Topics in Government
Scheme of Work for Government, SS1, First Term Scheme of Work for Government, SS1, Second Term Scheme of Work for Government, SS1, Third Term Concept, Advantages and Disadvantages of Multi-Party System Concept, Advantages and Disadvantages of Two-Party System Pressure Group: Types of Pressure Group Characteristics of Pressure Group Constitution - Types of Constitution Government - Scope of Government Government - Characteristics of Government Government - Importance of Government One-Party System explained Multi-Party System explained with its Characteristics Party System: Zero Party System Two-Party System explained with its Characteristics Democracy and Types of Democracy Democracy - Characteristics of Democracy Government - Types and Forms of Government Government - Functions of Government What is Government? Definitions of GovernmentAcademic Questions in Government
Government may be defined as an agency or machinery or instrument that is established to manage the general welfare of the people that make up a country.
In the above statement, government is defined _____.
A. As a process
B. As an act of governing
C. As an institution of a state
D. As an academic field o study
E. As a political wheel
F. As a machine of movement
Which of the following statement is false regarding the constitution?
A. No one is above the constitution, even the president or prime minister of a country
B. A constitution can be written or unwritten
C. The constitution consists of the fundamental human rights of citizens of a nation
D. The constitution does not necessarily allocate power to the different arms of government
E. The constitution upholds the people's sovereignty
F. A good constitution is neither too rigid not too flexible
A form of government whereby each state that makes up a country has the power to govern itself and manage it's own resources is known as _____.
The following are examples of pressure group in Nigeria except _____.
A. End SARS
B. Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR)
C. Odua Peoples Congress (OPC)
D. Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)
E. Operation Feed the Nation (OFN)
H. National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS)
Which of the following is not an ethnic pressure group in Nigeria?
A. Bring Back our Girls (BBOG)
B. Afenifere
C. Ohanaeze Ndigbo
D. Middle Belt Forum (MBF)
E. Arewa Consultative Forum
F. Ijaw Youth Council (IYC)
The followings are ways to achieve gender equality except _____.
A. Education of the girl child
B. Encouraging women to go into power
C. Putting a stop to child marriage
D. Encouraging women to vote for women during elections
E. Empowering girls and women
F. Making laws that prohibits sexual harassment
The absence of government in a country or state is referred to as _____.
The definition of democracy as 'Government of the people, by the people and for the people' is a concept of _____.
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The organs of government (also referred to as arms of government or branches of government) are:
These three arms of government serves as a separation of power.
Separation of Power implies that they carry out their distinct (separate) functions and responsibilities in accordance to the nation's constitution.
Below is an explanation of each of the Organs or Arms or Branches of Government:
The president, who is number one citizen of a country and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is the head of the executive arm of government.
It is the responsibility of the executive to enforce or execute the law.
Please read on the Characteristics, Functions and Importance of the Government here.
The president will have a cabinet consisting of various members with whom he works with. For instance, the president of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari (2019) will have a cabinet that will include the followings:
1. Vice president
2. Ministers: They head various executive departments like sports, agriculture, finance and so on.
3. Members of the Federal Executive Council
4. Federal Agencies: In Nigeria, the federal agencies include:
Please read on the various Nigerian Acronyms and their Meanings here.
Note: The president is the head of the National Everything Council (NEC).
In a democratic system of government, the president and the vice president must win the majority of votes during a process called election in order to assume their respective offices.
Please read on Democracy and its Characteristics here.
The executive run the country and is empowered by the law or constitution to carry out the following functions:
Note: The executive arm of government may also make treaties with other nations; but such treaties must be ratified by the senate.
A treaty is a formal and written agreement between two or more countries and must be ratified.
In a country like Nigeria, an elected president can serve a maximum of eight years (two terms). The vice president is simultaneously elected with the president with regards to their political party during the electoral process. Therefore, the vice president is never appointed in a democratic system of government.
Please read on the Types of Democracy here.
When the president leaves the country, the vice president automatically serves in the capacity of the president until the president returns.
The legislature is a group of elected persons who are required to make law.
In Nigeria, the legislature consist of the bicameral National Assembly which are:
In Nigeria, three members of each state make up the senate (with one member from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT, Abuja) giving its totality to 109 senators in Nigeria.
Note: There are 36 states in Nigeria as at 2019. The senators represents each of their constituent state.
Meanwhile, the House of Representative is comprised of 360 members.
Please read on the Nigerian National Symbols here.
Either the Senate, House of Representative or the Presidency can initiate a bill. The point to remember is: "a bill must pass through both houses before it can become a law".
The head of the senate is referred to as the Senate President while that of the house of representative is referred to as the Speaker. Both must be elected in their respective houses together with their deputy.
Note: Only the House of Representative can initaite an impeachment proceedings; the Senate will not be able to impeach any federal officer (including the president) unless the House of Representative brings the impeachment charges.
Conversely, the House of Representative cannot impeach, neither do they have any say in the decision to remove an executive from office. It is the responsibility of the senate to try, convict, and remove the President or other impeachable federal officers.
It is the responsibility of the house to suggest, debate on and pass bills which may become a law.
For a bill to be passed into law, it must be approved by a minimum of 2/3rd majority of both the Senate and House of Representative.
Below are some of the functions of the Legislature:
The judiciary is an independent arm of government whose power is enforced in the courts.
Like the Executive and Legislature, they function under the guidance of the constitution.
According to the hierarchies, the courts comprising the judiciary include:
Note: The Chief Justice (CJ) is the head of the Supreme Court. In Nigeria, the Chief Justice is referred to as the CJN (that is; Chief Justice of Nigeria).
Below are some of the functions of the Legislature:
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Alfred Ajibola is a Medical Biochemist, a passionate Academician with over 7 years of experience, a Versatile Writer, a Web Developer, a Cisco Certified Network Associate and a Cisco CyberOps Associate.
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Amazing facts in Government
NOTABLE POINTS IN Government
Dictatorship is one of the forms of Government. It can exist either as:
In 1966, Major General Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi became the first military Head of State in Nigeria after he overthrew a democratic and constitutional government (headed by the prime minister; Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa)
The above instance is a military form of dictatorship.
A typical example of a civilian dictatorship is Adolf Hitler of Germany and Joseph Stalin of Russia and Georgia
A Pressure group is defined as any formal and organized body or group of people with the same interest and whose main goal is to put pressure on any governmental institution in order to influence government policies and laws to their own gain.
An example of a pressure group whose voice is often heard in Nigeria is the Academic Staff Union for Universities (ASUU).
Another instance of a pressure group in Nigeria is the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group who pressured the Nigerian Government into taking appropriate actions towards the release of the 276 kidnapped female secondary students popularly referred to as the Chibok Girls, in Chibok, Bornu State, Nigeria.
Note: These innocent female students were kidnapped by the so called "Boko Haram" on the night of April 14th - 15th, 2014.
The above pressure group was massive globally to an extent that even the first ladies of various foreign countries became a part of it.
The EndsSars is another pressure group in Nigeria. They forced the Nigerian government into scrapping the Special Anti-Robbery Squard (SARS) who had constantly brutalized the Nigerian youths.
If men and women enjoyed the same rights, same freedom, same opportunities, same resources and same rewards in all sectors of society, then that's gender equality.
Gender equality is the process of being fair to humans; both males and females.
Below are some ways towards achieving gender equality.
Education of the girl child
Encouraging women to go into power
Putting a stop to sexual harassment and child marriage
Women and girls empowerment
Putting a stop to harmful traditional practices against women
Stopping the violence and war
Please read more on gender equality and ways to achieve it here
Anarchy is one of the forms of government. Ironically, it is the absence of government in a society, country or state.
An instance of anarchy occurred in Somalia in 1991 after a dictator name Said Barre was overthrown. This made Somalia disintegrate into fractions with local warlords imposing their authority over their land/area.
Other forms of government includes:
Democracy is a form of government where the power of choosing a leader is vested on the people. It represents a government of the people, by the people and for the people.
According to Abrahim Lincoln,
Democracy means government of the people, by the people and for the people.
In democracy, the citizens have the rights to vote and be voted for. The citizens are mandated to choose their preferred candidate by voting for them through their political party. In fact, this voting process is considered as one of the civic responsibility of every citizen.
Please read on the fundamental Human Rights here.
Note: No one is above the rule of law in the democratic system. If the election outcome does not reflect the mandate of the people, a court of competent jurisdiction can nullify such election.
Democracy is practiced in countries like Nigeria, United States of America, India and South Africa.