Government

ORGANS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS The following are the organs of the Commonwealth of Nations and their functions. The Commonwealth of Nations is an intergovernmental organization comprised of 54 member countries, most of which are former territories of the British Empire. The organization does not have organs in the traditional sense like some other […]

The Common Wealth of Nations is a voluntary association of the independent Countries that were formerly British Colonies. It is made up of Britain and Countries that were at one point in time or the other British colonies. The United States of America, though a former British colony, is not a member. The British monarch

The African Union was established on Monday 8th of July 2002 by African Heads of State in Durban South Africa. This marked the end of the Organization of Africa Unity (O.A.U) after 39 years of its existence. The formation of the African Union (A.U) was initiated by Libyan leader Moamen Gadhafi, who first proposed it

UNITARY FORM OF GOVERNMENT This can be defined as one in which all governmental powers and functions that exist in a state or country are concentrated in a single central government. There is no constitutional division of powers in the country. Examples of countries that adopts unitary system are; Britain, France, Italy and so on.

POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION Political Socialization is a process whereby the citizens of a country are educated on the values, attitudes and beliefs of the political system. The political culture of the society is transmitted from one generation to another through political socialization.   The citizens of a country are politically aware and know the roles they

STATE A state may be simply defined as a politically organized body of people occupying a definite geographical entity/territory with an organized government, free from external control and has coercive power to secure obedience from its citizens and others.   Characteristics of a State Population: one major feature of a state is population. There must

FASCISM Fascism is an ideology based on the concept of force and total compliance to the tunes of the authority. It is regarded as a philosophy, principle, and organization of the aggressive nationalist and anti-communist dictatorship.   It started as a movement in Italy in 1922 and came to an end in 1943 under Benito

SOCIALISM Socialism may be defined as an ideology that advocates collective ownership, control and organization of the means of production, distribution and exchange of goods and services. In this system, most of the factors of production and distribution are controlled and operated by the government on behalf of the citizens. Goods and services are produced

COMMUNALISM Communalism refers to a political and economic arrangement in which land, the major factor of production is collectively owned. In a communal community for instance, members pursue a common goal collectively and properties like land are owned collectively and shared among members on an equal basis. In this system, resources are utilized for the

LEGITIMACY The word legitimacy is derived from the Latin word ‘legitimus’, which means lawful or according to law. In government, it means the acceptance of the political system by the people in compliance with the laid down rules and regulations.   A government is considered to be legitimate if it has come into office through

POWER Power is the ability to control the actions of others irrespective of their wishes. It is the ability to enforce decisions or command through the possession of means of sanctions. It seeks to compel people to obey rules. Sanctions or punishments are often applied for non-compliance.   Forms of power Political power: this is

FEATURES OF GOVERNMENT Government as an Institution has the following characteristics: Power: Power enables the government to influence the citizens and execute its policies. Power is a basic tool for maintaining law and order. Law: This refers to the body of rules that regulate the conduct of the people. It is called the constitution. It

GOVERNMENT AS AN INSTITUTION OF THE STATE Human beings in their relationships with one another tend to have diverse and conflicting interests in their existence in the society. The need to regulate the conflict of interest in man and the desire to set up a peaceful society led to the formation of government. If there

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND France, in the administration of West Africa colonies constituted all of them into a loose federation with headquarters in Dakar, Senegal. A governor general was appointed in Dakar and he was in charge of the federation. France in her belief of the superior of French civilization and inferiority of Africa civilization adopted a

Indirect rule may be defined as a British system of ruling her colonies with the use of local chiefs and other intermediaries and traditional laws and customs with British officials merely supervising the administration. Indirect rule was first introduced in Nigeria by Sir, Lord Frederick Luggard who described the system as a child of necessity.

DEFINITION OF COLONIALISM IN AFRICA Colonialism may be defined as an imposition of a more developed culture over a less developed one backed up by expansionist and economic adventure. It may also be defined as the forceful ruling of one country by another. It is the extension of political control of one powerful nation over

PRE-COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION IN HAUSA/FULANI LAND Historical background of the Hausa The Fulani assumed the political leadership of the Habe (Hausa) states in the 19th century after the jihad war led by Othman Dan Fodio. He established the Sokoto caliphate, which was highly politically centralized.   He introduced a new system of selecting rulers known as

MEANING OF LOCAL GOVRENMENT A local government can be defined as government at the local level established by law to perform specific functions within defined area. It has the power to take charge of local political affairs. They are created by acts of parliament as avenues by which the federal government reaches the locality. They

PUBLIC CORPORATION A public corporation may be defined as a business organization, owned, managed and financed with tax payer’s money by the government of a country. The aim is not to make profit but to render essential services to the members of the public. It is established by acts of parliament and they determine their

MEANING OF THE CIVIL SERVICE The civil service is an essential department in the executive arm of government through which the government implements its policies and programmes. It transmits government policies and programmes into services to the people. It is divided into departments called ministries. The political head of a ministry is called a Minister