Intro to Nigerian Government & Politics II
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
UNIVERSITY OF BENIN
BENIN CITY
INTRODUCTION TO NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT
AND POLITICS (POL 122)
BY
COMRADE ISAAC OSARO WISDOM
+2348038633131, +2347058159993.
comradewisdom@gmail.com
MARCH 2017
Quote: “when you think you can’t, revisit a previous triumph”
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Course Outlines
1. The Colonial state: character and organization
2. Amalgamation of Nigeria: implications for colonial and post colonial Nigeria
3. Colonial rule; indirect rule, central administration and colonial bureaucracy
4. Constitutional development
5. Nationalism and Decolonization
6. Political parties
7. Governance system at independence; federalism, parliamentary democracy
Reference materials
1. Politics and Governance in Nigeria: perspective, issues and cases – Austin Ikelegbe
2. Nigerian Political System: trends and perspectives – R. F. Ola and J.E. Imbalahili
3. An Introduction to Nigerian Government and Politics – B. J. Dutley
4. Cripple Giant: Nigeria seeks independence – E. E. Osaghae
Course Editor: Cmr. Isaac O. Wisdom
B.Sc. Political Science & Public Administration – University of Benin,
B.Sc. Criminology & Security Studies – National Open University of Nigeria.
LL.B in view – University of Benin.
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COLONIAL RULE; CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION AND COLONIAL BUREAUCRACY
Colony Defined
A colony refers to a country or area that is ruled by another country. Colonial rule in Nigeria
refers to the rule in Nigeria by the British authority. Just as colonialism was imposed, so was the
colonial administrative structure. The administrative structure and apparatus of the colonial state was
both at the central level (central government) and local level (Native authority).
Central Administration
The British central administration consisted of the governor, the bureaucracy which
comprised of departments, officials, the army and police, residents, district officers, and other field
staff. The central administration was headed by a governor appointed in the name of the crown by the
Secretary of State for the Colonies. The governor was in charge of the entire Nigeria as a country and
was responsible for its good governance. He was in charge of colonial bureaucracy and presided over
the legislative and executive councils. The governor was assisted by the executive council, the
legislative council and the bureaucracy.
The executive council consisted of the Governor, the heads of the government departments,
key officials such as the secretary, the Director of Medical Services, the Attorney General and the
commander of the colonial army regiment. The council was advisory in nature to the governor who
was however not bound by the advice of the council. In effect, the governor can override its advice
with the notification of the Secretary of State. The governor was thus quite powerful and was only
effectively restrained in the exercise of power by the Colonial Office.
The legislative council was first established for the Colony of Lagos to advice the then
governor of the colony. With the declaration of the protectorates of Southern and Northern Nigeria,
the jurisdiction of the council became widened to include the southern protectorate. The jurisdiction
of the council however became narrowed and was restricted to Lagos colony following the 1914
amalgamation and the subsequent establishment of a new legislative council known as Nigeria
Council by Lord Lugard. The new council was largely advisory to the governor even though the
governor was not bound to accept its advice, but could veto or reserve them for the colonial office
decision. The Nigerian Council consisted of the governor, 22 officials representing the central and
territorial administration, 7 unofficial European members representing the business sector, and 6
unofficial Nigerian mainly chiefs representing Lagos, Calabar, Oyo, Benin-Warri and 2 Emirates in
the Northern group of provinces.
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The 1922 Clifford Constitution enlarged the membership of the council. The fact that the
council was advisory to the governor and the governor was not bound to accept its advice rendered
the council powerless which among other things led to the lack of interest in its affairs by its African
members.
The Colonial state
Nigeria under colonialism was made up of Northern Protectorate, Southern Protectorate, and
the Colony of Lagos. There were three administrative offices, that is, one for each of the protectorates
and one for the colony of Lagos. These three administrative offices were reduced to two in 1906
following the amalgamation of the Colony of Lagos with the Southern Protectorate. The emergence
of Nigeria as a political unit is often traced to the report of Sir Fredrick Lord Lugard who was then
the High Commissioner of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria. He recommended that the then
existing Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria and the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria be
amalgamated. The British government accepted the report and consequent upon the reception and
acceptance, the two protectorates were amalgamated in 1914 and was renamed “the Colony and
Protectorate of Nigeria”.
The Nigeria colonial state that British set up emerged from conquest, force, subjugation and
domination. There was no consensus from the people that were compelled to become one entity.
They were not consulted. It has been argued and very likely too, that Nigeria was a creation of
colonial office in London which was targeted at serving the interest of the British imperialism.
Consequent upon the 1914 amalgamation, Sir Fredrick Lord Lugard became the first
Governor General of Nigeria. The document which legalized the amalgamation of the Northern and
Southern Protectorates under British control/authority can be regarded as the first constitution of
Nigeria.
Character/Features of the British Central Administration in Nigeria
The character of the colonial state was underpinned by its origin, roles, focus and form. The
following are the identifiable characteristics of the colonial state:
1. Hegemony: the colonial state was primarily concerned with hegemony. It had to dominate the
indigenous people in order to establish British supremacy. The main instrument of domination
was force. The colonial security apparatus were readily deployed against any resistance or
opposition. The colonial state was therefore coercive, repressive, brutal and violence.
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2. Law and order: the colonial state was mainly concerned with the maintenance of law and order,
peace and stability. The colonial authority ruled through law and order, and the main aim was to
sustain their exploitative tendencies. The resources in their local colonies were exploited for the
development of the colonial country.
3. Minimal contact with the people: the colonial state being a rapacious, hegemonic and violent
state was thoroughly disconnected from society. This is partly because some of the territories
were just newly conquered, hence the need to rule them from a distance. The colonial state
sidelined Nigerians in the colonial administration and maintained minimal contact and support.
The colonial state was arrogant and subjected Nigerians through authoritarian and dictatorial rule
to inhuman treatments, human right abuses and deprivations. In fact, Nigerians were like slaves
in their own land. The colonial state never sought to be integrated, neither did it seek a united
Nigeria in terms of strong sense of common nationhood and citizenship among Nigerians.
4. Infrastructural development oriented: the colonial state was only concerned with
development as a matter of necessity and particularly in terms of infrastructure that were
necessary for extractive purposes. Schools were established not majorly to educate the local
people but primarily to provide clerks and cheap labour for the colonial administration. Railways
and sea ports were established primarily for exploitation and transportation of minerals and
primary commodities.
5. Politics as opposed to economy: the colonial state was primarily concerned with politics and
not economy. Politics in this context pertained to administration, the design of laws and practices
that maintained British hegemony/control and extraction and the creation of a system that kept
the emerging Nigeria apart and sidelined.
6. Tribute collection structured: because the colonial state was underpinned by exploitation and
extraction, it was a tribute collecting state. British resources were not to be deployed to pay for
administration and desired minimum development. Instead, the natives had to generate revenue
through taxation. Taxation was always one of the first administrative actions and underlined
most administrative efforts, enforcements and sanctions. The need to generate revenue with
minimum effort was responsible for the 1914 amalgamation and the introduction of the Indirect
Rule System of local administration. With the amalgamation of the Northern and the Southern
protectorates, the British authority was able to use the surplus from the Southern Protectorate to
supplement for the shortfalls in revenue for the administration of the Northern Protectorate.
7. Undemocratic: the colonial state was not democratic. Put differently, the colonial state was antidemocratic in the sense that that was no accountability, transparency and they were not
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responsible to Nigerians. The colonial state was only accountable and responsible to the Colonial
office in London.
Practice Questions
1. In a nutshell, the Nigeria colonial state which Britain set up was an alien contraption. It was a
creation of the colonial office in London and in the interest of British imperialism and a greater
British Empire. Elucidate – (Question 1: 2015/2016 Session)
2. Highlight the key features of the British central administration in Nigeria – (Question 2:
2016/2017 Session)
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THE COLONIAL STATE: CHARACTER AND ORGANIZATION
Introduction
The territory now known as Nigeria was a British creation of the late 19th century. Its coastal
areas had for some three to four hundred years been involved in trade, particularly slave trade with
western European countries. However, the abolition of slave trade particularly by Britain compelled
European traders to deal in such raw materials as palm oil and ivory. For the purpose of stopping the
slave trade and encouraging peaceful trade, the British had annexed Lagos and placed it under British
administration as a colony in 1861. This trade in raw materials and ivory grew rapidly such that both
the ports in the Bights of Benin and Biafra, particularly the Niger Delta coastal areas became centres
of trade for British private businessmen and later the Royal Niger Company which amalgamated rival
companies in the trade. The dominance of British traders and the lucrativeness of the trade soon
necessitated some British control. The British government began to appoint Consuls with judicial and
administrative powers to supervise trading activities and exercise authority over the Niger Delta
coastal areas and the Bights of Benin and Biafra. Following the annexation of Lagos as a British
colony in 1861, Lagos became the western centre of British trade influence from where the Yoruba
hinterland was to be penetrated and brought under British influence or control. Two other factors
apart from trade considerations that quickened the British conquest and control of the hinterland are:
1. The scramble for Africa in the Berlin Conference and General Act of 1885, and
2. The Royal Niger Company
The 1885 Berlin General Act gave Britain claims over the oil protectorates, but left the
hinterland open to the influence of other European powers. However, due to threat of French and
German influence over the hinterland, there was the need for Britain to hurriedly conclude agreement
as well as use subjugation to effectively extend its influence over same.
The Royal Niger Company on the other hand was a trading organization which was given a
charter to administer the areas where it traded. The activities of the company largely maintained
British and kept off other European powers. However, the company’s charter was revoked in 1899 to
enable more British have direct intervention and control of the territories.
The British conquest and control of the hinterland territories was from three centres; Lagos,
Old Calabar and Lokoja. It involved both the securing of allegiance by treaties and conquest. Because
of the firm missionary influence and the work of missionaries which included ex-Yoruba slaves, the
British did not find any difficulty in establishing its protectorate over the Yoruba land.
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The South Eastern area was under the oil coast protectorate and later the Niger Coast
Protectorate. The British through the Royal Niger Company had maintain general and paper control
over the area, and had to use force on erring city-state like Brass. By 1900, the Protectorate of
Southern Nigeria was declared except for the fact that a large size of the area such as the Igbo areas
were to some extent not under the control of the British. But with both force and agreement, these
areas were then brought under the control of the British.
The Northern area was brought under the British control through conquest. Even though the
Royal Niger Company under Goldie has earlier conquered the Nupe and Ilorin Emirates, but it failed
to establish effective control. The onus of establishing effective control over the North then fell on
Lord Lugard by virtue of his becoming the Governor General/High Commissioner of the Northern
protectorate in 1900. The hostility of the Fulani Emirates made conquest the only option for
colonization.
In 1900, the Niger Coast Protectorate was renamed the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria and
in 1906, it was merged with the Colony of Lagos to become the Colony and Protectorate of Southern
Nigeria. Subsequently in 1914, the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria and the Protectorate
of Northern Nigeria were amalgamated under the leadership of Lord Lugard, as the Colony and
Protectorate of Nigeria.
Colonial Bureaucracy
The concept of bureaucracy can be defined as the institutionalized method of organized social
conduct in the interest of administrative efficiency. It is a system of administration which emphasises
adherence to laid down principles of how functions should be carried out and who and when it should
be carried out. Max Weber postulates the general feature of bureaucracy which includes hierarchy of
authority, division of responsibilities, specialization, discipline, and career structure.
The colonial bureaucracy consisted of a hierarchy of officials in various departments, each of
which was headed by a director. The governor and his key officers; the colonial secretary, the
financial secretary, and the Attorney General and his executive council managed the administration.
The colonial secretary was saddled with the responsibility of co-ordinating the administrative
departments, the colonial secretary was responsible for the colonial government financial affairs,
while the Attorney General was in charge of the government legal matters.
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POLICY OF COLONIAL RULE: THE INDIRECT RULE SYSTEM
Generally speaking, the British colonial policy in West Africa was shaped to a large extent by
economic consideration. In order to service British needs, the existing Africa political institutions and
system of administration was modified. The policy also entailed the control of economy of Africa
countries. This desire was propelled by the industrial revolution which increased the need for raw
materials by British industries. Britain therefore took over the control of the export of raw materials
of the West African countries by shipping all the West African produce to Britain.
Meanwhile, the cost of administration of the colonies was borne by the colonies as they have
to raise finances through taxes and other avenues. Such revenues were used in paying the British
officials, while railways, harbours and roads built from loans raised locally were all meant to service
the transportation and communication needs of the colonialists. Thus, basically, the colonialists
aimed at the exploitation of the mineral and agricultural resources of the African territories, directed
the pattern of West African trade to suit their own interest, dominated the export trade of the
colonies, neglected the industrial development of these colonies and allowed them to finance
whatever efforts they made toward development.
The Indirect Rule System
The local administration posed more administrative problems to the colonial masters. With
the wide expanse of newly conquered land and subdued people, there was need to design an
administrative structure that will not maintain a direct contact with the majority of the population as
this was the only way peace and order could be maintained.
It is important to submit that due to the vast expanse of newly conquered land and people,
there was obviously paucity of resources (human especially) to effectively administer the provinces,
hence the introduction of indirect rule system. Because the indirect rule system recorded success in
Asia and East Africa, Lord Lugard therefore introduced same firstly in the Northern provinces. The
introduction of indirect rule system in the Northern provinces was due largely to the fact that the
political structure already existing in the provinces would be suitable for the operation of the system
with less administrative difficulty.
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What then is Indirect Rule System?
Indirect rule is a system of government where the natives are used indirectly to govern their
own people. In theory, indirect rule refers to a system whereby a colonised people are governed
through their accredited representatives and institutions of government. It is a theory that emphasised
that colonial powers should rule their subjects or the natives through their own local institutions,
rather than use metropolitan institutions and values which are culturally alien to the local people.
Indirect rule system emphasised the role of the chiefs and other indigenous political institutions while
minimal direct intervention in local affairs and governance is required.
The British form of indirect rule required that traditional chiefs and institutions rule their
people on behalf of the British while the British officials were in the background ruling through
chiefs. The practice was that the residents issued the orders while traditional rulers in obedience
issued instructions to their subordinates, not as the orders of the British but as their own. In other
words, under this system, the colonial officers used the services of the traditional rulers in governing
their citizens, thereby creating room for their participation in governance and creating the impression
that the traditional chiefs were those actually ruling the people and not the British officials.
Lord Lugard introduced the system of indirect rule in Nigeria when he became the Governor
between 1914 and 1919. He did this out of his experience as a High Commissioner to the protectorate
of Northern Nigeria between 1900 and 1906 where he involved the Emirs in the administration of the
territory. He was confronted with a lot of strife and chaos in Northern Nigeria when he took over;
hence he had to rely seriously on the cooperation of the Emirs in administering the territory. The
system had earlier been embraced by the Dutch in Java, was also applied in India and Uganda before
Lugard who had experience in these countries introduced it to Nigeria.
It should be stated however, that before the advent of British colonialism, some Nigeria state
had used similar system to administer conquered territories, for example, the Ajale system which
Ibadan used to govern satellite territories in the 19th century.
The indirect rule system required a strong chief, a tax administrative system and a legal
system to be successful, and these were already in existence in some provinces but where however
they did not exist, the British had to establish them. Residents were appointed by the colonial
government to be in charge of provinces and co-ordinate the various local administrations,
communicate the decisions of the colonial government to the local chiefs, as well as assist the local
chiefs and kings in the administration of law and order. In addition to the residents who were in
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charge of provinces, there were also divisional officers who oversaw native administration within
their provinces.
Reasons for Introduction of Indirect Rule System
There were several reasons why the British adopted the indirect rule system in the
administration of Nigerian state/area. These ranged from political, to social and economic
considerations. The following account for the introduction of indirect rule in Nigeria:
1.
It was cheap: one major reason for the introduction or adoption of the indirect rule system by
the British was because it was relatively cheap and economical since it was cheaper to maintain
the traditional rulers than to pay a larger number of British officials whose salaries would have
been far higher than that of the chiefs. The colonialists were equally not interested in spending
money in the colonies but to reduce cost and maximize their gains. In addition, the colonial
officers did not have adequate knowledge of the local environment and even the people.
Therefore, making use of the local people became the best option in the circumstance.
2.
It succeeded in other places: as earlier mentioned, Lord Lugard was encouraged to introduce
indirect rule system in Nigeria because of the success it recorded in places like Dutch in Java,
India and Uganda. This experience fired Lord Lugard’s enthusiasm in bringing the system to
Nigeria.
3.
Shortage of colonial officials: the acute shortage of experienced colonial official also accounted
for the reasons for the introduction of the indirect rule system in Nigeria. Right from when
Lugard was posted to Northern Nigeria where he established a protectorate over the emirates, he
was confronted with the problem of acute shortage of experienced officers to whom he could
delegate authority and money with which to employ them. He therefore found it necessary, in
order to establish a stable administration, to copy the pattern of rule which he had experience in
India, Uganda and Java. Along this line, he appointed Emirs as sole natives authorities, and
posted a “resident” each to the provinces into which the North had been divided to be
responsible for advising the Emirs in his province and making sure that they did not contravene
the laws of the protectorate.
4.
The need to use the indigenous monarchs: the need to use the indigenous monarchs was
another reason for the British adoption of the indirect rule system in Nigeria. The colonialists
were of the opinion that the people had great respect of the traditional rulers and using them as a
link between the colonial officers and the people was considered important. It was also perceived
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as a means of establishing legitimacy over their rule as the colonial authorities thought they
could create in the people the feeling that they were still being ruled by their traditional rulers.
5.
The need to maintain minimal contact with the people: because most of the people had just
been subdued, there was therefore the need to establish a kind of administration that was not
directly in contact with the majority of the populace if peace and order were to be maintained.
The colonial state being a rapacious, hegemonic and violent state was thoroughly disconnected
from society. This is partly because some of the territories were just newly conquered, hence the
need to rule them from a distance. The colonial state sidelined Nigerians in the colonial
administration and maintained minimal contact and support. The colonial state was arrogant and
subjected Nigerians through authoritarian and dictatorial rule to inhuman treatments, human
right abuses and deprivations. In fact, Nigerians were like slaves in their own land. The colonial
state never sought to be integrated, neither did it seek a united Nigeria in terms of strong sense of
common nationhood and citizenship among Nigerians.
6.
It satisfied British exploitative interests
7.
It gave the British little problems in terms of administration
8.
Language barrier
9.
The gigantic size of the country
10. The existing political arrangement favoured it and preserving it did not jeopardise British
colonial interest. Thus they were unwilling to tamper with the existing system.
Indirect Rule in the Northern Province
The indirect rule system was feasible for the traditional political forms of most of the
Northern provinces particularly the Emirates. The Emirate system had a centralised political
organization with clear cut hierarchical flow of authority centred on the Emirs and officials appointed
by him to handle various public functions and activities. This structure was befitting for colonial
bureaucracy. There was already in existence in the Northern provinces an organised system of
taxation and revenue collection headed by public officials. The judicial system had specialised
judges. There was the alkali courts which handled civil cases and there were also secular courts
which dwelt with criminal matters. This Emirate system was appropriate for the indirect rule system.
Consequently, what Lord Lugard did was to adapt with little modifications the Emirate system. The
Emirship and his authority was retained except his control of an army, slave, execution of wars, and
exaction (demand) of tributes. The traditional courts were modified into customary courts, while
taxes collected were paid into native authority treasuries which were checked by the residents. Under
the system of indirect rule, the Emirs were put on salaries and his election by the traditional council
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was made subject to British confirmation who could also depose him. The Emirs was then placed
under the supervision of the residents who also guided and advised him (Emir).
Why Indirect Rule was successful in the Northern Province
The indirect rule system was quite successful in the Northern provinces due to the following
reasons;
1. The existence of a strong traditional authorities
2. The little modifications of administrative practices
Indirect Rule in the Western Provinces
The indirect rule system of administration was introduced to the western provinces
particularly the Yoruba areas after the 1914 amalgamation following the Native Authority Ordinance
of 1916. What the colonial government met on ground in the province to some extent suit the indirect
rule system. For example, there were centralised and organised political structures with authority
flowing from the Obas to chiefs and to districts and village heads.
The chiefs held public offices and their authority was either hereditary or based on
appointment by the Obas. Although the powers of the Obas were limited compare to what was
obtainable in the Northern provinces where the powers of the Emirs were not subjected to checks.
The powers of the Obas were subjected to checks by chiefs and associations to avoid absolutism.
There were also no systems of organised organise direct taxation in the Yoruba kingdom; instead the
kings relied on tributes.
Reasons for the Minimal Success of the Indirect Rule System in the Western Provinces
The following reasons account for why the indirect rule system recorded minimal success in
the Western Provinces when compared to the success recorded in the Northern Provinces;
1. The non-incorporation of the senior Chiefs in Council with the Obas: the indirect rule
system made a mistake of not incorporating the Senior Chiefs in Council with the Obas,
instead, Obas were made sole authorities which tended to make them absolute rather than
being subject to the advice and checks of the Senior Chiefs which was the long standing
practice. The implication of the above was that the colonial government negated the old
traditional order and established a new order which the local people were not in tune with.
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2. The introduction of direct tax system: the indirect rule system introduced direct taxation
which was viewed by the people with indifference and suspicion. As a matter of fact, the
direct taxation system was alien to the Yorubas.
3. The placement of Ibadan under Oyo Native Authority: it was a fundamental mistake on
the part of the colonial government to place Ibadan which was hitherto independence under
Oyo Native Authority, thereby negating the Yoruba traditions of governance.
Indirect Rule System in the Easter Provinces
Unlike the Northern and Western provinces, the Igbo traditional systems were not facilitating
to indirect rule. This was partly because there was no central authority. In other words, authority in
the Eastern province was not centralised but segmented and diffused. Power was not focused or
vested on one person but on councils and general assemblies. Kingship groups, age sets as well as
associations played considerable role in the governance of the Ibo society. The effect of this is that
there were no individual traditional authorities as such who could rule on behalf of the British.
Indirect rule was introduced to the Eastern province in 1928. Because there were no central
traditional authorities as was obtained in the Northern provinces - (Emirs) and the Western province (Obas), members of the native courts were then appointed as Warrant Chiefs to be responsible for the
direct administration of the local people, implementing the policies of the colonial government as if
they were policies independently initiated by the local chiefs. The phenomenon of Warrant Chiefs as
native authorities sparked off numerous conflicts on the following grounds;
1. The Warrant Chiefs were mostly not members of titled societies or the Ndichies and thus,
they were not traditional authorities of Igboland.
2. The appointment of Warrant Chiefs as sole authorities was a negation to the more
decentralised and individualistic nature of the Igbo societies and was thus resented.
3. The Warrant Chiefs became too powerful and exploitative. This could be alluded to the fact
that fact that there was inadequate supervision of the Warrant Chiefs by the colonial
authorities.
4. The Igbos were not used to direct taxation, little wonder the attempt by the colonial
authorities to introduce direct taxation sparked off the popular Aba Women Riot of 1929
Reasons for the failure of indirect rule in the Eastern Province
Indirect rule was a dismal failure in the Eastern provinces. The following reasons account for
the failure of the system in the Eastern provinces;
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1. The appointment of Warrant Chiefs as sole authorities was a negation of the Igbo traditional
society and practice.
2. Direct taxation was alien to the Igbo culture
3. There was no central traditional authority in the Igbo society as was obtainable in the
Northern and the Western provinces.
Conclusion
From the foregoing discussions, it can be submitted that the indirect rule system was
conservative, and the effect of that was that it slowed down the pace of political development in
Nigeria. Also, the system did not afford the local people any modernising influences and popular
participation in local governance, even the few educated Nigerians who were to be the stronghold of
modernization of political change were kept away from local participation in governance by the
British officials. It can be submitted therefore that indirect rule system was aimed at keeping
Nigerians perpetually subservient to the colonial authority rather than expose them to modern values
and experiences.
The indirect rule system encountered problems all over the country. In the Northern
provinces, the system so empowered the Emirs to the extent that they were no longer subject to the
restraints by their officials or deposition by the Sultan. In the Western provinces, the system negated
the traditional administrative practices and caused reverberations. In the East, the system completely
negated the existing traditional practices of decentralisation. The minimal supervision of the activities
and powers of the Warrant Chiefs by the colonial authorities encouraged to a great extent abuse of
such powers. Direct taxation was alien to the Igbos, little wonder it resulted to the 1929 Aba Women
Riot. The inadequacies and evils tolerated by the indirect rule system led Governor Donald Cameron
to attempt a new approach to local government through introduction of educated elements and the
modernisation of the Native Authority System aimed at liberalising the system rather than being
conservative.
Practice Question
Whereas the indirect rule system was relatively successful in the Northern provinces of Nigeria, the
same cannot be said of the system in Eastern provinces. With not more than two (2) reasons for each
case study, explain why. – (Question 2: 2015/2016 Session).
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ADVANTAGES OF INDIRECT RULE
The indirect rule system had a number of advantages. The following are some of the
advantages of the indirect rule system:
1. It brought the government and the colonial subjects closer to each other: one of the most
important advantages of the indirect rule system was that it brought the government and the
colonial subjects closer to each other. This was because the colonial administrators were not
completely detached from the people, a development which would have generated distrust from
the subjects. The system linked the people with government and transformed the chiefs, Emirs
and Obas into intermediaries between the government and the people. The led to a smooth
relationship between the people and their rulers as the people believed that the British
administrators were out to protect their interest and respect their traditional system of
government having involved their traditional rulers in rulership.
2. Reduction in cost of Administration: another advantage of the indirect rule system was that it
reduced the cost of administration. Direct administration would have required the appointment of
numerous British officials, and would have led to a high financial commitment to keep them.
The use of traditional rulers who were paid stipend therefore helped in reducing the cost of
administration.
3. Modernization of Traditional Institution: the indirect rule system not only recognised local
institutions but also helped to modernise them. Traditional institutions became refined and shorn
of their trappings of primitivity. The courts, law and custom were so refined that they became
indispensible supplement to English modelled court and to common law.
4. Local Self Government: the indirect rule system was a sort of local self government since it
allowed traditional rulers to govern their people in line with the global custom and tradition. The
people accepted orders in good faith believing that they came directly from their chiefs. This
however, did not work in the Eastern province as the Warrant Chiefs were rebuffed and resented
by the people. In addition, it preserved the African culture and tradition to some extent by using
traditional rulers.
Practice Question
It could be argued that indirect rule system had a number of merits. Concisely explain four (4) of
these merits – (Question 4: 2015/2016 Session).
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DISADVANTAGES OF INDIRECT RULE SYSTEM
The indirect rule system had many disadvantages especially in its practical application in different
parts of Nigeria. Some of the disadvantages are enumerated below:
1. Lack of Cross-Cultural and Nationwide Application: one of the disadvantages of the indirect
rule system is that lacked cross-cultural and nationwide application as it worked only where
there were strong traditional institutions. Thus, areas without such institutions could not benefit
from it, for example, it failed in the Eastern Nigeria where the traditional rulers did not occupy a
prime of place. Again, the non-Muslims in Northern Nigeria resented it being placed under the
authority of the Muslim Emirs to whom they accord no traditional loyalty.
2. Lack of encouragement for the development of the traditional institutions: although the
indirect rule system did not remove certain bad features and practices from the traditional
institutions, it did not encourage the development of these institutions in a natural way. For
example, only colonial officials had the powers to formulate policies while the traditional rulers
were to implement them as robots. The British officials had absolute powers to either recognise
or depose traditional rulers at will.
3. Non incorporation of the educated elites in governance: the deliberate non inclusion of the
educated elites who would have had more to contribute to governance was another disadvantage
of the indirect rule system. The above however quickened the speed of development of
nationalism.
4. Imbalance in the development of Nigeria: the indirect rule system equally created an
imbalance in the development of Nigeria by encouraging the administration of different parts of
the country with separate principles. Thus, it was possible for the colonial government to use
different policies in the administration of the North, West and Eastern parts of the country.
5. Destruction of the traditional institutions: one of the greatest disadvantages of the indirect rule
system was the damage it did to the traditional authorities who were subject to the checks and
balances and other necessary safeguards. But the indirect rule system destroyed these checks and
created new powers for the chiefs who abdicated their traditional roles, thus, a democratic
traditional system became an autocratic one.
6. The system was conservative in nature: in the face of political and social realities of the time,
though the indirect rule system, the colonial authorities entrenched into positions of authority
older men with conservative bias and kept out of power the more educated and forward thinking
elites which the education system was beginning to produce, thus, breeding resentment and
frustration in their minds while hampering progress.
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Although the system was perfectly adequate to Lugard’s purpose which was to maintain
stability and secure resources which would be obtained through traditional tax system, the indirect
rule system was not acceptable to African nationalists.
On the whole, British colonial administration in Nigeria met the needs of the colonialists, but it
created problems which have endured and become blight to the development of post colonial Nigeria.
Practice Questions
1. Explain the indirect rule system as a policy of British Colonial Administration (Question 1:
2016/2017 Session).
2. The indirect rule system had many disadvantages especially in its practical application in
different parts of Nigeria. Explain four (4) of such disadvantages – (Question 3: 2016/2017
Session).
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POLITICAL PARTIES
Introduction
It is the desire of most states to realise and establish a democratic society. More often than
not, one of the very important instruments of realising this desire is a well organised political party
and the conduct of elections. Political parties as creation of the modern age have a conscious aim to
capture political power in order to make binding decisions for the society. Political parties may be
principally defined by their common aim. This aim is that each political party aspires to prevail over
the others in order to get into power or to stay in it. Political parties as well as the process of election
created democracy and as a matter of fact modern democracies are simply unthinkable except in
terms of party and conduct of elections. This link between political party and democracy has been
buttressed by the various conceptualizations of political parties and elections.
According to Lord Daniel Epstein, a political party is any group however loosely organized
seeking to elect governmental office holders under a given label.
To Oloyele et al, a political party is an organised group of like-minded persons seeking to
take control of government through constitutional means as opposed to military coup d’etat.
While to Ikelegbe, political parties are political associations that unify and organise people,
articulate and aggregate views, formulate programmes and policies, mobilize the support of the
citizenry through campaigns, rallies and propaganda.
James Coleman sees political party as an association that competes with other similar
associations in periodic elections in order to participate in formal government, institutions, and
thereby influence and control the personnel and policies of government.
Finally is the conceptualization of political party given by the constitutions of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria (1979 and 1999) in which political party is said to be an association recognised
and registered in the Constitution whose membership is open to every citizen irrespective of his or
her place of birth, circumstances of birth, sex, religion or ethnic group with the sole aim of
canvassing for votes in support of candidates for elections.
Evolution of Political Parties in Nigeria
The adoption of the elective principle in the Clifford’s Constitution of 1922 led to the birth of
political parties in Nigeria. The very first political party in Nigeria was the Nigerian National
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Democratic Party (NNDP) founded in 1923 by Herbert Macaulay. The NNDP had the following
objectives:
1. The nomination and election of the Lagos members of the Legislative Council.
2. Achievement of the municipal status and complete-self government for Lagos
3. The setting up of branches of the party in all areas of Nigeria.
4. Development of higher education and compulsory education all over Nigeria.
5. Free and fair trade in Nigeria and equal treatment for native traders and producers of Nigeria.
6. Africanization of the civil service.
7. The recognition of the National Congress of British West Africa and the pledge to work more
closely with the body.
Factors that paved way for the emergence of the first political party
While some of those factors could be said to have been remote, others were however
immediate. The way the colonialists went about administering different parts of the country aroused
suspicion in the minds of sections of the country not favoured by such administrative styles, for
example, the use of indirect rule system. In the North, the colonial masters allowed the Emirs to use a
lot of their initiatives in the daily administration of their territories. This way, the North did not see
any practical difference between the way they were administered before by their local rulers and
when the British were administering them. In effect, the British indirect rule system encouraged the
continuation of autocratic emirate system of the North. In some other parts of the country, the
introduction of indirect rule system was resented by the people. This was because in a bid to make
the system work, certain practices alien to the people were introduced. For example, in the Eastern
Nigeria, Warrant Chiefs were appointed as traditional rulers in places without identifiable traditional
rulers. These Warrant Chiefs were often picked by the colonialists from men considered by their
communities as relegate and were used as stooges by the colonial masters.
In the West, Lord Lugard’s frantic but costly effort to restore and elevate the authority of
Alaafin of Oyo over the rest of the Yoruba state was resisted. Lugard failed to realise that due to their
victories in the various Yoruba wars, states like Ibadan and Abeokuta had emerged stronger
politically and militarily over the Oyo kingdom itself. There was also the issue of taxation which was
alien to the people of the South and they resisted its imposition on them. As a result of this alien
practice, riots broke out at Iseyin, Abeokuta, and Aba in 1929 spearheaded mostly by women. Also,
the colonialists had this disdain for educated Nigerians. They apparently saw them as threats to their
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supremacist stance. This gross disregard for educated Nigerians showed in the preference of the
British in employing illiterate traditional rulers who their contention will not oppose them.
It was the factors highlighted above that galvanised Nigerians to form nationalist movement
led by the educated elites with the sole aim of dislodging colonial rule. The foremost in this regard
were the National Congress of British West Africa formed in 1917 and held its first main meeting in
Accra, Ghana in 1920, and the West African Student Union formed in 1925.
The immediate factor that informed the formation of political parties in Nigeria was the
elective principle clause in the Clifford’s Constitution of 1922. These clauses permitted four elective
seats in the Legislative Assembly. That is, one elective seat for Calabar and three for Lagos.
Herbert Macaulay formed the first political party in Nigeria known as Nigeria National
Democratic Party, founded in 1923 to be used as a platform to vie for the three elective positions
given to Lagos. Again, in 1938, the Nigerian Youth Movement was formed and was led by Chief
Ernest Ikoli and later metamorphosed into what was known as the National Council of Nigeria and
the Cameroon (NCNC).
The Nigeria National Democratic Party saw itself as a national party, but the truth is that it
remained as exclusively Lagos organization. The reason for this includes Macaulay’s desire to keep
the party under his control, as establishment of other branches in other parts of the nation would have
led to a challenge of its leadership. The native administrative system in practice throughout the
country did not encourage party-activity. The Nigeria National Democratic Party swept all elections
to elective positions in Lagos in 1923, 1928, and in 1938.
Nigerian leaders organized political associations and mobilized different Herbert Macaulay,
president of the Nigerian National Council constituencies to gain concessions. The leaders appealed
to anti-colonial sentiments, and less to history, culture, and language. They exaggerated what
independence would bring to everybody, contrasting this with the limitations of colonial
accomplishments. Younger, radical nationalist leaders emerged. The organization of country-wide
political parties became important in the struggles to gain power while the British increased the
Nigerian membership in the Legislative Councils and approved a number of constitutional changes,
eventually culminating in independence. On August 26, 1944, the Nigerian National Council was
formed, with Herbert Macaulay as President and Nnamdi Azikiwe as Secretary General, to bring
together diverse associations and people into one united front. Membership was open to associations
including political parties, trade unions, ethnic unions, and professional and literary groups. To allow
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the admittance of Cameroonian associations in Lagos, the name of the party was changed to the
National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). For a decade, the NCNC served as the
country's leading national organization with branches in different towns. It called for selfgovernment.
In 1948, the colonial government granted a number of concessions –the "turning point"
towards decolonization. It reformed the Richards Constitution and announced measures to
Nigerianize the civil service, democratize the Native Authorities, and expand higher education.
Political reforms were introduced. Emerging leaders began to call for greater regional autonomy,
creating associations to fight for this.
The problems of ethnic politics that would consume Nigeria for the rest of the century had
begun. Among the causes of ethnicity were the regional disparities created by colonialism, the
competition in the urban environment for limited resources, and the instrumentalization of ethnicity
by emerging politicians seeking the fastest means to mobilize support. Regional feelings eventually
led to the emergence of regionally-based political parties. The Action Group (AG), based in the west,
was led by Obafemi Awolowo, who used the Yoruba creation myth and the importance of the
ancestral town of Ile-Ife to create a cultural organization, the Egbe Omo Oduduwa - "the descendants
of Oduduwa" that was transformed into a political party in 1951. The Northern People's Congress
(NPC), established in 1949, revived the memory of the Caliphate of the nineteenth century and used
Islam to create a solid party for the north. A second major party emerged in the north, the left-wing
Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), led by Aminu Kano. The NCNC, which had started
as a national party, became the party of the east, controlled by the Igbo. Things would never be the
same again as the leaders abandoned pan-Nigerian issues and focused more and more on regional
concerns. Within one generation, nationalists became tribalists, interested in independence for narrow
gains. Regional Houses of Assembly and a central Federal Parliament were established.
As the country entered the 1950s, radicalism witnessed a lull. Regional politics opened
tremendous opportunities for aspiring politicians to run for office or serve in other prestigious
capacities. The civil service expanded and. The first university was opened at Ibadan in 1948 as a
university college, absorbing a number of young people who saw themselves as leaders of the future.
Labor was no longer restless, in part because the economy had improved, and in part because the
radicals in the Zikist movement had been abandoned in their moment of official persecution.
Nigerian entrepreneurs were benefiting from Nigerianization and regionalism with better access to
banks and government contracts and loans, in addition to acting as licensed buyers of a state22
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controlled export marketing scheme. New industries were being established and the domestic market
was witnessing an upsurge. Exports of primary products expanded, allowing even the farmers to
derive some small benefits. There was a massive increase in public expenditure in education, roads,
energy, and industries. With very limited reflection on the implications of their actions, the
politicians assured all Nigerians that development and improved standards of living were just around
the comer. The 1950s became the golden era of hope and optimism in the history of modern Nigeria.
In summary, the activities of political parties in Nigeria have been the poisonous cocktail of
opportunism, defections and these have contributed to the democratic deficit which Nigeria suffers
today. The exponential increase in the number of political parties has done a lot of damage to the
party system in Nigeria, as the increase in number of political parties has resulted in a corresponding
decrease in their relevance.
Political opportunism has been elevated to a norm as politicians elected on the platform of
opposition political party continues to defect to the ruling political party. As a consequence,
opposition political parties have been in retreat. In this manner, political parties have become a
danger to the country’s democracy since one of the measures of democratic well-being is a vibrant
opposition party system. The ruling political parties have always tried to achieve their dominance
over the Nigerian political landscape be it NPC, NPN, PDP, APC or what have you. These include
bare-face ringing, intimidating rhetoric and the compromising of the electoral body as these have
continued to happen, opposition political parties have faded away from the Nigeria political
landscape. Thus, as Nigeria marches on to consolidate its democracy, the need to strengthen political
parties and the party system cannot be overemphasised. This is important since political parties are
engines of modern democracies. Vibrant political parties and by extension a vigorous party system
would mean a more healthy democracy than currently obtainable.
There is also the need to punish electoral offenders. Therefore, decisive punishment for
electoral offences as has been recommended by the electoral reform panel cannot be postponed. It
will make room for competition based on the rules of the game. The eternal vigilance of Nigerians is
however “a must” if the rules of the game must be respected.
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CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The various constitutions that were introduced in Nigeria were meant to address certain
situations and agitations, and thereafter, it became a nationalist struggle. Nigeria under colonialism
was made up of Northern Protectorate, Southern Protectorate, and the Colony of Lagos. There were
three administrative offices, that is, one for each of the protectorates and one for the colony of Lagos.
These three administrative offices were reduced to two in 1906 following the amalgamation of the
Colony of Lagos with the Southern Protectorate.
The emergence of Nigeria as a political unit is often traced to the report of Sir Fredrick Lord
Lugard. Lord Lugard was then the High Commissioner of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria. He
recommended that the then existing Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria and the Protectorate
of Northern Nigeria be amalgamated. The British government accepted the report and consequent
upon the receipt and acceptance of the proposal, the two protectorates were amalgamated in 1914 and
was renamed “the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria”.
Consequent upon the 1914 amalgamation, Sir Fredrick Lord Lugard became the first Governor
General of Nigeria. The document which legalized the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern
Protectorates under British control/authority can be regarded as the first constitution of Nigeria.
THE 1914 AMALGAMATION/CONSTITUTION
As stated earlier, the Northern and Southern Protectorates were amalgamated in 1914 following
the report sent by Sir Fredrick Lord Lugard to the British Government. The documents which legalized
this amalgamation could be said to reflect Nigeria’s first constitution. These documents prescribed
inter alia:
1. The nature of union of the two protectorates
2. The structure of Government in the emerging Nigerian union
3. The requisite organs of government
4. The terms of the composition of the organs of government
5. Powers and function of the organs of government
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Features of the 1914 Amalgamation Document
The main features of the 1914 amalgamation document include:
a. The appointment of a single Governor and Commander-In-Chief for the whole country in the
person of Sir Fredrick Lord Lugard.
b. Federal Executive Council and Federal Legislative Council were created in a curious attempt to
centralize the administration of the country. This however did not affect pre-existing executive
and legislative councils of the Lagos Colony
c. The document set up an advisory and deliberative council for the whole country comprised of
the Governor and thirty others nominated by him as members.
d. The document introduced the system of Indirect Rule into the country.
Defects/Shortcomings of the 1914 Amalgamation Document
The defects of this document were traceable to the imperfect political structure caused by the
political arrangement put in place then. These defects include:
i.
The choice of a single executive for the whole territory was not effective as there was in
reality no fusion/merging of the administration of both the Southern and Northern
Protectorates.
ii.
The document conferred enormous/gargantuan executive power in the hands of the
executive Governor. This resulted in autocracy and unchecked wide discretionary powers.
iii.
The document excluded Nigerians from both the formulation and implementation of the
constitution as the Executive and Legislative Councils were composed primarily of British
officials.
iv.
The political arrangement (the exclusion of Nigerians from both the executive and
legislative councils) was rejected by the few educated Nigerian as evidenced through their
formation of various pressure groups, e.g. the West African National Congress which met
regularly and expressed the position of West Africans under colonial rule. They demanded
the involvement of West Africans in the management of their affairs but was rejected by
the then Secretary of State. This led to the breakdown of the 1914 structure put in place by
virtue of the 1914 amalgamation.
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CLIFFORD’S CONSTITUTION
The Clifford Constitution came into existence in 1922 under the tenure of Sir Hugh Clifford as
the Governor of Nigeria. Two years after his assumption of office, there were pressures and agitations
from the West African National Congress to make reforms in the political and administrative system of
the country. These agitations eventually led to the introduction of this constitution in 1922 (Clifford
Constitution).
Features of the 1922 Constitution
The 1922 Constitution introduced a number of changes.
1. Introduction of the limited elective principle: one feature of the 1922 constitution was the
introduction of the limited elective principle or system which eventually engendered political
activities such as has never been since inception. According to Ikelegbe (2004), the introduction of
the elective principle for representation in the council was a novel feature of the constitution.
These political activities engendered by the constitution later metamorphosed into political parties.
It was under this constitution that the first electoral system emerged which brought about the first
elections in 1923. The first political party to be formed was the Nigeria National Democratic Party
(NNDP) established in 1923 and was led by the Late Herbert Macaulay. It is instructive to
mention that this political party won some legislative seats in the 1923, 1928 and 1933 elections
respectively. Consequently, the number of Nigerians participation in government increased.
Again, in 1938, the Nigerian Youth Movement was formed and was led by Chief Ernest Ikoli and
later metamorphosed into what was known as the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroon
(NCNC).
2. Provision for the Governor to be advised in his mode of governance by the Executive
Council: this is yet another key feature of this constitution. The constitution provided for the
Governor to be advised in his mode of governance by the Executive Council. It is however
apposite to state that the Governor was not under obligation to heed the advice of the Executive
Council. In other words, the Governor can jettison such advice. The Governor’s power is so
absolute that it is only subject to the supervision and control of the Secretary of State for Colonies.
3. The creation of enabling environment for the growth of journalism in the country: the 1922
Constitution also created the enabling environment for the growth of journalism in the country
with the emergence of the first group of Newspapers such as The West African Pilot (led by Dr.
Nnamdi Azikiwe), Daily Post, etc.
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4. The creation of Nigerian Legislative Council: one other innovation of the 1922 constitution was
the creation of Nigerian Legislative Council through the Nigerian (Legislative Council) Order in
Council. This Legislative Council was however dominated by British officials and they were
responsible to the Governor. The Council was composed of the Governor as the President, 226
official members, 23 ex-official members of the Council, 3 nominated members and 4 elected
members (out of the 4 elected members, 3 were from Lagos and 1 from Calabar), and not more
than 15 un-officials. Even though a Nigeria Legislative Council was created, it has no indigenous
representation and this gave rise to political agitations among Nigerian elites. There was also lack
of consultation with Nigerians for whom the constitution was intended. The consequence of the
Clifford’s Constitution was that there was increased political awareness among the middle class in
Nigeria.
Defects of the 1922 Constitution
Despite the fact that the 1922 constitution made a bold attempt at addressing salient issues
bedevilling Nigeria at the time, and being the first Constitution for a unified Nigeria, it however had
some shortcomings. These include:
1. Lack of indigenous representation in the Legislative Council: even though a Nigeria
Legislative Council was created by the 1922 Constitution, it has no indigenous representation and
this gave rise to political agitations among Nigerian elites.
2. Lack of Consultation: there was also lack of consultation with Nigerians for whom the
constitution was intended. This led to agitations among Nigerians.
3. Protests by Trade Unions: the political struggle was further intensified by economic struggle led
by the Trade Unions which acted as pressure groups on the colonial government. These groups
agitated for the restructuring of the country by the introduction of a more acceptable constitution.
A memorandum submitted in 1924 by the West African Student Union in London to the
Governor of Nigeria demanding a federal constitution for Nigeria yielded fruit and resulted in the
introduction of Richard Constitution in 1946.
Inegbedion and Odion (2013: 21) argued that notwithstanding the lack of indigenous
representation under the Clifford’s constitution, it took the credit of being the first constitution for a
unified Nigeria.
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THE RICHARD’S CONSTITUTION OF 1946
In an attempt to promote the unity of Nigeria, providing adequately for all the diverse elements
or groups that make up the country and ensuring greater participation by Nigerians in the discussion of
their own affairs, Sir Arthur Richard in 1946 made proposals which were aimed at satisfying these
purposes. This eventually resulted in the introduction of a new Constitution in 1946 known as
Richard’s Constitution. It was part of the need to satisfy these varied elements that make up the
country that laid the foundation for regionalism in Nigeria. These regions were the Northern, Eastern,
and Western Regions respectively, each having a House of Assembly with the North having a House
of Chiefs as well.
Features of the 1946 Richard’s Constitution
The 1946 Richard’s Constitution was aimed at promoting the unity of Nigeria, providing
adequately for the diverse elements which make up the country and securing greater participation by
Africans in the management of their own affairs. Some of the features of the constitution are as
follows:
1. Introduction of Regionalism: it was part of the need to satisfy these varied elements that make
up the country that laid the foundation for regionalism in Nigeria. These regions were the
Northern, Eastern, and Western Regions respectively. As part of the objective of securing greater
participation by Africans in the discussion of their own affairs led to the establishment of regional
assemblies in the various, each having a House of Assembly with the North having a House of
Chiefs as well. This was in addition to the Central Legislative Council.
2. Empowerment of the Legislative Council to legislate for the whole Country: the 1946
constitution made series of political innovations in the areas of legislative arm of government in
the sense that the constitution provided for an enlarged Legislative Council in Lagos with
nationwide legislative power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of Nigeria as
an entity. The Council was composed of the Governor as the President, 16 officials (among whom
13 were ex-officio and 3 were nominated), 4 unofficial members directly elected for
municipalities of Lagos and Calabar and 28 un-official members (24 of them were based on
nomination while 4 were elected).
3. The establishment of Legislative and Executive Councils for each of the then three Regions:
in an attempt to decentralizing the administration of the country, the constitution established
Legislative and Executive Councils for each of the then three Regions of the North, East and West
respectively. These Councils were granted deliberative and advisory powers but was however not
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conferred with legislative powers. In effect, they are only allowed to consider or comment on
matters referred to them by the Government and in any legislative proposal to be introduced in the
Legislative Council which will be applicable to the province concerned. In the North, the House of
Chiefs and second class Chiefs symbolized their own Legislative Council.
4. Indigenous representative in the Executive Council in Lagos: under this constitution, the
Executive Council in Lagos had for the first time indigenous representative in the person of Sir
Adeyemo Alakija and Mr. S.B. Rhodes. It is noteworthy that under this constitution there emerged
a sort of representative government and regionalism, even though the regional Houses of
Assembly were only advisory and not legislative by any means. Thus, there were still more
reasons for the Nationalists to press for participation by Nigerians in their affairs.
5. Introduction of Governor’s Veto Powers: another feature of the constitution was the
introduction of the governor’s veto powers, otherwise known as reserved powers which the British
authorities saw as an indispensable corollary to an unofficial majority. Although, this was resented
by the nationalists.
6. Unified Legislative Authority: for one thing, it was under the Richard’s Constitution that the
whole country, for the first time had one legislative authority. It was the constitution that for the
first time linked native authorities to the Central Legislative Council (Ola & Imhanlahimi: 2010:
87).
Defects of the 1946 Constitution
In spite of the advances made by the 1946 constitution, there were lots of deficiencies inherent in
the constitution. These include:
1. Lack of adequate consultation: like its predecessors, it failed to meet the expectations of
Nigerians as it was formulated with little or no consultations with Nigerians whom it was
intended.
2. British domination: as submitted by Awolowo in his 1947 publication “Path to Nigerian
Freedom” the Executive and the Legislative Councils at the Central level under this constitution
were largely dominated by British officials to the exclusion of Nigerians who were desirous of
managing their own affairs. Consequently, the constitution was rejected by nationalists such as Dr.
Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Mr. H.O. Davis, etc.
The 1946 Constitution failed following the activities of the National Council of Nigeria and
Cameroon (NCNC) which at the time was the predominant political party. A memorandum was filed
by NCNC to the Governor where the deficiencies inherent in the Constitution were revealed and were
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vehemently condemned. The party (NCNC) engaged on series of enlightenment tours and protests to
register their displeasure with the provisions of the constitution. This led to the withdrawal of this
constitution and subsequently the commencement of the preparation for a new constitution.
THE MACPHERSON’S CONSTITUTION OF 1951
Following the failure of the 1946 Richard’s Constitution which was due largely to the nonconsultation with the people of Nigeria before introducing his constitution, his successor, Sir John
Macpherson held extensive consultation with the people from 1949 before introducing a new
constitution. The 1951 Constitution marked a new phase in Nigeria constitutional history. It marked
the beginning of active participation of Nigerians in the formulation of constitution under which they
were to be governed. As opposed to the earlier practice, during this phase, constitutional drafting
became a joint effort of the British officials and Nigerian politicians.
The constitution was a product of findings from the administration of questionnaires on the
feelings, wishes and aspirations of the people. Such findings were discussed at the village and district
meetings, followed by provincial and divisional conferences at the regional levels. The process which
started in 1949 lasted till 1950 and climax with the approval of the draft constitution in 1951.
Features of the 1951 Constitution
Some of the identifiable features of the 1951 Macpherson Constitution are discussed below:
1. Increased participation of Nigerians in the governance of their affairs: under this constitution,
Nigerians participation in the governance of their affairs was increased. To ensure this, the
advisory and the deliberative councils created under the Richard’s Constitution were increased.
Under this constitution, these councils acquired independent/autonomous legislative powers with
certain defined areas as was reflected in the then Third Schedule to the Constitution. The councils
were also empowered to legislate on any other matter declared by any law of the then national
assembly. Under the constitution, the House of representatives now consisted of the President, 6
official members, 136 unofficial members selected by the Regional Assemblies from among their
own members, 6 special members nominated by the Governor to represent the interest of
communities which were not otherwise adequately represented.
2. The formalization of the division of the country into three regions: the division of the country
into three regions (i.e. regionalism) created by the 1946 Richard’s Constitution became formalized
under this constitution, and it seemed to re-emphasize the principles of greater autonomy and the
retention of the unity of the country. The implication of this was that the regions ceased to be mere
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administrative units and they became political entities. Each of them was vested with both
executive and legislative power with regard to specific areas of the country.
3. The Central and Regional Legislative Houses became composed of elected majority of
Nigerians: for the first time, both the central and regional legislative houses which hitherto were
dominated by British officials to the exclusion of Nigerians became composed of not only elected
majority but also involvement of Nigerians in the management of their own affairs. Consequently,
the autocratic rule of the Governor and his selected officials was replaced with the rule of elective
representation as the regional and central executive councils became instruments of policy. In
effect, a House of Representatives with 148 members replaced the Legislative Council and the
Governor exercised legislative powers with the advice and consent of the House of
Representative.
4. The Replacement of the Executive Council by a Council of Ministers: the Executive Council
was replaced by a Council of Ministers which consisted of the Governor, 6 official members, 12
ministers (4 from each region, appointed on the nomination of the Lieutenant Governor of the
region, and with the approval of the Regional Legislature). The Council of Ministers was a policymaking body but it was not a cabinet in the true sense, because the ministers owed allegiance
mainly to their regions and they lacked executive control over their own departments, since the
Governor still controlled the public service.
5. The Introduction of a Unitary System of Government: it has been argued that under the 1951
Constitution, Nigeria was essentially a unitary state with specific powers devolving from the
centre to the regions (Ikelegbe: 2004; 68).
6. Establishment of Bicameral Legislature: the 1951 Macpherson’s Constitution established
bicameral legislatures; a House of Chiefs and Hose of Assembly for the Northern and Western
regions, and a unicameral House of Assembly for the Eastern region. While the House of
Representatives legislated on all subjects, the regional legislatures were limited to specified
subjects.
7. Establishment of a Public Service Commission: the 1951 Macpherson’s Constitution
established a public service commission to advice the Governor on any question relating to the
appointment or dismissal of public officers and any other matter affecting the public service.
The most significant effect of this constitution according to Justus A. Sokefun in his book
entitled “Issues in Constitutional Law and Practices in Nigeria” is that it set pace for regionalism,
federalism and democracy.
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Defects of the 1951 Constitution
The political autonomy granted to the regions created a basis for regional and ethnic rivalry
based primarily on the personal desires of each regional leader. This eventually led to regional
conflicts between the period of 1951 and 1953 to the detriment of the entire country. This led to the
failure of this constitution and subsequently the setting for the introduction of another constitution
which came to be known as the Lyttleton Constitution of 1954.
THE LYTTLETON CONSTITUTION OF 1954
Following the failure of the 1951 constitution which was partly as a result of regional conflict,
there was then the need to advance a truly federal constitution. Consequently, series of constitutional
conferences were held by the elected Nigerian nationalists and the British officials. The aim of these
conferences was to evolve an ideal constitution. For instance, the first constitutional conference was
held in London in 1953 and another conference was held in Lagos in 1954 where agreements and
compromises were reached between the representatives of the three major political parties on one hand
and the then Secretary of State for the Colonies on the other hand. It is these agreements that formed
the basis of the Lyttleton Constitution of 1954 named after Sir Oliver Lyttleton.
Features of the 1954 Constitution
The key features of the 1954 constitution are discussed below:
1.
Federalism: Ola & Imhanlahimi (2010) maintained that the 1954 Lyttleton Constitution was the
first genuine federal constitution for Nigeria. Under this constitution, the regional legislatures
were given a high degree of legislative autonomy, being able to make laws on subjects included in
the regional list and in the concurrent list (in which a federal law could override a regional law). as
a matter of fact, under this constitution, Nigeria became a federation of five parts which include
the Northern Region, Western Region, Eastern Region, Southern Cameroon and the Federal
Territory of Lagos. The new region of the Southern Cameroon was excised from the Eastern
Region to become a separate region having the same transferred (devolved) authority even though
it was not granted ministerial responsibility until 1958. Similarly, the federal territory which was
cut out from the then Western Region symbolized the seat of power. The other three regions
(North, East and West respectively) were granted full political status, while full legislative and
executive powers were constitutionally transferred to these regions, only that there were some
restrictions on areas that fell with the ambit of the exclusive legislative list which only the Central
Legislative Council can legislate.
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2.
Decentralization of Governmental Powers: the 1954 Lyttleton Constitution made radical
changes not only as regard the structure of the emerging Nigeria Federalism, but also in the
decentralization of legislative, executive and judicial power in the country. The Constitution
greatly enhanced the autonomy of the regions, and for the first time introduced a semblance of
responsible government in the regions and at the centre by giving regional and federal ministers
executive control over government departments. The Governor-General and the Regional
Governors however retained control of the public service.
3.
Expansion of Legislative Powers: the exercise of legislative powers by the central legislature and
the regional legislature on item on the concurrent list characterised the federal structure of
government practiced under the new political arrangement. On subjects in the concurrent list, both
the federal and regional legislatures could make laws, with the proviso that federal law could
override regional law. This provision has been retained in the subsequent constitution even up to
the current 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. For example, the inconsistency rule is contained in
section 1(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended which
provides that If any other law is inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution, this
Constitution shall prevail, and that other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void. The
effect of this was the attainment of internal self independence by the Eastern and Western Regions
in 1957 and the Northern Region in 1959. This time, there was more participation by Nigerians.
4.
Direct System of Election: for the first time in Nigeria, direct elections were held to the Federal
House of Representatives unlike the Macpherson’s House of Representatives which bore electoral
relationship to the Regional Assemblies. The Federal House was composed of 184 seats as
follows: Northern Region – 92 seats, Western Region – 42 seats, Eastern Region – 42 seats,
Southern Cameroons – 6 seats, Lagos – 2 seats. The direct system of election which was
introduced at that material point in time increased the franchise of Nigerians who were desirous of
participating in the evolving democracy.
5.
Withdrawal of British Officials from the regional Executive Council: away from the
legislature, the distribution of executive powers under the new political arrangement ensured that
the British officials were withdrawn from the Regional Executive Councils while Nigerians were
then elected into the Councils. The implication of this is that Nigerians then acquired executive
powers in addition to their legislative powers. This again further increased the chances of
Nigerians self-independence. As at 1958, the Western Region Parliament was completely without
British officials.
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6.
The Creation of posts of Prime Ministers in each Region: the creation of the post of Prime
Minister in each region was novelty, even though at the centre, there still was no provision fot the
post of Prime Minister.
7.
The Creation of the Federal Supreme Court as the Apex Court in the Country: this is yet
another important achievement of this constitution. The constitution provides for the devolution of
judicial powers with the creation of the Federal Supreme Court as the apex court in the country,
while a High Court was established in the federal territory of Lagos as well as the Regions. There
was however no autonomy in this area as judges of the Federal Supreme Courts were appointed by
the Governor – General in accordance with instructions from the Secretary of State for the
Colonies. Appeals were still made to the Privy Council in England as the then Federal Supreme
Court in Nigeria was subservient to it.
Defect of the Constitution
The constitution, it has been argued that it only introduced a measure of responsible
government as both the Executive and the Legislative Councils were comprised of elected majority.
The individual or collective responsibility of the Executive Council to the Legislative Council was still
almost non-existence. In other words, the executive was not responsible to the legislature either
individually or collectively.
In addition to the above, a large proportion of the Regional Executive Council and the Central
Council of Ministers still contain a large number of official members who were neither in any way
responsible to the legislature for their membership of the Executive Council nor for the conduct of
their departments or other responsibility. This is supposed to be the distinguishing feature of
parliamentary democracy
This constitution of 1954 was no doubt very plausible and would have stand the test of time,
but for the increasing desire of Nigerians for full independence which was further heightened with the
attainment of independence by Gold Coast in 1957.
Consequently, between 1958 and 1959, there was a major constitutional Conference in London
during which the independence constitution was proposed. At this time, the Eastern and the Western
Regions have attained self-government and Nigeria had her first Prime Minister in the person of Sir
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.
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THE PRE-INDEPENDENCE CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCES
Between 1957 and 1958, conferences otherwise known as pre-independence conferences were
held in London and were attended by political figures from the three regions of Nigeria, such as
Nnamdi Azikiwe from the Eastern Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo from the Western Region, and
Ahmadu Below from the Northern Region. The representatives of the British government included the
Governor – General, three Regional Governors, the High Commissioner for Southern Cameroon, two
Federal Ministers, and the Leader of the Federal House of Assembly.
The essence of the conferences was to submit a joint memorandum demanding that Nigeria be
granted independence in 1959. However, the colonial government had proposed 1960 as the terminal
date for colonial rule in Nigeria. The conferences however succeeded in laying down important
structures to announce the country into independence in 1960.
The following agreements were reached in the course of the conferences, viz:
i.
A proposal that the Eastern and Western Regions should become self governing at an early date
to wit (precisely/specifically) 1957 and 1958 respectively was adopted, while that of the
Northern region was fixed for March 15th 1959.
ii.
It was also agreed that the Governor should cease to preside over the Executive Councils;
nonetheless they would be informed of Executive Councils’ decisions.
iii.
It was agreed that a Regional Governor be appointed by the Crown on the advice of the British
Governor.
iv.
That a Regional Governor in his discretion should appoint the person whom he felt command a
majority in the House of Assembly in the state as a Premier who will preside over their
Executive Councils. And that he (the Governor) should on the recommendation of the Premier
appoint other Ministers and assign specific responsibilities to them.
v.
There should be dual control of a centralized police force,
vi.
The requirement for becoming a Nigeria citizen was equally discussed and agreed upon,
vii.
It was agreed that there should be establishment of the council of the prerogative of mercy,
viii.
Provisions in the constitution on the creation of more regions, and
ix.
The mode of amending the constitution was discussed and agreed upon.
x.
Finally, that the office of the Prime Minister of the Federation should be established and that the
Governor should appoint on the recommendation of the Prime Minister the person whom he
thinks command the majority in the House of Representatives as the Premier.
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The aim of the above was to decentralize the federal powers in line with the Federal structure of
government prescribed by the 1954 Constitution which was designed to suit Nigerians’ desire for
participation in Government.
In 1958, a constitutional conference otherwise known as Lancaster Constitutional Conference
was convened to decide the actual date for Nigerians independence and the contents of the
Independence Constitution.
The significance of the 1958 Constitutional Conference
One major achievements of the 1958 constitutional conference was the resolution that a list of
fundamental human rights should be incorporated into the constitution to ensure that the rights of
Nigerians are protected against arbitrary abuse by the government. Also, Minorities Commissions were
setup to allay the fears by minorities of domination by the major ethnic groups. During the 1958
Constitutional Conference, the Raisman Fiscal Commission was inaugurated to evolve formula for
revenue allocation inter alia.
THE INDEPENDENCE CONSTITUTION OF 1960
Nigeria became a self-governing state in October 1st 1960. The 1957 and 1958 Conferences
formed the basis of the Independence Constitution of 1960. The Independence Constitution was a
direct product of the 1957/1958 Constitutional Conferences. In the 1960 pre-independence
Conference, no other major decision was reached other than the ratification of previous decisions of
the 1957/1958 conferences. Under the 1960 constitution, the British Parliament granted independence
to Nigeria with effect from October 1st 1960. The effect of this on the nation was that the country
attained full responsible status within the Commonwealth.
Consequently, both legislative and executive powers were completely transferred to Nigeria by
the British Parliament. All the vestiges/remainders of the existing overriding powers of the British
parliament to legislate for Nigeria were removed. In effect, there was both internal and external
independence of the country.
The 1960 Constitution bore a semblance to the 1954 Constitution except that there were some
basic exceptions as follows:
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Features of the 1960 Independence Constitution
The 1960 Constitution bore a semblance to the 1954 Constitution except that there were some
basic exceptions as follows:
1. The Governor – General became Heads of State: under the independence Constitution, the
Governor–General representing the Queen Her majesty became a constitutional Head of State and
he acted duly on the advice of his ministers. The same applied to the Governors of the regions.
2. Appointment of Judges: judges of the Federal Supreme Court and the High Courts were to be
appointed on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission consisting of judges, and their
dismissal could only be effected by a recommendation of a tribunal of judges after confirmation
by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
3. Citizenship: under the 1960 Independence Constitution, provision was made for citizenship, and
4. Amendment: the 1960 Independence Constitution provided for the first time procedures for
amendment of the constitution. Subsequent constitutions have maintained this provision. For
example, section 9 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended provides for
the mode of altering the provisions of the constitution.
Federal system was completed by the adoption of a constitution for each of the three Regions.
For ease of administration, powers were divided between the federal and three regional governments.
There was exclusive list placed exclusively under the jurisdiction of the federal government and the
concurrent list placed under the federal and regional government.
It is apposite to state that the independence constitution maintained the characteristic features
of a federal system. The regions have residual powers. That is, matters not mentioned in either list
(exclusive and concurrent). In effect, all other items that did not feature in both the exclusive and the
concurrent list were regarded as being under the jurisdiction of the regional government, though any
law made by the regional government which was inconsistent with that made by the federal
government became null and void to the extent of its inconsistency. Both the central and regional
government operated the bicameral “Westminster Model” type of parliamentary government.
Even though Nigeria gained independence from the British government on October 1st 1960,
the independence can be described as a “flag and file” independence. The following reasons
substantiate this:
a. The executive authority of the federation was still vested in her Queen the Majesty, even though it
was exercised on her behalf by the Governor – General.
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b. The Governor – General was empowered to appoint the Council of Ministers which was
composed of ministers collectively responsible for any advice given to the Governor – General.
c. With respect to the regions, the executive powers of the regions were still vested with her Queen
the Majesty even though such powers were exercised on her behalf by the Governors of the
Region.
d. Judicial appeal still lied at the Privy Council.
THE REPUBLICAN CONSTITUTION OF 1963
The independence constitution of 1960 laid the foundation for Nigeria emergence as an
independence nation. However, there were some aspects of the country that were still under the
authority of the colonial government. For instance, the appointment of the Governor – General as well
as the Governors of the Regions was still the sole responsibility of her Queen the Majesty.
Following the adoption of proposals for republican status, the 1963 Republican Constitution
came into being. Under this constitution, all the vestiges of colonialism were removed.
According to Elias, T.O., in his 1969 publication “Nigeria: Development of its Laws and
Constitution”, the 1963 Republican Constitution can be described as Nigeria first autochthonous
(indigenous or local) constitution. This is because, the constitution was formulated by Nigerians and it
reflected the ideals and values of Nigerians.
Abiola J.O. and Professor B.O. Nwabueze have however questioned the autochthonous claim
of the constitution. Abiola argued that the legitimate source of the constitution is not entirely local
since its legal validity is traceable to section 4 and 5 of the 1960 constitution. Consequently, the legal
chain between the 1960 independence constitution and the 1963 republican constitution was not
entirely broken.
On the part of Professor B.O. Nwabueze, he argued in his book “Constitutional History of
Nigerian”, that since the 1963 constitution was enacted by parliament by virtue of powers derived
from the pre-existing imperial constitution, the 1963 constitution cannot be said to be fully
autochthonous.
Professor N.A. Inegbedion & J.O. Odion in their book “Constitutional Law in Nigeria” (2nd
ed.) submitted that while it may be difficult to entirely divorce the 1963 republican constitution from
the British legacy, it is however glaring that the constitution was conceived, formulated and adopted
by Nigerians themselves with little or no input from the British officials.
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The republican status no doubt is a sign of autonomy of the constitution. This was further
confirmed with respect to the 1979 constitution by Udo Udoma JSC in the case of Nafiu Rabiu v. A.G.
of Kano State (1980) 8-11, S.C. 130 at 142.
Key Features of the 1963 Republican constitution
The following features of the 1963 Republican Constitution are discussed below:
1. Republican Status: following the adoption of the 1963 Republican Constitution, Nigeria became
a Republic on 1st of October 1963
2. Replacement of Governor-General with a President as the Head of State: following the
attainment of a republican status in 1963, the office of the President was created, a Nigerian who
automatically replaced the Governor General who hitherto was a representative of the British
authority. The Head of State was vested with the Federal Executive Power. In effect, all powers
that hitherto belonged to the Monarch were transferred to the President and Regional Governors.
3. Nigerians Allegiance shifted to the Federal Republic of Nigeria: every Nigerian was by the
republican status owed his allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria as against the initial
British Crown.
4. Appeals to the Privy Council Ceased: under this constitution, the Chief Judges of the Regions
ceased to be judges of the Supreme Court while appeals to the Privy Council ceased. Supreme
Court became the highest court of appeal in the land. The fundamental rights provisions in the
1960 independence constitution were retained in the Republican Constitution. The executive arm
of government under this constitution was strengthened even though the system of government
was still that of the parliamentary model.
5. Creation of a single Police Force: under this constitution, a single police force was also
introduced as against the initial regional police force.
6. Creation of the Mid-Western Region: yet another important and significant change made by this
constitution was the creation of the Mid-Western Region in 1963.
The sporadic and in some cases near fatal political upheavals, cataclysms, debacles,
catastrophes, and fiascos witnessed in this era necessitated the intervention of the military in Nigeria
politics in 1966. The January 15th 1966 Coup d’état marked the end of the first republic in Nigeria
which started in 1963.
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POST – INDEPENDENCE CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS (1966 – 1999)
CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT UNDER THE MILITARY
The January 15th 1966 Military Coup d’état marked the beginning of the second republic in
Nigeria. There is the general assumption that the military does not indeed nurture constitution.
One interesting feature of constitutional development under the military era (1966-1979) was
that certain aspects of the constitution were completely repealed, some suspended, and others modified
where necessary by a special legislation called the Decree.
THE 1979 CONSTITUTION
On the 13th of February 1976, a Military Coup d’état occurred which ushered in the
Government of General Olusegun Obasanjo. Upon his assumption in office as the Military Head of
State, General Olusegun Obasanjo began to work toward a successful transition to civil rule.
Since it is a convention that a civilian government must operate with a constitution, it became
therefore necessary to evolve a new constitution. In order to achieve this, a Constitutional Drafting
Committee was set up in September 1976 charged with the responsibility of producing a draft
constitution. The term of reference for the Constitutional Drafting Committee included among other
things:
a. A federal system of government based on democracy and rule of law and which guarantees
fundamental rights
b. Establishment of genuine and truly national political parties.
c. An Executive Presidential system of government, and
d. An independent judiciary.
A constituent Assembly was inaugurated in 1977 to deliberate upon the report of the CDC. The
Assembly comprised of about 400 elected and nominated members representing various interest
groups and associations in Nigeria. The proceedings at the Constituent Assembly were to be
harmonised by twenty members from the Supreme Military Council.
The Constituent Assembly upon completion of its deliberations and proposals presented same
to the Supreme Military Council for approval. Consequently, the 1979 constitution was adopted. The
approval took the form of a Decree.
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More specifically, the supposed approval came with the promulgation of the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria (Enactment) Decree No. 25 of 1978 which marked the bulk of the 1979
Constitution. The Constitutional Drafting Committee proposed for the country a federal structure of
government and a Presidential system of government.
It is instructive to note that the formation of political parties and the subsequent elections that
heralded the Second republic were done in conformity with the provisions of the constitution.
Consequently, on the 1st of October 1979, the Military Administration handed over political power to
the new Executive President. Thus, October 1st became the effective date of the 1979 constitution.
Significant Features of the 1979 Constitution
The 1979 Constitution was patterned along the model of the American Constitution. Under the
1979 Constitution, the three organs of government (the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary)
were separated and their powers were enumerated in section 4, 5, and 6, respectively of the 1979
Constitution.
The 1979 Constitution was made a supreme above all other laws and organs of government. In
an attempt to discourage Military Coup d’état which had grossly distorted the country’s constitutional
growth, the constitution specifically in section 1(2) of the 1979 Constitution declared it an illegality for
any person or group of persons to attempt to take over the reins of government other than by an
electoral process. However, the utility of this provision is still very questionable as the civil rule which
started in 1979 and the constitution was again truncated in 1983 by another military coup d’état.
It is imperative to state that the 1979 Constitution was a rigid one as it was not amendable by a
simple legislative process as provided in section 9(2) of the 1979 Constitution.
The 1979 Constitution provides for the Fundamental Objective and Directive Principles of
State Policy by virtue of Chapter II of the 1979 Constitution. In essence, this chapter of the
constitution aptly articulated the political objectives, economic objectives, as well as the social
objectives of the State towards the citizens. It is important to state that these provisions were however
not justiciable.
Furthermore, the 1979 Constitution addressed the issue of naturalization and adequacy
provisions, the power of the Head of State to deprive certain categories of persons their citizenship and
the conferment of rights on supposed illegitimate children as well as the question of State Citizenship.
The constitution also provides for a Presidential System of Governance for the country.
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Constitutional Development after the 1983 Military Intervention
After about four years of civil rule (1st Oct. 1979 – 3rd Dec. 1983), the military again overthrew
the civilian government of Shehu Shagari in coup d’état which occurred on 3rd of December 1983. The
1983 coup ushered in the regime of General Mohammadu Buhari and General Tunde Idiagbon. In
effect, the operation of the 1979 constitution was brought to an end. The democratic structures put in
place by the 1979 constitution were dismantled. The then Military Regime promulgated the
Constitution (Suspension and Modification) Decree No. 1 of the 1984 which was impari materia (i.e.
on the same subject) with the Decree No. 1 of 1966.
Section 1(1) and (3) of the 1979 Constitution which made the constitution supreme were
modified to the extent that Decree No. 1 of 1984 prevailed over the unsuspended sections of the 1979
constitution.
Under this regime, several draconian Decrees were promulgated. Some of the Decree includes:
i.
State Security (Detention of Persons) Decree No. 2 of 1984
ii.
Special Tribunal (Miscellaneous Offences) Decree No. 20 of 1984
iii.
Public Officers (Protection against False Accusation) Decree No. 4 of 1984
iv.
Public Officers (Special Provisions) Decree No. 17 of 1984.
One consistent feature of Military legislation in this period was the retroactive nature of the
Decree they promulgated. Ideally, no person should be punished for an act which does not constitute
an offence at the time it was committed. The Military under this era tried to justify their retroactive law
with the excuse that the dismissed politicians deserved to be punished for their condemnable acts or
conducts. Military government is believed to be a corrective government, as such; retroactive
legislation is considered an authentic or veritable instrument for bringing to book erring members of
the previous administration.
Another significant feature of military legislation in this era was the increase ouster clauses in
the Decrees which grossly diminished the jurisdiction of the regular courts of the land. Ouster clauses
refer to provisions in a statute that take away or purport to take away the jurisdiction of a competent
court of law. The military government tried to retain power by using ouster clauses to prevent the court
from questioning the legitimacy or otherwise of the government in power vis-a-vis the method through
which it came into power, as well as the laws they make. It is instructive to note that the courts have in
some cases resisted these ouster clauses.
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In an attempt at laying the foundation for Nigeria Third Republic, a transition programme was
launched in 1987 under General Ibrahim Babangida who was then the Military Head of State in
Nigeria. As part of the effort to hand over power to civilian government, the ban on partisan politics by
the military administration was lifted by General Ibrahim Babangida. Consequently, elections into the
local government level on the zero party bases were held.
In 1991, elections into the state executive and legislative arm of government as well as the
National Assembly were held under the auspices of National Electoral Commission (NEC). On the 12th
of June 1993, an election into the office of the President was conducted. The election which was
adjudged free and fair was however annulled midway into the proclamation of the election result by
the National Electoral Commission by the military regime at that time by the instrumentality of
Decrees. Following the annulment of the June 12th election, the military in accordance with Decree No.
61 of 1993 inaugurated an Interim National Government on the 26th of August 1993 with Chief Ernest
Shonekan as the Head of Government. On 17th of November 1993, that is, barely three months into the
regime of Ernest Shonekan, the military again struck in a military coup d’état which ushered in the
regime of late General Sani Abacha. However, in 1994, the military junta made attempts at laying a
foundation for the return to Democratic Government by the inauguration of Constitutional Conference
Deliberation. The conference was composed of 273 elected members, 94 nominees and three delegates
for each state and one for the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. One delegate each was nominated to
represent each of the special interests like the Nigeria Labour Congress, Nigeria Union of Teachers,
etc. the total was 380 delegates.
The deliberations of the conference revolved around fundamental issues like rotational
presidency, the plausibility of the Federal structure of Government as against a Confederal structure.
The report of the constitutional conference was to be later “fine tuned” by the military junta and
purported as the proposed 1998 constitution of Nigeria that was to usher in the Fourth Republic.
To the amazement of Nigerians, the whole transition programme became an act geared toward
self-succession by the same Military Head of State at that time. The plan for self-succession by the
Abacha regime was however aborted following his sudden demise on the 9 th of June 1998. Consequent
upon the death of the Head of State (General Sani Abacha), in 1998, General Abdusalam Abubakar
assumed power. As part of the plan to relinquish power to a democratically elected government, in
1999, General Abdusalam Abubakar released the programme for transition to civil rule. In line with
this revised transition programmes, elections were conducted into the local government councils, state
and national legislatures and finally, elections into the State Executive Governments.
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On the 27th of February 1999, the presidential elections were held which saw the emergence of
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as the new elected president of Nigeria. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was
sworn in as the democratically elected president of Nigeria on the 29th of May 1999 and power was
handed over to him by the then incumbent Head of State (General Abdusalam Abubakar).
This transition programme which had spanned a period of about twelve years was finally
concluded. With the enactment of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Promulgation)
Decree of 1999, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria became operative.
Consequently, a new stage for a peep into the future of Nigeria’s Constitutional Development was set.
Significance of the 1999 Constitution
One significant of the 1999 Constitution over the previous ones was that for the first time, there
was a constitutional provision on the environment. Specifically, Section 20 of the 1999 CFRN provides
as follows: “the State shall protect and improve the environment and safeguard the water, air and land,
forest and wild life of Nigeria”. This provision was however not justiceable. This was because it fell
under Chapter II which is on Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy.
Another innovation is contained in section 147(3) of the 1999 CFRN where the president is
mandated to appoint at least one Minister from each State who shall be an indigene of such State. In
effect, this section gives sanction to ‘even and equitable’ spread of national political offices.
Also section 149 of the 1999 CFRN made it mandatory for Minister to declare his assets and
liabilities as prescribed in the constitution and to take and subscribe the Oath of Allegiance and the
oath of office before assumption of duties of his office.
Finally, the constitution is not structurally different from the 1979 constitution. It adopted the
position of president who is a chief Executive, Head of Government and Commander in Chief of the
Armed Forces of the federation.
It must be admitted that no constitution is completed adequate and flawless. Hence, there is the
need to amend a constitution as occasion and circumstances demand.
Practice Question
Briefly highlight for defects/criticisms of the 1922 Clifford’s Constitution – (Question 5: 2015/2016
Session).
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NATIONALISM AND DECOLONIZATION
Introduction
Nigerian nationalism asserts that Nigerians are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of
Nigerians. Nigerian nationalism is a territorial nationalism, emphasizing a cultural connection of the
people to the land — in particular the Niger and Benue rivers. It first emerged in the 1920s under the
influence of Herbert Macaulay who is considered the founder of Nigerian nationalism. It was founded
because of the belief in the necessity for the people living in the British colony of Nigeria of multiple
backgrounds to unite as one people in order to be able to resist colonialism. The Nigerian nationalists'
goal of achieving an independent sovereign state of Nigeria was achieved in 1960 when Nigeria
declared its independence and British colonial rule ended. Nigeria's government has sought to unify
the various peoples and regions of Nigeria since the country's independence in 1960.
Nationalism Defined
Nationalism refers to the consciousness of belonging to an existing or desired nation and the
sentiments and activities to secure and maintain its self governance and welfare. Generally speaking,
nationalism means devotion to the nation. It is an emotional force that expresses the feelings of the
people in a unified manner. The nation which is the object of nationalist feelings may be a de facto
nation or just a territorial unit which is yet to be fashioned into a nation. Nationalism as a territorial
unit is directed towards the establishment of nation and its self-governance. Nigerian nationalism
prior to 1960 exemplifies this category of nationalism.
History of Nationalism
Herbert Macaulay became a very public figure in Nigeria, and on June 24, 1923, he founded the
Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), the first Nigerian political party. The NNDP won all the
seats in the elections of 1923, 1928 and 1933. In the 1930s, Macaulay took part in organizing Nigerian
nationalist militant attacks on the British colonial government in Nigeria.
The Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) founded in 1933 by Professor Eyo Ita was joined in 1936
by Nnamdi Azikiwe that sought support from all Nigerians regardless of cultural background, and
quickly grew to be a powerful political movement. In 1944, Macaulay and NYM leader Azikiwe
agreed to form the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) (a part of Cameroon was
incorporated into the British colony of Nigeria). Azikiwe increasingly became the dominant Nigerian
nationalist leader, he supported pan-Africanism and a pan-Nigerian based nationalist movement.
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Nigerian nationalism radicalized and grew in popularity and power in the post-World War II
period when Nigeria faced undesirable political and economic conditions under British rule. The most
prominent agitators for nationalism were Nigerian ex-soldiers who were veterans of World War II who
had fought alongside British forces in the Middle East, Morocco, and Burma; another important
movement that aided nationalism were trade union leaders. In 1945 a national general strike was
organized by Michael Imoudu who along with order trade union figures became prominent
nationalists.
In 1960, Nigeria became an independent country. Azikiwe became the first President of Nigeria.
However ethnic tensions and power struggles soon emerged and became a crisis in 1966 when
Nigerian military officers of Igbo descent overthrow the democratically elected government of Tafawa
Balewa who along with the Northern Premier Ahmadu Bello and others were subsequently
assassinated. The killing of Northern politicians enraged Northerners resulting in violence against the
Igbo by northerners. The military government sought to end the ethnic unrest by dismantling the
federal system of government and replacing it with a unitary system of government, however this
reform was short-lived as the government was overthrown in another coup by Lieutenant Colonel
Yakubu Gowon.
By 1967, many Igbos had lost faith in Nigerian nationalism and in May of that year, Igbo
separatists formed the Republic of Biafra that demanded secession from Nigeria. The Biafran crisis
was the most serious threat to the Nigerian unity since Nigeria became independent in 1960, as other
ethnic groups threatened that they too would also seek secession should Biafra successfully secede.
Nigeria responded to the separatist threat with a military campaign against the Biafran government,
resulting in the Nigerian Civil War from 1967 to 1970.
Factors that foster the Growth of Nationalism and Decolonization in Nigeria
The factors that foster the growth of nationalism and decolonization in Nigeria were both internal and
external. Some of these factors include:
1. Accumulated Grievances: no one, not even the most far-sighted, ever thought that British rule
would last for only sixty years. In the early years of colonial rule, the idea of an independent
Nigeria within so short a time would have sounded ridiculous. "The Whiteman has come to stay as
long as men lived," boasted an official in 1919. Nevertheless, nationalism started early, instigated
by the need to respond to conquest and new policies. Nationalism in the early years was expressed
mainly as a feeling of national consciousness and awareness that Africans were members of one
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race. Colonial policies generated discontent among the people, especially the elite who originally
demanded reforms, and later on, independence. Among the issues that displeased the people were
racism and the damage to traditional values during European rule. Nigerians in the civil service
complained of racial discrimination in appointments and promotions. The aspiring ones among
them were envious of the status and privileges enjoyed by white officials. Unemployment and
discrimination generated discontentment with colonial rule and enabled nationalist leaders to enjoy
a mass followers. Economically, the people of the colonised territories were subjected to forced
labour to work on the colonial plantations to provide cheap labour and any African who resisted
was punished heavily. Imposition of heavy taxes to initiate money economy taxes like hut tax, poll
tax, matiti tax were introduced as to force the indigenous to work in the plantation. There were
colonial injustice and oppression like long working hours, social abuses and separation of men from
their families. Nnamdi Azikiwe himself experienced the dramatic changes of the colonial period. As
a young boy, he grew up in an urban, heterogeneous setting. He disliked the treatment of his father
in the Nigerian Regiment and of himself as a clerk from 1923 to 1925. He struggled to reach the
United States where he attended a predominantly black college as a poor student and observed
racial discrimination and protests by African-American organizations. Even with two degrees, he
could not secure a civil service job in his own country and had to go to the Gold Coast (now Ghana)
to establish the Accra Morning Post and publish his first book in 1937. All these contributed to the
growth of nationalism and the process of decolonization in Nigeria.
2. Western education: western education contributed to the growth of nationalist activities. With
cities acting as centres of interaction and acculturation, urbanization contributed to the
development of national feelings. Nigerians who studied overseas got to recognise that the British
were only exploiting Nigerian and that such rules were being resisted and terminated in some
other countries. These Nigerian came home and actively worked for nationalist causes. The spread
of Western education, especially in the South, created a population segment that could read and
write and follow the discourse on nationalism and development. Education produced leaders with
new ideas, visions, and ambitions.
3. The Mass Media: the emergence of irrepressible nationalist newspapers such as Lagos News of
Herbert Macaulay, The West African Pilot and The Comet of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, and the Daily
Service of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and S.I. Akintola played a big role in spreading awareness
among the populace in both rural and urban areas. These were growing local media devoted space
to nationalist issues, raising consciousness to a high level in editorials and special columns
devoted to anti-colonial issues. One of the early heroes in this area was John Payne Jackson,
originally a Liberian, who lived in Lagos from 1890 to 1918. His newspaper, the Lagos Weekly
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Record, supported demands for reforms and called for unity among Nigerians to fight the British.
The press had an ally among the Nigerian students abroad who established organizations to unite
and protest against colonial rule.
4. The Activities of Nigerian Students Abroad: the activities of Nigerians who were studying in
various tertiary institutions in overseas contributed in no small measure to the growth of
nationalism in Nigeria and Africa in general. The foremost of these organizations was the West
African Students' Union (WASU) founded in London in 1925 with the objectives of, among
others, fostering national consciousness, racial pride, self-help, unity, and cooperation among
Africans. WASU called for cooperation among the chiefs and elite, lobbied British politicians to
initiate reforms, and used its monthly journal to serve the nationalist cause. Rise of elites who had
attained colonial education like Nyerere in Tanganyika, Nkrumah in Ghana, Kamuzu Banda in
Malawi Abafemi Awolowo of Nigeria, etc. This education helped them to get used to the white
language to get exposed to various struggle and liberation of the world.
5. Political Associations: the opportunity afforded by the 1922 constitution to elect a handful of
representatives to the Legislative Council gave politically conscious Nigerians something concrete
to work on. The principal figure in the political activity that ensued was Herbert Macaulay, often
referred to as the father of Nigerian nationalism. Political associations emerged very quickly and
ultimately became the key platform from which to express nationalism and contest elections. The
early leaders sought changes in the system rather than independence. The earliest associations
were protest movements such as the People's Union, established in 1908 to protest the introduction
of water rate in Lagos. Yet another was the Reform Club, established in Lagos in 1920 to oppose
direct taxation. Far more successful was the National Congress of British West Africa (the
Congress), established in 1920 to fight against discrimination, unite the West African elite, and
achieve self-government. The most successful of the early parties was the Nigerian National
Democratic Party (NNDP) established in June 1923 by Herbert Macaulay in response to a
constitutional reform in 1922. The NNDP was founded to contest the 1923 Lagos Legislative
Council seats election. The party was opposed to forced labour, land appropriation, plantation
estates, and harsh laws. It called for municipal self-government for Lagos, compulsory education
for all, a West African Court of Appeal, and the Africanization of the civil service. The party won
all the elective seats in the Lagos Town Council between 1925 and 1938, and the Lagos seats in
the Legislative Council in 1923, 1928, 1933, and 1943. The party was able to involve local chiefs,
trade guilds, and market women, thus mobilizing critical segments of the population. Also, its
newspaper, the Lagos Weekly Record, served to announce the activities of the party and to
criticize the government. The party confined its activities to Lagos, understandably, because Lagos
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had a concentration of elite. With just a few members in the Legislative Council, the voice of the
party and the elite it represented was easily subdued. The need to respond to the inadequacies of
Yaba College, the first institution of higher learning in the country, led to the formation of the
Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) in 1933. The NYM was able to transform itself into the first
national, multi-ethnic organization. It organized a mass rally in 1933 to protest the decision on
Yaba. The government failed to respond, but the NYM broadened its agenda to include antiimperial measures, economic exploitation, and social inequality. As a "national" party, it got
involved in condemning many issues outside of Lagos, using its newspaper, the Daily Service, as
its main organ. However, as many of the members of the NYM were political moderates, they did
not seek any immediate end to colonial rule. In 1941 the party split along ethnic lines over the
candidates it would sponsor to the Legislative Council. It never recovered from this crisis. A
prominent member of the NYM was Nnamdi Azikiwe. When he joined in 1937, he was elected
into its Central Executive Council. In the same year he established the West African Pilot, which
became an instant success with a wide circulation and an unapologetically anti-colonial stance.
6. The independence of other Africa countries: Ghana independence in 1957 was an example to
stimulate other African nations to begin fight for their freedom so it as possible for them also to
attain independence from their colonial powers. The viability of the independent states of Ethiopia
and Liberia was used as evidence by other Africans as an example that they could govern
themselves. Pan-African movements, founded by notable black leaders in the United States such
as Garvey and W.E.B. Du Bois, encouraged black militancy and cooperation. The independence
of India in 1947 was a great inspiration to African nationalists. Similarly, the rise of the Soviet
Union and the growing influence of socialism and communism supplied ideas on freedom and
emancipation to African leaders.
7. The Second World War: the Second World War which occurred 1939-1945 was a necessary evil
to the rise of African nationalism. The aftermath of Second World War witnessed vigorous
nationalistic feelings in Africa and Nigeria in particular which resulted into African independence.
About 100,000 Nigerians were recruited to fight. Many were exposed to wartime propaganda on
liberty, equality, and freedom which aroused their interests in politics and by extension
nationalism. Many Nigerians were conscripted into the British army and fought in both the First
and Second World War. They fought alongside people from other races and countries and their
interactions and their contacts with white soldiers stationed in Nigeria diminished the respect
which many Nigerians had for whites in general as they realised that the White-man was no
special being. Many of those who served abroad during the War enjoyed a higher and better living
standard compare to what was obtainable at home, which made them to associate an “end to
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colonial rule” with better living standards. Thus, they came home with nationalist idea to depose
the British.
8. The Activities of Labour/Trade Unions: some trade unions were formed which actively
supported nationalism and encouraged their members to participate in nationalist cause. Trade
unions were formed by railway workers, teachers, post and telegraph workers, marine staff, civil
servants, and others. There were also other associations formed along ethnic lines such as Ibo
State Union, Oyo Progressive Union, Bornu Youth Movement, Ibibio Union which further
fostered the nationalist cause. More associations emerged in the 1940s as hundreds of people
entered wage employment. Nationalist leaders could mobilize these associations for support. More
importantly, the workers had a platform from which to organize protest. In 1945, labour unions
were strong enough to embark upon a general strike for fifty-two days. The strike was a challenge
to the government. It enabled the trade unions and the nationalist movement to fuse, and it
revealed the advantages of cooperation and the usefulness of threats to gain concessions. The
north, which had been excluded from most of the previous nationalist agitations, was drawn into
the strike, thus spreading nationalism and political consciousness to a region that the British had
sheltered against new ideas. Many became emboldened to make demands for a transfer of power.
Nigeria attained independence on October 1, 1960, and became a Republic in 1963. There were
many issues outstanding, but these were swept under the carpet; most notable among these were
ethnicity, minority complaints, violence, and growing corruption. In addition, the British successfully
manipulated the decolonization process to protect their vital economic interests, among other things.
The foundation stones of the post-colonial economic system were laid in this period, with continuing
export production and the withdrawal of foreign businesses from traditional fields (produce export,
retail) into the more modern sectors of the economy. Here, the British partly cooperated with the
emerging Nigerian comprador bourgeoisie. Gaining independence proved much easier than managing
a modern nation-state, as Nigerians were to see in the first decade of self-rule.
Practice Questions
1. In not more than four (4) broad reasons, critically assess the development of nationalism during
the decolonization process/period in Nigeria – (Question 3: 2015/2016 Session).
2. Explain four (4) factors which influenced Nigeria nationalism during the colonial period –
(Question 5: 2016/2017 Session).
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GOVERNANCE SYSTEM AT INDEPENDENCE; FEDERALISM, PARLIAMENTARY
DEMOCRACY
Introduction
The history of Nigeria’s democratization began at independence with the adoption of democratic
institutions modelled after the British Westminster parliamentary system. Under this system, the Prime
Minister who was the leader of the party with majority seats in the parliament was the substantive
Head of government at the centre (federal) while the President was a mere ceremonial Head.
From independence on-wards, Nigeria has been grappling with the task of entrenching the
culture of democracy in governance through its provisions in the independence constitution of 1960;
and the Republican constitution of 1963. These constitutions have prescribed the British-modelled
Westminster parliamentary system for the country.
After independence, the new political elite had the duty of not only institutionalizing the
democratic process but for developing a political culture, which would buttress the inherited
institutions from the British colonial authority. There were therefore, high hopes at independence of
Nigeria emerging as a fertile and large field for the growth of democracy and good governance in
Africa.
However, by the end of 1965, it became obvious that the future of democracy and good
governance in the country had become bleak. In January, 1966, the military aborted the new
democratic experiment in a bloody coup d’état. The military, subsequently, held on to power for
almost 33 years after the 1966 coup except for some flashes of civil rule between1979 and 1983; and
1987-1989. In 1979, Nigeria adopted the Presidential system of government modelled after the
American system in preference to the British parliamentary system.
Nigerian’s short-lived democratic experiment after independence could be attributed to the such
factors as: the breakdown of the rules of the game of politics, which profusely polluted the political
stadium and made politics as dangerous for players as well as spectators; gross misuse of political
power among public officers including impudent political and economic decisions in allocation of
scarce but a locatable resources; erosion of the rights of individuals; disenfranchisement of the
Nigerian populace through blatant rigging of elections; fly-buoyant lifestyle of politicians amidst the
abject poverty of the masses among others.
These challenges made it difficult for the first democratic government in Nigeria under the Prime
Ministership of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa to build a solid democratic culture and good governance.
Indeed, for a country that was granted independence without a strong economic base as well as porous
democratic culture it was expected that the military and the political elite would have been more
cautious because it was a period of learning the state of the art of democracy. This was the period
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when democratic institutions were expected to be established and democratic culture accepted and
imbibed by the state actors and civil society at large.
As Mohammed (2008) cited in Yio (2011) observed, in this phase, success and goal attainment
depend on how quick the leaders and the society learn to work on the basis of democratic principles
and practices. Unfortunately, in Nigeria, politics were not driven by nationalistic and class
consciousness but by primordial sentiments of ethnicity, religion, regionalism, etc with the consequent
deepening of poverty and underdevelopment in the country.
Parliamentary Democracy Defined
The concept parliamentary democracy is made up of two terms; “parliament” and “democracy”.
Parliament refers to that branch of government saddled with the reposionsiblity of making laws for the
country. Democracy on the other hand according to Abraham Lincoln is the “government of the people
by the people and for the people”.
Parliamentary democracy is a democratic form of government in which the party (or a coalition
of parties) with the greatest representation in the parliament (legislature) forms the government, its
leader becoming prime minister or chancellor. Executive functions are exercised by members of the
parliament appointed by the prime minister to the cabinet. The parties in the minority serve in
opposition to the majority and have the duty to challenge it regularly. The Prime Minister may be
removed from power whenever he loses the confidence of a majority of the ruling party or of the
parliament. Parliamentary democracy originated in Britain and was adopted in several of its former
colonies including Nigeria at independent in 1960 and 1963 republic.
In the Parliamentary form of government, the Parliament is supreme, and the governments,
comprised of some members of the Parliament, are accountable to it. Some of the best examples of
Parliamentary government are the governments in Britain, India, Australia and Canada.
On the basis of the relationship between the executive and the legislature, governments have
been divided into two types, namely, the parliamentary form of government and the presidential form
of government. Between the two, the former is older. In the parliamentary form of government, the
executive is responsible to the legislature, but in the presidential type, the executive is not responsible
to the legislature.
Features of parliamentary democracy
1. Nominal or Titular Head: In a Parliamentary form of government, there two heads, namely,
nominal and real. The nominal head is one who, though head of the state, is not head of
government. His powers are more apparent than real. He may be hereditary or elected. In
Parliamentary-government the real powers are exercised by a Council of Ministers by a Prime
Minister.
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2. Collective Responsibility and Individual Responsibility: the Prime Minister is responsible to
the legislature. A minister is individually responsible to the Prime for the acts of omission and
commission of his department. Individual responsibility means that the minister in charge of a
department must be answerable for the activities of his department. But when the ministers remain
jointly or collectively responsible to the legislature for the policies and activities of the
government, it is called ‘collective responsibility’. Since no individual minister can unilaterally
perform any business of government without the consent of the Cabinet, the entire Ministry or
Cabinet has to remain accountable for the errors of the minister concerned.
3. Political Homogeneity: the ministers, normally being members of one political party, share the
same ideology and approach. Even when there is a government, the ministers are committed to a
common minimum programme. There is a fair amount of cooperation among the ministers.
4. Harmony between Executive and Legislature: in a Parliamentary government the ministers are
drawn from the legislature. As ministers, they are part of the executive. They also remain
members of the legislature.
5. Rigidity of Party Discipline: in a Parliamentary government, the party discipline is rigid. The
members of a political party whether in power or in opposition are required to defend and support
the stand of their party on any issue both in the legislature and outside.
6. Leadership of the Prime Minister: The leadership of the majority party in the legislature
becomes the Prime Minister. Though, in theory, he is ‘primus inter pares’, i.e. ‘first among
equals’, in reality, he possesses much greater power and status than the other ministers. As the
undisputed leader of the majority party or alliance in the legislature he plays the most vital role in
the determination and execution of government policies. Indeed, the success of parliamentary
democracy depends, to a great extent, on the personality, efficiency and charisma of the Prime
Minister.
PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRACY
A presidential democracy is a democratic system of government where a head of government
leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch. This head of government is in
most cases also the “Head of State” which is usually called the “President”. In presidential countries,
the executive is elected and is not responsible to the legislature, which cannot in normal circumstances
dismiss it. Such dismissal is possible, however, in uncommon cases, often through impeachment in
accordance with the constitutional provisions.
Characteristics
The following characteristics apply generally for the numerous presidential governments across the
world:
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1. Veto power: the executive can veto legislative acts and, in turn, a supermajority of lawmakers
may override the veto. The veto is generally derived from the British tradition of royal assent in
which an act of parliament can only be enacted with the assent of the monarch.
2. Fixed Tenure of Office: the president has a fixed term of office. Elections are held at regular
times and cannot be triggered by a vote of confidence or other parliamentary procedures, although
in some countries there is an exception which provides for the removal of a president who is found
to have committed an act of misconduct. Many presidential systems incorporate provisions for
the president's trial and subsequent removal from office by the legislature if he or she is found to
have committed a crime. For example, section 143 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria (as amended) provides for the procedure of the removal of the President.
3. Unipersonal Executive: under the presidential democracy, the executive branch is unipersonal.
Members of the cabinet serve at the pleasure of the President and must carry out the policies of the
executive and legislative branches. Cabinet ministers or executive departmental chiefs are not
members of the legislature. However, presidential systems often need legislative approval of
executive nominations to the cabinet, judiciary, and various lower governmental posts. A
President generally can direct members of the cabinet, military, or any officer or employee of the
executive branch, but cannot direct or dismiss judges with the recommendation of the National
Judicial Council as provided under section 292 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria (as amended).
4. Power of Pardon: the President can often pardon or commute sentences of convicted criminals.
Differences between the Presidential and Parliamentary Democracy
Supporters generally claim four basic advantages for presidential systems:
1. Direct elections — in a presidential system, the president is often elected directly by the people.
This makes the president's power more legitimate than that of a leader appointed indirectly.
However, this is not a necessary feature of a presidential system. Some presidential states have an
indirectly elected head of state. In most presidential systems, the president is elected by popular
vote, although some countries such as the United States use an electoral college (which is itself
directly elected) or some other method. By this method, the president receives a personal mandate
to lead the country, whereas in a parliamentary system a candidate might only receive a personal
mandate to represent a constituency. That means a president can only be elected independently of
the legislative branch.
2. Separation of powers: in a presidential system, the central principle is that the legislative and
executive branches of government are separate. This leads to the separate election of president,
who is elected to office for a fixed term, and only removable for gross misdemeanour by
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impeachment and dismissal. In addition he or she does not need to choose cabinet members
commanding the support of the legislature. By contrast, in parliamentarianism, the executive
branch is led by a council of ministers, headed by a Prime Minister, who are directly accountable
to the legislature and often have their background in the legislature (regardless of whether it is
called a "parliament", an "assembly".
3. Checks and balances: presidential system of government establishes the presidency and the
legislature as two parallel structures. This allows each structure to monitor and check the other,
preventing abuses of power. According to supporters of the presidential system, the lack of checks
and balances in the parliamentary system means that misconduct by a Prime Minister may never
be discovered.
4. Separation of Powers: in a presidential system of government, there is separation of the
executive from the legislature, in that each branch may scrutinize the actions of the other. In a
parliamentary system, the executive is drawn from the legislature, making criticism of one by the
other considerably less likely.
5. Vote of no Confidence: under the parliamentary system of government, a formal condemnation of
the executive by the legislature is often considered a vote of no confidence. Proponents note that
even in such a situation a legislator from the president's party is in a better position to criticize the
president or his policies should he deem it necessary, since the immediate security of the
president's position is less dependent on legislative support. In a parliamentary system, if
important legislation proposed by the incumbent prime minister and his cabinet is "voted down"
by a majority of the members of parliament then it is considered a vote of no confidence. If a
government loses a parliamentary vote of confidence, then the incumbent government must then
either resign or call elections to be held, a consequence few backbenchers are willing to endure.
Hence, a no confidence vote in some parliamentary countries, like Britain, only occurs a few times
in a century. By contrast, if a presidential legislative initiative fails to pass a legislature controlled
by the president's party (e.g. the Clinton health care plan of 1993 in the United States), it may
damage the president's political standing and that of his party, but generally has no immediate
effect on whether or not the president completes his term.
6. Party Discipline: in parliamentary systems, party discipline is much more strictly enforced. If a
parliamentary backbencher publicly criticizes the executive or its policies to any significant extent
then he/she faces a much higher prospect of losing his/her party's nomination, or even outright
expulsion from the party. Even mild criticism from a backbencher could carry consequences
serious enough (in particular, removal from consideration for a cabinet post) to effectively muzzle
a legislator with any serious political ambitions.
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7. Despite the existence of the no confidence vote, in practice it is extremely difficult to stop a prime
minister or cabinet that has made its decision.
8. Speed and decisiveness: some supporters of presidential systems claim that presidential systems
can respond more rapidly to emerging situations than parliamentary ones. A prime minister, when
taking action, needs to retain the support of the legislature, but a president is often less
constrained. Other supporters of presidential systems sometimes argue in the exact opposite
direction, however, saying that presidential systems can slow decision-making to beneficial ends.
Divided government, where the presidency and the legislature are controlled by different parties,
is said to restrain the excesses of both parties, and guarantee bipartisan input into legislation.
9. Stability: presidential system guarantees more stability in government when compared with the
parliamentary system. Although most parliamentary governments go long periods of time without
a “vote of no confidence”, Italy, Israel, and the French Fourth Republic have all experienced
difficulties maintaining stability. Many people consider presidential systems more able to survive
emergencies. Supporters have argued that a country under enormous stress may be better off being
led by a president with a fixed term than rotating premierships. France during the Algerian
controversy switched to a semi-presidential system as did Sri Lanka during its Civil War, while
Israel experimented with a directly elected prime minister in 1992. Proponents of the presidential
system also argue that stability extends to the cabinets chosen under the system, compared to a
parliamentary system where cabinets must be drawn from within the legislative branch.
Supporters of the presidential system note that parliamentary systems are prone to disruptive
"cabinet shuffles" where legislators are moved between portfolios, whereas in presidential system
cabinets (such as the United States), cabinet shuffles are unusual.
10. Ideologies: Presidential systems have fewer ideological parties than parliamentary systems.
Sometimes in the United States, the policies preferred by the two parties have been very similar.
11. Parliamentary Supremacy as opposed to Constitutional Supremacy in the Parliamentary form
of government, the Parliament is supreme, and the governments comprised of some members of
the Parliament are accountable to it. Some of the best examples of Parliamentary government are
the governments in Britain, India, Australia and Canada. In contrast, in Presidential system, the
Constitution is supreme and every act of government must be carried out in accordance with the
constitution. In the parliamentary form of government, the executive is responsible to the
legislature, but in the presidential type, the executive is not responsible to the legislature.
12. Nominal or Titular Head: in a Parliamentary form of government, there two heads, namely,
nominal and real. The nominal head is one who, though head of the state, is not head of
government. In contrast, in Presidential system, the head of government is the President.
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Criticism and disadvantages
Critics generally claim three basic disadvantages for presidential systems:
1. Tendency towards authoritarianism: some political scientists say presidentialism raises the
stakes of elections, exacerbates their polarization and can lead to authoritarianism. A prime
minister without majority support in the legislature must either form a coalition or, if able to lead a
minority government, govern in a manner acceptable to at least some of the opposition parties.
Even with a majority government, the prime minister must still govern within (perhaps unwritten)
constraints as determined by the members of his party—a premier in this situation is often at
greater risk of losing his party leadership than his party is at risk of losing the next election. On the
other hand, winning the presidency is a winner-take-all, zero-sum game. Once elected, a president
might be able to marginalize the influence of other parties and exclude rival factions in his own
party as well, or even leave the party whose ticket he was elected under. The president can thus
rule without any party support until the next election or abuse his power to win multiple terms, a
worrisome situation for many interest groups. Yale political scientist Juan Linz argues that: “The
danger that zero-sum presidential elections pose is compounded by the rigidity of the president's
fixed term in office. Winners and losers are sharply defined for the entire period of the presidential
mandate... losers must wait four or five years without any access to executive power and
patronage. The zero-sum game in presidential regimes raises the stakes of presidential elections
and inevitably exacerbates their attendant tension and polarization. In a presidential system, the
legislature and the president have equal mandates from the public. Conflicts between the branches
of government might not be reconciled. When president and legislature disagree and government
is not working effectively, there is a strong incentive to use extra-constitutional measures to break
the deadlock. Of the three common branches of government, the executive is in the best position
to use extra-constitutional measures, especially when the president is head of state, head of
government, and commander-in-chief of the military. By contrast, in a parliamentary system
where the often-ceremonial head of state is either a constitutional monarch or (in the case of a
parliamentary republic) an experienced and respected figure, given some political emergency there
is a good chance that even a ceremonial head of state will be able to use emergency reserve
powers to restrain a head of government acting in an emergency extra-constitutional manner —
this is only possible because the head of state and the head of government are not the same person.
2. Political gridlock: some political scientists speak of the "failure of presidentialism" because the
separation of powers of the presidency and the legislature as two parallel structures often creates
undesirable long-term political gridlock and instability whenever the president and the legislative
majority are from different parties, which is common because the electorate usually expects more
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rapid results from new policies than are possible and switches to a different party at the next
election. In addition, this reduces accountability by allowing the president and the legislature to
shift blame to each other.
3. Lack of accountability: in such cases of gridlock, presidential systems are said by critics not to
offer voters the kind of accountability seen in parliamentary systems. It is easy for either the
president or the legislature to escape blame by shifting it to the other. Describing the United
States, former Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon said "the president blames Congress, the
Congress blames the president, and the public remains confused and disgusted with government in
Washington".
4. Impediments to leadership change: another alleged problem of presidentialism is that it is often
difficult to remove a president from office early. Even if a president is "proved to be inefficient,
even if he becomes unpopular, even if his policy is unacceptable to the majority of his
countrymen, he and his methods must be endured until the moment comes for a new election."
Most presidential systems provide no legal means to remove a president simply for being
unpopular or even for behaving in a manner that might be considered unethical or immoral
provided it is not illegal. This has been cited as the reason why many presidential countries have
experienced military coups to remove a leader who is said to have lost his mandate. Parliamentary
systems can quickly remove unpopular leaders by a vote of no confidence, a procedure that serves
as a "pressure release valve" for political tension. Votes of no confidence are easier to achieve in
minority government situations, but even if the unpopular leader heads a majority government, he
is often in a less secure position than a president. Usually in parliamentary systems a basic
premise is that if a premier's popularity sustains a serious enough blow and the premier does not as
a matter of consequence offer to resign prior to the next election, then those members of
parliament who would persist in supporting the premier will be at serious risk of losing their seats.
Therefore, especially in parliaments with a strong party system, other prominent members of the
premier's party have a strong incentive to initiate a leadership challenge in hopes of mitigating
damage to their party. More often than not, a premier facing a serious challenge resolves to save
face by resigning before being formally removed—Margaret Thatcher's relinquishing of her
premiership being a prominent example. On the other hand, while removing a president through
impeachment is allowed by most constitutions, impeachment proceedings often can be initiated
only in cases where the president has violated the constitution or broken the law. Impeachment is
often made difficult; by comparison the removal a party leader is normally governed by the (often
less formal) rules of the party. Nearly all parties (including governing parties) have a relatively
simple process for removing their leaders. Furthermore, even when impeachment proceedings
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against a sitting president are successful, whether by causing his removal from office or by
compelling his resignation, the legislature usually has little or no discretion in determining the
ousted president's successor, since presidential systems usually adhere to a rigid succession
process which is enforced the same way regardless of how a vacancy in the presidency comes
about. The usual outcome of a presidency becoming vacant is that a vice president automatically
succeeds to the presidency. Vice presidents are usually chosen by the president, whether as a
running mate who elected alongside the president or appointed by a sitting president, so that when
a vice president succeeds to the presidency it is probable that he will continue many or all the
policies of the former president. A prominent example of such an accession would be the elevation
of Vice President Gerald Ford to the U.S. Presidency after Richard Nixon agreed to resign in the
face of virtually certain impeachment and removal, a succession that took place notwithstanding
the fact that Ford had only assumed the Vice Presidency after being appointed by Nixon to replace
Spiro Agnew, who had also resigned due to scandal. In some cases, particularly when the wouldbe successor to a presidency is seen by legislators as no better (or even worse) than a president
they wish to see removed, there may be a strong incentive to abstain from pursuing impeachment
proceedings even if there are legal grounds to do so. Since prime ministers in parliamentary
systems must always retain the confidence of the legislature, in cases where a prime minister
suddenly leaves office there is little point in anyone without a reasonable prospect of gaining that
legislative confidence attempting to assume the premiership. This ensures that whenever a
premiership becomes vacant (or is about to become vacant), legislators from the premier's party
will always play a key role in determining the leader's permanent successor. In theory this could
be interpreted to support an argument that a parliamentary party ought to have the power to elect
their party leader directly, and indeed, at least historically, parliamentary system parties'
leadership electoral procedures usually called for the party's legislative caucus to fill a leadership
vacancy by electing a new leader directly by and from amongst themselves, and for the whole
succession process to be completed within as short a time frame as practical. Today, however,
such a system is not commonly practiced and most parliamentary system parties' rules provide for
a leadership election in which the general membership of the party is permitted to vote at some
point in the process (either directly for the new leader or for delegates who then elect the new
leader in a convention), though in many cases the party's legislators are allowed to exercise a
disproportionate influence in the final vote. Whenever a leadership election becomes necessary on
account of a vacancy arising suddenly, an interim leader (often informally called the interim prime
minister in cases where this involves a governing party) will be selected by the parliamentary
party, usually with the stipulation or expectation that the interim leader will not be a candidate for
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the permanent leadership. Some parties, such as the British Conservative Party, employ some
combination of both aforementioned electoral processes to select a new leader. In any event, a
prime minister who is forced to leave office due to scandal or similar circumstance will usually
have little if any ability to influence his party on the final selection of a new leader and anyone
seen to be having close ties to such a prime minister will have limited if any serious prospect of
being elected the new leader. Even in cases when an outgoing prime minister is leaving office
voluntarily, it is often frowned on for an outgoing or former premier to engage in any overt
attempt to influence the election (for example, by endorsing a candidate in the leadership
election), in part because a party in the process of selecting a new leader usually has a strong
incentive to foster a competitive leadership election in order to stimulate interest and participation
in the election, which in turn encourages the sale of party memberships and support for the party
in general.
5. Bureaucratic bottleneck: many have criticized presidential systems for their alleged slowness to
respond to their citizens' needs. Often, the checks and balances make action difficult. Walter
Bagehot said of the American system, "the executive is crippled by not getting the law it needs,
and the legislature is spoiled by having to act without responsibility: the executive becomes unfit
for its name, since it cannot execute what it decides on; the legislature is demoralized by liberty,
by taking decisions of others [and not itself] will suffer the effects."
Overlapping elements
In practice, elements of both systems overlap. Though a president in a presidential system does
not have to choose a government under the legislature, the legislature may have the right to scrutinize
his or her appointments to high governmental office, with the right, on some occasions, to block an
appointment. In the United States, many appointments must be confirmed by the Senate, although once
confirmed an appointee can only be removed against the president's will through impeachment. By
contrast, though answerable to parliament, a parliamentary system's cabinet may be able to make use
of the parliamentary 'whip' (an obligation on party members in parliament to vote with their party) to
control and dominate parliament, reducing parliament's ability to control the government.
Conclusion
In the country’s 55 years of political independence, none of the two experimented models of
democracy i.e. the Parliamentary system, and the Presidential system, have been able to internalize
democratic culture and good governance. There are critical challenges militating against the
enthronement of democracy and good governance in Nigeria, which demand attention.
Democracy in Nigeria has come a long way in the past two and half decades with four
transitional elections and as many as over 10 million registered voters (Aremu, 2014). On May, 29 th
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1999 the country restored civil democratic rule after a protracted military rule that lasted for more than
three decades. Since then, the democratic system including the structures meant to consolidate it have
experienced some stress mainly due to the hang-over effect of the prolonged military rule whose
common denominator was the lack of democracy, accountability and good governance. The abuse of
these time-honoured principles of governance was legendary and its negative impact on Nigerian’s
politics is better imagined than stated. Thus, after two and half decades of a return to democratic rule
in Nigeria, the country is not anywhere near the realization of the ideals of good governance, which is
the natural accomplishment of democratic rule. In a true democracy, the will of the people is the basis
of the authority of government. Nigeria operates a nominal democracy in which it maintained the
outward appearance of democracy through elections but without the rights and institutions that are
equally important aspects of a functioning democratic system.
Practice Question
Compare and contrast parliamentary and presidential system of government - (Question 4: 2016/2017
Session).
REFERENCES
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Augustine Ikelegbe (2005) “Introduction to Politics”, Imprint Services, Benin City, Nigeria.
Austin Ikelegbe (2016) Politics and Governance in Nigeria: Perspective, Issues and Cases.
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Awolowo O., (1947) Path to Nigerian Freedom. London, Faber & Faber Prints Services
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended
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N.A., Inegbedion and J.O. Odion (2011) (2nd Ed) “Constitutional Law in Nigeria”, Ambik
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Yemi Oyeneye et al (2nd Ed.) Round-Up Government for Senior Secondary Certificate
University Matriculation and PCE Examination
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