Identify five (5) weaknesses of the Independence Constitution of 1960.

Answer Details

The Independence Constitution of 1960, though it granted Nigeria self-rule, had a number of weaknesses:

1. Retention of the British monarch as Head of State: Nigeria remained under the Queen, represented by a Governor-General, so the country was not yet a full republic and independence was incomplete.
2. Appeals still lay to the Privy Council in London: The final court of appeal remained the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Britain, which detracted from full judicial sovereignty.
3. Human rights were not fully guaranteed or entrenched in a way that could not be tampered with: Although rights were provided for, the protections were weakened by wide exceptions, and enforcement machinery was inadequate.
4. It entrenched strong regionalism at the expense of the centre: By giving the regions great power, it encouraged regional and ethnic loyalties that threatened national unity.
5. Domination by the three major regions: The structure allowed the three large regions to dominate the minorities, whose fears and demands for separate states were not adequately met.
6. The amendment procedure was rigid and cumbersome: Changing the constitution required difficult procedures involving the regions, making needed reforms hard to achieve.
7. It was largely a product of compromise imposed from outside: Being negotiated at conferences dominated by British interests, it did not fully reflect the wishes of the people.