WAEC SSCE - Government - 1998 (Essay)

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Weaknesses of the military regime in Nigeria between 1966 and 1975

1. Suspension of the constitution and rule by decree. Governance by decrees issued without debate removed the checks of an elected legislature and encouraged arbitrary rule.
2. Absence of the rule of law. Ouster clauses barred the courts from questioning the acts of government, undermining the independence of the judiciary and citizens' rights.
3. Denial of fundamental rights. Political activity was banned, the press was muzzled and detention without trial was common.
4. Over-centralisation of power. Power was concentrated in the Supreme Military Council and the Head of State, fusing the executive and legislative functions.
5. Ethnic suspicion and disunity. The 1966 coups were seen as ethnically motivated, deepening distrust and contributing to the civil war of 1967 to 1970.
6. Corruption and indiscipline. The regime, especially in its later years, became notorious for bribery, inflated contracts and abuse of office.
7. Lack of popular participation and accountability. The government was neither elected by nor accountable to the people.
8. Instability and coups. The regimes came and were removed by force (1966 twice, and 1975), showing chronic political instability.

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Multi-party system of government

A multi-party system is one in which three or more political parties are legally allowed to exist and compete for political power through elections.

Merits

1. Wider choice. Voters have a range of parties and programmes to choose from.
2. Effective opposition. Rival parties check the excesses of the ruling party and expose its shortcomings.
3. Wider representation. Different interests, regions, religions and ideologies find expression through the various parties.
4. Promotes democracy and freedom. Freedom of association and political competition are guaranteed.
5. Prevents dictatorship. Competition and the threat of losing power restrain the government from tyranny.
6. Encourages participation. Many parties mobilise more citizens into political activity.

Demerits

1. Political instability. It often produces weak coalition governments that collapse easily.
2. Deepens divisions. Parties may sharpen ethnic, religious and regional cleavages.
3. Expensive. Running many parties and frequent elections is costly to the state and the parties.
4. Weak, indecisive government. The need to satisfy coalition partners can delay and water down policies.
5. Confuses the electorate. Too many parties with similar programmes may bewilder voters.
6. Encourages bitter rivalry. Intense competition can lead to violence and electoral malpractice.

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Reasons why delegated legislation is often criticised

Delegated (subsidiary) legislation is law made by persons or bodies to whom the legislature has transferred law-making power, for example ministers, local councils and public corporations. It is criticised for the following reasons:

1. It undermines the supremacy of the legislature. Law-making, which properly belongs to the elected parliament, is handed to unelected officials, weakening legislative authority.
2. It is undemocratic. Rules are made by civil servants and ministers who are not directly elected by, nor accountable to, the people.
3. Inadequate scrutiny. The volume and technical nature of the rules make it difficult for the legislature to examine and control them effectively.
4. Risk of abuse and dictatorship. Wide powers may be misused; officials may make oppressive rules, opening the door to arbitrary government.
5. It violates the separation of powers. The executive both makes and enforces these laws, blurring the line between law-making and law-executing functions.
6. Poor publicity. Many subsidiary rules are not widely published, so citizens may be bound by laws they never saw.
7. Technicality and complexity. The rules are often couched in complex, technical language that ordinary citizens cannot easily understand.
8. Sub-delegation. The delegate sometimes further transfers the power to yet another body, further removing the law from public control.

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Why the educated elites opposed the introduction of Indirect Rule in Southern Nigeria

1. It excluded them from government. Indirect Rule governed through traditional chiefs, leaving the Western-educated elites with no meaningful role in the administration.
2. It elevated illiterate chiefs above them. The educated felt insulted that unlettered chiefs were placed in authority over them.
3. Creation of artificial warrant chiefs. In the East and parts of the West, where centralised kingship did not exist, the British appointed unpopular warrant chiefs who lacked legitimacy.
4. It slowed constitutional progress. By strengthening traditional rulers, the system delayed the introduction of the representative institutions the elites wanted.
5. It ignored democratic traditions. The system did not fit the more egalitarian, republican political cultures of many southern communities.
6. Autocracy and abuse by chiefs. Chiefs backed by colonial power became oppressive, imposing taxes and forced labour, which the elites resented.
7. It contradicted their education. Having imbibed Western ideas of representative government, the elites saw Indirect Rule as backward and undemocratic.
8. It aimed to check nationalism. The elites believed the system was designed to divide and rule and to weaken their nationalist agitation.

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Basic functions performed by a modern government

1. Maintenance of law and order. Government makes laws and uses the police, courts and prisons to protect life and property and keep internal peace.
2. Defence and external security. It maintains the armed forces to protect the state's territory and sovereignty against external aggression.
3. Provision of social services. Government supplies education, health care, water, housing and welfare that citizens cannot easily provide for themselves.
4. Provision of infrastructure. It builds and maintains roads, bridges, electricity, communication and other public utilities that support economic activity.
5. Regulation of the economy. Through fiscal and monetary policy, taxation, budgeting and trade regulation, government manages the economy and promotes development.
6. Administration of justice. It establishes courts to settle disputes, interpret the law and punish offenders impartially.
7. Conduct of external relations. Government represents the state abroad, signs treaties, exchanges diplomats and pursues the national interest.
8. Protection of citizens' rights. It guarantees and safeguards the fundamental human rights and freedoms of the people.
9. Revenue generation. Government raises revenue through taxes, levies and duties to finance its activities.

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Ways by which a citizen's rights can be safeguarded

1. Entrenchment in a written constitution. Listing fundamental rights in the constitution and protecting them with a rigid amendment procedure guarantees them against easy interference.
2. An independent judiciary. Impartial courts free from executive control interpret the law, hear complaints and enforce citizens' rights through remedies such as habeas corpus and injunctions.
3. The rule of law. Where everyone, including government, is subject to the same law and no one is punished except for a proven breach of law, rights are secure.
4. Separation of powers. Dividing power among the legislature, executive and judiciary prevents any one organ from concentrating power and abusing citizens.
5. A free press and mass media. A vigilant press exposes abuses of power and mobilises public opinion in defence of rights.
6. Existence of pressure groups and civil society. Trade unions, professional bodies and human-rights organisations campaign, litigate and protest to protect citizens.
7. Provision of an Ombudsman or Public Complaints Commission. A body to investigate complaints against maladministration gives an accessible avenue for redress.
8. Democratic elections and a multi-party system. Regular free elections allow citizens to remove governments that violate their rights.
9. An educated and enlightened citizenry. Citizens who know their rights are better able to demand and defend them.

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(a) Sovereignty of a state

Sovereignty is the supreme, absolute and unlimited power of the state to make and enforce laws within its territory and to conduct its affairs free from external control. It has an internal aspect (supreme authority over all persons and associations inside the state) and an external aspect (independence from the control of any other state).

(b) Limitations of sovereignty in a state

1. International law and treaties. Obligations under treaties, conventions and membership of bodies such as the UN restrict how a state may act.
2. Public opinion. Government cannot ignore the wishes and reactions of the people without risking resistance or loss of power.
3. The constitution. A rigid, written or entrenched constitution limits what the government may lawfully do.
4. Fundamental human rights. Guaranteed rights and freedoms of citizens set boundaries the state may not cross.
5. Economic interdependence. Reliance on foreign aid, trade and investment forces states to accept external conditions.
6. Powerful pressure and interest groups. Trade unions, religious bodies and multinational corporations can compel government to modify its policies.
7. Federalism and separation of powers. The division of power among levels and organs of government limits the exercise of supreme authority.
8. Custom, tradition and morality. Established customs and the moral values of society restrain the state from making certain laws.

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(a) Definition of nationalism

Nationalism is the strong feeling of love, loyalty and devotion to one's nation, expressed as the desire and organised struggle of a people to be free from foreign (colonial) rule and to govern themselves.

(b) Factors that aided the growth of nationalism in Nigeria

1. Western education. Educated Nigerians became aware of ideas of liberty, equality and self-government and provided leadership for the struggle.
2. The mass media. Newspapers such as the West African Pilot spread nationalist ideas and criticised colonial rule.
3. Influence of returnee ex-servicemen. Nigerian soldiers who fought in the Second World War returned enlightened and unwilling to accept colonial subjugation.
4. The Second World War and the Atlantic Charter. The Charter's principle of self-determination inspired colonial peoples to demand independence.
5. Formation of political parties and unions. Bodies such as the NNDP, NYM, NCNC and WASU organised and channelled nationalist agitation.
6. Economic exploitation. Resentment against colonial economic policies, taxation and racial discrimination fuelled the demand for change.
7. Influence of foreign nationalist movements. The Indian independence struggle and Pan-Africanism encouraged Nigerians.
8. Improved transport and communication. Roads, railways and postal services made it easier to organise and unite people across the country.
9. Racial discrimination. Unequal treatment of Africans in employment and public life bred a common grievance.

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How Nigeria has shown that Africa is the centre-piece of her foreign policy

1. Leadership in forming the OAU and AU. Nigeria was a founding and leading member of the Organisation of African Unity (now the African Union) and has consistently funded and supported it.
2. Founding of ECOWAS (1975). Nigeria spearheaded the creation of the Economic Community of West African States to promote regional integration and development.
3. Peacekeeping in Africa. Nigeria led and largely financed ECOMOG interventions in Liberia and Sierra Leone and contributed troops to missions in the Congo, Sudan, Chad and elsewhere.
4. Anti-colonial and anti-apartheid struggle. Nigeria gave money, arms and diplomatic support to liberation movements in Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa, and set up a Southern Africa Relief Fund.
5. Recognition of the MPLA in Angola. Nigeria influenced other African states to recognise the MPLA government, opposing external interference.
6. Technical and financial aid. Through the Technical Aid Corps, Nigeria sends professionals to other African and Caribbean countries and gives financial assistance.
7. Front-line diplomacy. Nigeria consistently champions African causes at the UN and other world bodies and mediates in African conflicts.
8. Concessions to neighbours. Nigeria has extended oil and financial concessions to needy African states.

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Defects of the Lyttleton Constitution of 1954 in Nigeria

The Lyttleton Constitution introduced a federal system for Nigeria, but it suffered from several weaknesses:

1. It entrenched regionalism. By strengthening the three Regions it deepened regional and ethnic loyalties at the expense of national unity.
2. The Lagos dispute. The separation of Lagos from the Western Region as federal territory caused resentment, especially among the Yoruba.
3. Weak centre, strong regions. The wide powers granted to the Regions weakened the central government and encouraged tendencies toward disintegration.
4. No national Prime Minister at the centre. There was no central Prime Minister to give national political leadership, unlike the Regions which had Premiers.
5. Non-uniform self-government. Allowing Regions to become self-governing at different times (East and West in 1957, North in 1959) created inequality and rivalry among them.
6. Minority fears not addressed. The constitution failed to protect minority groups within the large Regions, breeding agitation for separate states.
7. Divisive revenue allocation. Emphasis on the principle of derivation favoured richer Regions and bred inter-regional bitterness.
8. Non-uniform electoral arrangements. Voting and representation arrangements were not uniform across the country.