CIVIC EDUCATION

CLASS: SS 1 A,B,C

DATE: 16/01/2023

TOPIC: CONSTITUTION

MEANING OF CONSTITUTION

Constitution is defined as a document in which the organization of the government, its powers and
limitations on the exercise of such powers, together with the relation to individuals are all carefully laid
down. It is also referred to as a body of rules or regulations governing the affairs of an organized group.

TYPES OF CONSTITUTIONS

A constitution may be written or unwritten, rigid or flexible, unitary or federal, depending on the type of
government it support, such as presidential, parliamentary, unitary, federal, etc. The constitution is
superior to any other law in the country and it provides differences in patterns of governance. Types of
constitutions include: Written constitution A written constitution consists of a single document in which
the whole government is described and ruled for its conducts are presented in an orderly sequence. It
codifies most of the fundamental laws, principles and institutions, which characterized the political
structure of a given state in a single document. A written constitution could also be rigid. The countries
that operate written constitutions are: Nigeria, The United States of America (USA), Canada, Australia
and Brazil etc. Unwritten constitution 9 Unwritten constitution does not codify all the basic laws of the
country in a single document, rather, all the basic laws are written in different documents. In unwritten
constitutions, provisions or clauses are found in different sources such as traditional norms and
customs, conventions, statutory regulations and so on. The example of an unwritten constitution is that
of Great Britain. Rigid constitution A rigid constitution is one which cannot be amended easily. It can
only be amended through a rigorous process, which includes a referendum. A rigid constitution is often
adopted by countries to allay the fears of the minority and to uphold the rule of law. Examples of
countries with rigid constitutions are the United States of America (USA), Switzerland, Australia, Canada
and Nigeria. Flexible constitution A flexible constitution can be amended or changed easily without any
lengthy or difficult process. A flexible constitution encourages despotic or oppressive rules. The
following countries operate flexible constitutions, New Zealand, Finland, Italy, Togo and some other
African countries. Unitary constitution A unitary constitution is one that allows the central government
of a country to operate absolute power without sharing with the component units such as state and
local governments. Examples of countries with unitary constitution are France, Britain and Belgium.
Federal constitution A federal constitution allows the sharing of power between the central government
and the other component units such as state and local governments which make up the federation.
Examples of countries with federal constitutions are USA, Nigeria, Canada, Australia and India.

SOURCES OF CONSTITUTIONS

The constitutions can be derived from the following sources: a. Historical documents b. Past experiences
c. Acts of Parliament or statute 10 d. Decrees e. Intellectual works of lawyers and scholars of notes f.
International Agreements and Treaties g. Common laws of the land h. Customs and traditions i. Judicial
decisions/ precedents j. Conventions k. Constitutional conferences, etc.

CHARACTERISTICS/FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION.

The following are the characteristics of the constitution:

1. A constitution is the whole body of fundamental laws, customs, etc, according to which a particular
government of a country or an organization operates.

2. It has a preamble or introduction which states the ideological stand of the constitution.

3. The constitution states the types of party that will operate in a country.

4. It names the organs of government, their functions and their relations to one another.

5. A constitution of a country specifies the rights and duties of the citizens.

6. Constitution may be found in one document but supplemented by organic laws.

7. It specifies the types and characteristics of government, either Unitary, Federal, Presidential or
Cabinet system to be adopted.

8. It provides the procedure for the amendment of the constitution.

9. Constitution provides for revenue allocation formula.

10. It states the tenure of office holders and their qualifications.

SIGNIFICANCE OF CONSTITUTION

i. The constitution promotes oneness and unity of the country

ii. Its provisions help in economic and political development of the country.
iii. It guarantees the rights and survival of the minority
iv. It provide basis for governmental power at all level.
v. It protects individuals and groups in the country
vi. It provides for good relations between the country and the international community.
vii. It states the requirement for identifying or acquiring the citizenship of the country.

THE ARMS OF GOVERNMENT In any political system, there exist three main arms of government
that discharge specific duties for the administration of a political entity. The three arms of
government are the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The Executive The executive arm of
the government consists of all the agencies and officers that are concerned with the execution of
government policies. This arm of government is associated with the role of acting as the country’s
head of state at all ceremonial occasions and as the leaders of government business. Functions of
the executive arm of government

1. Issuance of rules and statutory orders in accordance with the constitutional provisions or the
power granted by the legislature as the case may be.

2. Execution and implementation of policies, laws, rules and regulations.

3. Initiating and defending bills in the parliament.

4. Allocation of resources after the parliament’s approval.

5. Preparation of the budget for every financial year.

6. Supervising government projects.

7. Negotiating with other nations on treaties. The Legislature This is the arm of government that is
responsible for making of laws for the administration of the country. It is usually referred to as the
parliament. The members of parliaments are either nominated or elected from different parts of the
nation. There are two types of legislature: bicameral and unicameral legislature.

A bicameral legislature exists in a society where there are two chambers or houses, that is, the
upper and the lower chamber. In Nigeria, the lower chamber is called the House of Representative
while the upper chamber is known as the Senate. The two houses are collectively referred to as the
National Assembly. Unicameral legislature exists in countries where there is only one chamber. This
is practiced in countries like Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Turkey. Functions of the legislative arm of
government

1. Enactment of laws for the smooth running of government;

2. Approval of budget that is presented by the executive arm of the government;

3. Screening and approval of ministerial nominees, ambassadors and other key government officials;
4. Approval of treaties made with other nations by the executive arm of the government;

5. Amendment of the constitution;

6. Setting up of probe panels to investigate the activities of governmental institutions such as

parastatals and corporations.

7. The removal of erring members of the executive through the process of impeachment by passing
a vote of no confidence. The judiciary This arm of government is concerned with the interpretation
and the application of the law. The duties of the judiciary are carried out in the various courts of law.
The members of the judiciary include the judges, lawyers, court clerks and other officials working in
the courts of law. Under the judiciary we have the following courts; customary court, magistrate
court, High court.

Functions of the judiciary

1. The interpretation of the laws of the country as contained in the constitution

2. It punishes offenders who contravene the law.

3. Settling disputes between people on one hand and between individuals and the government on
the other hand.

4. It acts as check to the other arms of government.

5. It advises the government on legal and constitutional matters.

6. It protects the fundamental rights of individual citizens.

7. It makes regulations in the course of interpreting the existing laws.

ARMED FORCES

The armed forces in Nigeria comprise of the army, the navy and the air force. Their responsibility is
to defend the territorial integrity of the country. The arm forces protect the nation and the entire
citizens against internal and external aggression.

The Nigerian armed forces carry out the following:

a. They defend their country against external threats.

b. Collective security within the West African Sub-region.

c. Assistance to the United Nations (UN) and other regional peace mission.

d. They strengthen our national character by delimitating social vices.

CIVIL SOCIETIES

A civil society can be defined as a field of actions that is made up of associations, voluntary,
autonomous professional or non-professional, which has risen out of self-organizational efforts of
various social forces. The primary function of civil societies is to provide a platform for citizens to
express their interest, preferences and ideas. They exchange information, achieve collective goals
and make demands on the government to improve the structure and functioning of the state.

Types of civil societies in Nigeria

1. Professional association, labour and student groups: Examples are The Nigerian Bar Association
(NBA), The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), The Nigeria society of Engineers, The Nigerian
labour Congress, etc. They fight against unpopular state policies that result in socio-economic
hardships of citizens.

2. Human rights and pro-democracy groups: Civil society organisations in this category include the
Civil Liberty Organisation (CLO), Campaign for Democracy (CD), Committee for Defense of Human
Rights (CDHR), Constitutional Rights Projects (CRP), and the league for Human Rights (LHR), etc.

3. Business groups: This refers to civil group within the organised business/private sector. They exist
in key sectors of the economy, such as manufacturing, agriculture, banking and petroleum.
Examples are the Nigeria chambers of Commerce and Industry (NCCI), Manufacturing Associations
of Nigeria (MAN), National Association of Nigeria Farmers (NANF) and Employers Consultative Group
(ECG).

TRADE UNIONS

A trade union could be defined as the bonding of workers or employees to regulate the terms and
conditions of employment of workers. Trade union not only negotiates with the employers but also
monitor them to ensure that the agreed terms are not eroded, otherwise they can embark on
industrial action. Examples are the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Petroleum and Natural gas
Association of Nigeria (PENGASAN), the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), the Academic Staff Union
of Universities (ASUU), the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).