
5.2Explain the general provisions of the fundamental
objectives and directive principles of state policy
5.3Explainthepolitical, economic, social and education
policies of Nigeria
5.4Explain the directive principles and policy of the Nigerian government on culture, the mass
media,
national ethics and duties of the citizen
5.5Assess the conformity observance and application of
the fundamental objectives and directive principles of
state policy by the government and the people of Nigeria.
5.6Recommend improvements on the provision
conformity, observance, and application of the
fundamental objectives and directive principles of state
policy.

A citizen is a legal member of a state or country.

CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION
This is an education given to a citizen of a nation, country, or state to make them conscious of
their rights, duties, and obligations in the society as well as the expected roles of the
government to the people. Fadeye in 1995 in his own submission defined citizenship education
as a kind of education given to the citizens of a country with a view of making them responsible
citizens that are capable of contributing meaningfully to the overall development of their country.

OBJECTIVES OF CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION

The hallmark of citizenship education as to acquaint students or citizens with their duties, rights,
and obligations and also to enlighten citizens about what is expected from the government.

1. To enable citizens to identify and exercise their rights, duties, and obligations.
2. To acquaint students with the duties of government.
3. To instill discipline and develop good leadership qualities in students.

CONSTITUTION

Society consists of various forms of associations. These associations take religious, social,
parties, economic and cultural forms. They may be formally organized or unorganized, similarly,
some individuals have some functions to perform with the family and family rules and
regulations that each member of the family should obey in order to perform these functions. Of
all these organizations the state is the most formally organized. It is the most comprehensive,
inclusive, formally structured, and cohesive of all the associations in society. it had certain basic
principles rules and institutional practices that govern its mode of operation and the behavior of
those who manage its affairs.

A constitution can, therefore, be defined as “a set of principles, fundamental rules, and

practices of government, written and unwritten which establishes the major organs of
government, allocates to them their powers, defines the rights of the citizens and the relations
between them and the state” (Oyo V Oyovbaire, et al, 1977, page 47). According to Austin
Ranny, a constitution is “the whole body of fundamental rules, written or unwritten, legal or
extralegal, according to which a particular government operates”.

IMPORTANCE OF A CONSTITUTION

1. The constitution defines the rights of individuals and goes further to protect these rights.
2. It expresses the power structure in the state, that is, it clearly spells out the structural
balance of power between the arms of government.
3. It states the major objectives of the government.
4. A Constitution limits the arbitrary actions of the government.
5. The fundamental laws of the Constitution are supreme over all ordinary laws of a given
state.

SOURCES OF CONSTITUTION

The sources of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are as follows:

1. Legislation: These are the laws enacted or made by the legislative arm of government.
2. Judicial Precedent: This is also known as case law. It shows the priority of the decisions
of the higher courts on the lower courts.
3. Custom and Tradition: These are rules and regulations that govern the behavioral
patterns of the people that are subjected to it.
4. Past Constitution: It is certain that the past inexorably lies in the future. As a result, the
draft men of any constitution look at the past one's while making new ones.
5. Philosophers and Jurists: The ideas of great philosophers and jurists have also provided
important principles that have been incorporated into most Constitutions.

TYPES OF CONSTITUTION

These are classified thus:

CLASSIFICATION WITH REGARDS TO FORMS AND TYPES;

● Written and Unwritten Constitution

● Legal and Extralegal Constitution

CLASSIFICATIONS WITH REFERENCE TO THE EASE WITH WHICH THE CONSTITUTION

CAN BE AMENDED OR ALTERED;

● Rigid Constitution
● Flexible Constitution
CLASSIFICATION WITH REFERENCES TO THE DIVISION OF POWER BETWEEN OR
AMONG THE VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS OF GOVERNMENT

● Cabinet Constitution
● Presidential Constitution

CLASSIFICATION BY CONSIDERING THE NATURE OF THE STATE

● Federal Constitution
● Confederal Constitution
● Unitary Constitution
● The monarchical system of government

WRITTEN CONSTITUTION

This is a type of constitution in which fixed rules, customs, and principles of government are
written down clearly in a single document. Put differently, a written Constitution can be
described as a document in which all the fundamental laws and or Principles concerning the
organization of government, the power of its various agencies, and the rights of the citizens are
written down.

MERITS OF WRITTEN CONSTITUTION

1. It gives the country a sense of purpose.

2. It does not allow any kind of misuse of power by the political leaders since a written
Constitution is usually very difficult to amend.
3. It serves as a limiting factor to the supremacy of the Parliament.
4. It also has a symbolic value or serves as a symbol of state rules.
5. It makes for certainty in the political processes.

DEMERITS OF WRITTEN CONSTITUTION

1. It may lead to a revolution or civil war because the procedure for changing or altering it is
not only difficult but also very complicated.
2. To change a written constitution is expensive and time-consuming.
3. It is unhelpful in times of emergencies.
4. It is rigid and therefore creates the problems of interpretations and enforcement of the
constitutional provision.

UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION

This is the fundamental principle of rules and regulations, powers, and functions of government
that is not codified in a single document. This includes customs and traditional beliefs that have
grown with people.
MERITS OF UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION

1. It guarantees some stability in a state.

2. It ensures the running of a government.
3. The unwritten constitution is flexible.

DEMERITS OF UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION

1. The unwritten Constitution often leads to the delayed debates in parliament because
there is no formal law that regulates the activities of the two houses of Parliament.
2. They may allow for frivolous amendments.
3. The various customs and acts of parliament are sometimes misinterpreted due to the
absence of written guidelines.

RULE OF LAW

The concept and origin of the rule of law is the building block on which the modern democratic
society is founded. For the successful functioning of the polity, it is imperative that there is the
enforcement of law and all contracts based on law. The term “Rule of Law” is derived from the
French phrase “Le Principe de Legality” (The Principle of Legality) which refers to the
government based on principles of law and not man. In the broader sense, the rule of law
means that the law is supreme and means above any individual. No individual rich or poor, ruler
or ruled are above the law. Therefore, they should obey them. The Principle of rule of law is
intended to be a safeguard against arbitrary actions of government authorities. The rule of law
has been described as a rare Protean Principal of our political tradition.

FEDERAL AND CONFEDERATION

They are terms used to describe the political arrangement of different countries where the
constituent state or member state comes together to form a body. Some countries are called the
Federation while many others are examples of confederation, depending upon the agreement
between the member state to accept the constitution of the country.

FEDERATION

This is a political system in which there is a sharing of powers between the Federal Government
and state as laid out in a written constitution. There are many examples of Federation in the
world and Nigeria seems to be a good example, where the constituents are called states that
have come together under the umbrella under the federation to be recognized as a single entity
in the eyes of the rest of the world.
CONFEDERATION

This is another system of governance where their entities agree to come together for matters of
administrative convenience and agree to transfer only specific powers to the central
government. This is done for better efficiency and also for security reasons. In a confederation,
the constituent units are powerful and seem to be controlling the federal government.

FEDERAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

This is a system of government in which powers are constitutionally shared between the central
government and the component units in such a manner each is autonomous with its scope or
cooperation.

FEATURES OF FEDERALISM

1. The constitution is the law of the land and it is always superior to other laws.
2. There is a clear separation among the 3 levels of government.
3. Each state or regional government has equal power in relation to the central
government.
4. Laws are interpreted by the judicial.
5. There is a mutual non-interference in the exercise of the allotted powers.

FEDERAL CONSTITUTION

This is the type of Constitution for a group of States who have voluntarily come together as one
country and are ruled by the central government, with the component state still retaining some
of the powers. The constitution under the federal system reserves some legislative powers to
the federal government under the exclusive lists, such matters are foreign affairs, defense,
police, copyright, census, citizenship, naturalizations, and aliens, creation of States customs
and duties, drugs and poisons, exchange control, extradition, export duties e.t.c, the state and
federal government legislate an on concurrent lists which include education, health care,
collection of taxes, antiquity, and monuments, archives, scientific and technological research,
electoral law, electric power, industrial, commercial or agricultural development, statistics e.t.c.

MERITS OF FEDERAL CONSTITUTION

1. It encourages uniform, economic, and political developments.

2. It also safeguards the identity and separate existence of the cooperating unit that forms
the federal union.
 3. It affords greater political participation amongst citizens because it makes room for a
wide representation of the people.
4. DivDivision of powers and duplication of offices in a country that adopts a federal
constitution leads to the creation of employment opportunities.
5. The federal constitution caters for local differences and therefore allays the fears of
domination of the minorities.

DEMERITS OF FEDERAL CONSTITUTION

1. It increases ethnic consciousness which does not guarantee peace and unity in a
country.
2. The problem of sharing the wealth of the nation amongst different component states of
the country.
3. The inflation of population census figures always occurs because of political reasons.

CONFEDERAL CONSTITUTION

This is a constitutional form with two levels of government, the central or the confederal
government and the component states. In a confederal state, the confederal or central
government is subordinate to the state government, and being sovereign, each state can
choose to recognize or ignore the general laws of the confederal government. In other words,
the confederal constitution has no direct effect on the sovereign nation.

MERITS OF CONFEDERAL CONSTITUTION

1. It allows the component states to retain their sovereignty and identity instead of losing
such to the central government.
2. It grants component states the legal rights to secede or breakaway whenever they so
desire.
3. It promotes neighbor linear relations among the states of the confederation.

DEMERITS OF CONFEDERAL CONSTITUTION

1. It is prone to the act of secession and instability.

2. Its jurisdiction and activities are limited to areas of agreed co-operation.
3. It does not allow for equal development.

RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS

Rights are those things that citizens of a state must enjoy. Obligations are duties or
responsibilities that citizens owe the state. Rights and Obligations are a kind of exchange I.e
they are correlative in nature. For citizens to enjoy their rights, they must perform their
obligations to the state in order for the government to protect the citizen's rights from any
arbitrariness or arbitrary infringement.
FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS AS PROVIDED IN THE NIGERIAN CONSTITUTION

1. Right to life
2. Right to personal liberty
3. Right to freedom of movement
4. Right to freedom from discrimination
5. Right to private life
6. Right go fair hearing
7. Right to vote and be voted for.

MEANS OF SEEKING REDRESS AGAINST HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATION

1. Law court
2. Mass media
3. Public complaint commission
4. Pressure group
5. Dialogue
6. Anomic means

FUNDAMENTAL OBJECTIVES OF STATE POLICY AND DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLE

One of the radical innovations of the 1979 and 1999 constitution is the inclusion of fundamental
objectives of state policies and directives principles. Historically, this could be traced back to the
Mexican constitution of 1977 and the Constitution of the USSR of 1924.

Fundamental objectives can be defined as the target goal and aspiration of the government
while directives principle can be defined as a way through which the goal and targets of the
government can be actualized. The philosophical basis for the inclusion of the fundamental
objectives of the countries have tended to be preoccupied with power and it's material
prerequisites with scarcity regard for political ideas as to how the society can be organized and
ruled to the best advantage of all. Concerning the inclusion of this provision into the constitution,
some authorities have highlighted that it's inclusion is to uphold the tenets of the rule of law and
further enforcement of civil and political rights.

GENERAL PROVISION OF FUNDAMENTAL OBJECTIVES AND PRINCIPLES

The fundamental obligations of governments are stipulated in the 1999 Constitution section13
states that, “it shall be the duty and responsibility of all organs exercising legislative, executive
or judicial power to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of the chapter (chapter2)”
The provisions contained in chapter 2 of the Constitution are as follows:
1. Democratic policy
2. Political policy
3. Economic policy
4. Social policy
5. Education policy
6. Foreign policy
7. Environmental policy
8. Cultural Heritage
9. Media and Obligations
10. Ethics and Discipline
11. Duties and Citizens

1. DEMOCRATIC POLICY: It declares that the federal republic of Nigeria shall be a state,
based on the principle of democracy demo social justices.

2. POLITICAL POLICY: It provides that the motto of the federal republic of Nigeria shall be
unity, faith, peace, and progress.

3. ECONOMIC POLICY: The state is empowered to harness the resources of the nation
and promote national prosperity and an efficient and self-reliant economy, control the
economy in such a manner as to ensure the maximum welfare, freedom, and happiness
of every citizen is on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity.

4. SOCIAL POLICY: The social objectives provide the social order of the state founded in
ideals, equality, and justices.