GOVERNMENT THEORY ANSWERS
INSTRUCTIONS; ANSWER FIVE(5) QUESTIONS IN ALL, TWO(2) FROM SECTION A AND THREE(3) FROM SECTION B
SECTION A; ANSWER TWO(2) QUESTIONS ONLY
(1a)
A bill is a proposed law which is drafted waiting for the consideration & approval through legislative means.
(1b)
(i) First Reading
(ii) Second Reading
(iii) Committee stage
(iv) Report stage
(v) Third Reading
(i) First Reading: This stage involves the minister or a law-maker (depending on the nature of the bill presenting to the clerk, the draft of a bill. The clerk has to notify the law-makers about the bill. Then, he reads out to them the title of the bill. This will then be printed out in leaflets and distributed to all the members of the parliament to study.
(ii) Second Reading: The minister or a member of the parliament presenting this draft bill will at this stage explain to the members the purpose of the bill. It will now be open for members to debate over the bill and to stand for or against the bill and whether it should be read a second time. This will be put into vote and if the majority of the members vote in favour, the bill scales to the next stage, but if not, that brings an end to the bill. The bill is not amended at this stage.
(iii) Committee stage: At this stage, the bill is referred to a committee of the house. This committee will examine the bill paragraph by paragraph and amendment is proposed and also voted for. The bill will be referred to and considered in different committees and amendment made.
(iv) Report stage: This is the reporting back of all the different committees to the House. The reports and the amendments to the committees are made known to the House.
(v) Third Reading: This stage requires a careful look at the bill in order to correct some anomalies traceable to the drafting or with the amendment of the bill. If the bill is passed, it then moves to the Upper House, where it has to undergo the same process as in the Lower House. If the Upper House has any area of disagreement with the bill, both Houses have to set up joint committee to finally iron things out. The bill is then sent to the President for his assent before it becomes a law.
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(2)
(i) CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITATION OF SOVEREIGNTY: The constitution is the basic law of a country. Every law made by the legislature must be in conformity with the constitution otherwise such a law will be null and void. Similarly every constitution provides for the fundamental right of the citizens. These rights are inviolable.
(ii) NATURAL LIMITATION: The Sovereign cannot do certain things, which .are naturally impossible i.e. the sovereign cannot order the sun to rise in the west or cannot change the cycle of seasons. If a sovereign would claim to do that, he will be sent to the lunatic asylum.
(iii) MORAL LIMITATION: In theory the state can do anything. It cap make any kind of law. In can declare legal things to be illegal and vice versa. But in practice there seems to be difficulties. For example the parliament can pass a law saying that all blue eyed babies should be killed. Legally this is unchallengeable but in practice the government will find it very difficult to implement it because the government will not be in a position to face the public opinion which is based on morality. Similarly the government basis its laws on morality because it feels the people would obey and respect such laws. Somebody has very rightly said: there is much difference between law in books and late in action. In short the government and for that matter, the state has to observe moral principles.
(iv) HUMAN LIMITATION: No human being is perfect. There are limits to one's mental and physical faculties. A person may be able to do certain work for a certain period of time. It is not possible for him to continue to do the same thing for an unlimited and indefinite period. A sovereign has to take into consideration these limitations. If he over-steps these limitations, people will not cooperate with him. Sovereign can make a law ordering the people to sleep during day and to work at night. People will obey such a law but for a very short period because following such a law means overstepping physical limitations of human beings.
(v) INTERNATIONAL LAW: Every state has to have relations with other states. These are regulated by a law known as International Law. Under normal circumstances every state is expected to obey international law. Non-observance of International Law would result in chaos and confusion in international field. So every state is compelled to observe International Law. In many states international law is regarded a part of the law of the land.
(vi) LACK OF PATRIOTISM:
Lack of patriotism is also a limitation of rule of law because, where there is no patriotism, every citizen of the country will want to circumvent the law for a cynical purpose. This is the case in Nigeria, where almost every citizen want to have a share from the benefit of the corrupt practices of the government.
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(3)
(i) A citizen is a full member of the state. On the other hand, an alien is a person who resides in a country other than his own and is therefore not a full member of the country of his residence.
(ii) While a citizen automatically acquires the citizenship of his country by virtue of his being born in the country, an alien can only become a citizen through a process of naturalization and registration.
(iii) As a full member of the state, a citizen enjoys full political rights. He can vote and be voted for and he can aspire to any political office in his country While an Alien enjoys certain civil liberties such as freedom of association and freedom of movement, he does not enjoy full political rights. An alien, for example, cannot contest an elective post.
(iv) A citizen’s rights are natural or inherent in him. They are part of him and cannot be taken away from him without due process. For example, a citizen cannot be deported to another country While An Alien can be deported or expelled even on flimsy grounds.
(v) A citizen owes allegiance to his country of birth While the loyalty of an alien is usually to his country of origin
(vi) A citizen enjoys immunity from legal regulations in some cases whereas an alien is subject to close regulation by law enforcement agents.
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SECTION B; ANSWER THREE (3) QUESTIONS ONLY
(6a)
Local Government Authority is an administrative office that are smaller than a central government and are in direct contact with the community
(6b)
(i) Establishment of a Single-Tier Local Government Structure; It introduced single tier system of local government throughout the country
(ii) Establishment of Traditional Council; It provides for the establishment of traditional council or emirate councils to advice the government on cultural, religious and national issues.
(iii) Central Government Funding of Local Government; Grants were to be given to local government as take-off grants to build its secretariat.
(iv) Introduction of Uniform Local Government System; There was an introduction of a uniform system of local government administration in terms of functions, structure, financing, power etc.
(v) Establishment of Personnel Management Systems; All states were mandated to set up a local government service board or commission aimed at improving the quality of local government personnel
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(7)
(i) Direction by British officials
(ii) The existence of Islamic Courts
(iii) Absence of educated elite
(iv) System of taxation
(v) Effective traditional ruler
(vi) Traditionally installed chief
(i) Direction by British officials; The presence of British resident officials in northern Nigeria, giving the Emirs the necessary administrative direction also contributed to the success of indirect rule in northern Nigeria. British political officials such as the District Commissioner were available to guide and to advise the traditional rulers in the north and this also ensured that the system succeeded.
(ii) The existence of Islamic Courts; Indirect rule succeeded in northern Nigeria because there was already in existence a native judicial system. The Emirs in northern Nigeria operated a court system where criminals were tried and if found guilty, convicted. This was the very system Lord Lugard adopted and reformed. For example, they Islamic Courts could not impose a death sentence without the approval of the British resident officials.
(iii) Absence of educated elite; In northern Nigeria, there were no educated elite as there were in Southern Nigeria. Unlike in the south where one could fine British-trained lawyers and journalists, for example, in Northern Nigeria, there were no such classes of people with whom the colonial authorities could contend. There was therefore a free ride for the British officials.
(iv) System of taxation; The northern territories of Nigeria were already operating a form of taxation so the people were used to paying of taxes like cattle tax and they also paid tributes. It was therefore not difficult for the natives to accept the payment of taxes when Lord Lugard reformed the already existing one.
(v) Effective traditional ruler; By the time Lord Lugard introduced indirect rule in northern Nigeria, there was already in existence an effective chieftaincy system. The Emirs or Sultans were already administering the areas with relative success and the people were used to a centralized authority. Therefore, indirect rule just fitted into the traditional political system.
(vi) Traditionally installed chief; The Emirs who were the traditional rulers in northern Nigeria were traditionally installed or enstooled by the people and therefore widely accepted across board. These were the people who were appointed to the Native Authority. There no problems when these Emirs gave instructions to the natives, even if the instructions came from the British Officers. This was because the natives were used to taking orders from the Emirs.
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[8]
(i) Status of Southern and Northern Cameroon;
At the time of the conference, Southern Cameroon was administered by the British Government as part of Nigeria under the United Nations Trusteeship Agreement. The same applied to Northern Cameroon.
The Secretary of State for the Colonies informed the conference that the people of the two territories would have to decide before the independence of Nigeria whether they would prefer to be administered as part of independent Nigeria or would join the Republic of Cameroon or continue under the British Trusteeship.
(ii) Revenue Allocation;
After reviewing the problem of allocating revenue between various levels of government in the federation, the conference recommended that the government should set up a fiscal commission comprising two or three members with experience in federal government finance, to review the finances of the whole federation, and recommend appropriate criteria for the allocation of revenue between central and regional governments.
(iii) Status of Lagos;
The conference observed that there were conflicting proposals on the status of Lagos as the federal capital. Both the Northern and Eastern Regions argued that Lagos should have a separate status but delegates from the Western Region contended that Lagos should be part of the region.
However, the conference agreed that the existing constitutional position of Lagos as the federal capital territory should be retained.
(iv) Creation of Office of Prime Minister;
There was agreement among the parties at the conference that the post of Prime Minister should be created. The Governor-General was given the power to appoint as Prime Minister the leader of the party with the largest majority in the House of Representatives.
As a result, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, the leader of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) in the House was appointed as Prime Minister in 1959. He immediately formed a national government based on a coalition of the three main parties, namely, the NPC, NCNC and Action Group.
(v) Regional Self-government;
The conference acceded to the demands of the regions to be self-governing. Consequently, the Eastern and Western Regions achieved self government in August 1957 and the Northern Region in March, 1959.
(vi) Structure of the Legislature at the Centre;
The conference agreed that there should be a bicameral legislature at the centre. That is, there should be a Senate and a House of Representatives for the country. The Senate should have twelve (12) members from each region respectively and four from Lagos.
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COMPLETED
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