...examines the intractable problem of constitutional engineering in Nigeria. It is asserted that the drafting of constitutions is a recurring decimal in Nigeria's chequered political history. Right from the colonial period. Nigerians were barely involved in the art of constitution making while the British colonial overlords employed constitution making to consolidate their imperial strategies. Post colonial Nigerian leaders have utilised constitution drafting to ensure regime longevity. The current 1999 constitution is a product of haste because the receding military junta was in a hurry to leave the political turf. Consequently, the 1999 constitution has all the trappings of military centralisation of power resulting in de-federalisation of Nigeria and the consequent clamour and agitation for the amendment of the constitution. Introduction: The drafting of constitutions has been a recurring decimal in the political history of Nigeria. Right from the colonial period, Nigeria has witnessed incessant clamour for one form of constitution or the other. The series of constitutions that were put in place during the colonial period were geared towards consolidating British imperial strategies. The point to note about colonial constitutions is that, the Nigerian people were barely involved in the drafting process. When Nigeria was eventually de-colonised, post-colonial constitutions reflected the idiosyncrasies and worldview prospective leaders, with little consideration for the interests...
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...In the beginning Nigeria was controlled and influenced by the British through the 19th century; Nigeria finally earned its independence in 1960. Nigeria is the largest most populated country in Africa. After 16 years of military rule Nigeria’s independence came in 1960. Today Nigeria is by far Africa’s leader in economic power. Nigeria earned its independence from Great Britain on the first of October 1960. The constitution of Nigeria was not written until the May 5, 1999 and it was not effective until May 29th, 1999. Nigeria has a Federal Republic government system. Nigeria has mixed legal system made up of English common law and Islamic in 12 northern states and Traditional law. Nigeria’s Administrative divisions are broken up in 36 states and 1 territory. Nigeria has a bicameral legislative branch consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate has 109 seats each member holding the seat for four years, and the House of Representatives have 360 seats with each member also hold the seats for four years. Nigeria has the world’s eighth largest population; according to ww.cia.gov Nigeria has approximately 174,507,539 as of July 2013. Nigeria is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups. The most prevalent being Hausa and Fulani making up 29% of the population, followed closely behind by Yoruba 21%. Muslim is by far the most popular Religious choice; Christianity is a close second. Nigeria has an average life expectancy of 52 years; this is boosted mostly by...
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...committed to Muslim and Arabic education, tradition and culture. The north rejected the Christian Missionary form of education when it was introduced to the area in 1845 – Graham (1966). The Southern protectorate was predominantly dominated by the Yoruba and Igbo speaking people, who for many centuries had developed along the indigenous form of traditional education and culture, and who barely seventy two years 18421914 imbibed the European form of education regarded as Formal or “Western Education”. The missionaries established mission schools and people became literates in the Roman script. This scenario was the case of Nigeria before the outbreak of the 1st World War in 1914. This article shows how the likelihood of war prepared Nigerians for a unilateral Amalgamation of the two protectorates without any recourse to war or civil disorder. There was no protest for or against the sudden amalgamation of the protectorates by Lord Frederick Lugard. The article in addition,...
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...and committed to Muslim and Arabic education, tradition and culture. The north rejected the Christian Missionary form of education when it was introduced to the area in 1845 – Graham (1966). The Southern protectorate was predominantly dominated by the Yoruba and Igbo speaking people, who for many centuries had developed along the indigenous form of traditional education and culture, and who barely seventy two years 18421914 imbibed the European form of education regarded as Formal or “Western Education”. The missionaries established mission schools and people became literates in the Roman script. This scenario was the case of Nigeria before the outbreak of the 1st World War in 1914. This article shows how the likelihood of war prepared Nigerians for a unilateral Amalgamation of the two protectorates without any recourse to war or civil disorder. There was no protest for or against the sudden amalgamation of the protectorates by Lord Frederick Lugard. The article in addition, showcases the impact of...
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...territory of the Umeuri clan who trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure Eri.[21] The oldest pieces of bronzes made out of the lost-wax process in West Africa were from Igbo Ukwu, a city under Nri influence.[19] Colonial era Main article: Colonial Nigeria Benin city in the 17th century with the Oba of Benin in procession. This image was pictured in a European book, Description of Africa, in 1668.[22] Spaniard and Portuguese explorers were the first Europeans to begin trade in Nigeria in the port they named Lagos and in Calabar. The Europeans traded with the ethnicities of the coast and also negotiated a trade in slaves, to the detriment and profit of many Nigerian ethnicities. Consequently many of the citizens of the former slave nations of the British Empire are descended from a Nigerian ethnic group. Britain abolished its slave trade in 1807 and,...
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...African Personality Opposing Colonialism Mykell Trunnell May 1, 2012 A number of individuals came to prominence in as political activists in the early twentieth century. In Nigeria, Herbert Macaulay founded the Nigerian National Democratic Party in about 1923, which advocated an independent Lagos government, higher education with compulsory primary education attendance, and the Africanization of the civil service, and non-discrimination in the development of private economic enterprise. Macaulay was one of the first leaders of the Nigerian opposition to British colonial rule. He formed the NNDP as a result of a new constitution being formed in 1922 providing limited franchise elections in Lagos and Calabar. He worked as a private surveyor and a journalist and in eventually became the editor in chief of a political newspaper, the Lagos Daily News. Herbert Macaulay was arrested twice for writing articles criticizing the Colonial Government. Macaulay opposed almost every attempt by the Crown to increase their hold on Lagos and the surrounding region in Nigeria. As a result of his anti-colonialism works, he became well known in the local political movement in Lagos and was sent to England by the King of Lagos, Oba Esugbayi Eleko, as a representative in a land dispute. While in London, Macaulay attempted to assert the authority of Oba Esugbayi Eleko. While this did not persuade the Crown to return lands to Oba Esugbayi Eleko, the British did appoint Macaulay as a representative...
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...organisation or country. Nationality is often used as a synonym for citizenship in English – notably in international law – although the term is sometimes understood as denoting a person's membership of a nation. In some countries, e.g. the United States, Israel, Philippines and the United Kingdom, "nationality" and "citizenship" have different meanings. Thus, a Nigeria citizen is someone who is allowed to vote in Nigeria state and federal elections, to serve in the Nigeria armed forces, to pass that citizenship on to their spouse and/or children, is entitled to state and federal social services, and who must file state and federal taxes. In Nigeria, Citizenship is based upon the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. A good citizen is one who properly fulfills his or her role as a citizen. As a Nigerian citizen, one has different obligations to the country as follows; Allegiance, Obedience, Payment of Taxes,...
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...Sokunbi Adetoyese Politics of Political and Constitutional Reforms in Nigeria. Andrew Heywood in his book, Global Politics (2010) identifies that politics, in its broadest sense, he defines it as the activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live. As such, politics is inextricably linked to the concepts of conflict and cooperation, which means politics is a social phenomenon with the characteristics of both struggle between opposing groups, parties and claims on one hand and cohesiveness, mobilization and organization on the other hand. On former hand, there is the constant existence of rival opinions, different wants, competing needs or opposing interests guarantees disagreement about the rules under which people live. Likewise on the latter hand, people recognize that in order to influence these rules or ensure that they are upheld, they must work with others, with whom they share similar needs and values. This is why we can allude the meaning of politics as the authoritative allocation of values, in which rival views or competing interests are reconciled with one another because at the art of politics is essentially to resolve conflict. In reality however, politics in this broad sense is better considered as the search for conflict resolution and not necessarily its achievement, since it is near impossible to resolve all conflict and satisfy all opposing groups especially in a multi-ethnic super diverse state...
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...Public Finance Methods in Nigeria The Federal Republic of Nigeria is comprised of 36 states located in West Africa geographically bound by the Republic of Niger to the north, the Gulf of Guinea (on the Atlantic Ocean) to the south, the Republic of Cameroon and Chad on the east and Republic of Benin on the west. Since gaining full independence from the British in 1960, Nigeria has gone from a Parliamentary system of government (modeled after the British Parliament), the Biafran Civil War, and numerous dictatorships to the current Democratic system of government. Widely described as the most populous country in Africa (accounting for over half of West Africa’s population alone[i]), the US State Department estimated in 2010 a population of approximately 152 million people of 250 Ethnic groups with the largest ethnic groups comprising of Hausa-Fulani (north), Igbo (south-east), Yoruba (south-west) and Kanuri (north). The religions practiced in Nigeria are Islam, Christianity and indigenous African traditional worship. The Hausa’s are from the northern part of the country and are predominantly Muslims, the Yoruba are from the south west and are predominately an even mix of Christians and Muslims, the Igbos are from the southeast and are predominately Christians. The official language of Nigeria is English in addition to other local dialects. Nigeria’s commercial capital (and former political capital), Lagos, is located in the southwestern part of the country while the political...
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...48 Years Of Nigeria’s Underdevelopment: A Fruit Of Failed And Recycled Policy! * By L.Chinedu Arizona-Ogwu * Published 09/27/2008 * Nigeria Matters * Rating: L.Chinedu Arizona-Ogwu Arizona-Ogwu writes from Oyigbo, Rivers State, Nigeria. View all articles by L.Chinedu Arizona-Ogwu All over the world, there has been progress in many areas over the last 48 years -- life-saving medicines, the Internet, oil boom and , under-water exploration, airbus, the advent of mobile phone and whatsoever -- yet the same poor way of doing things as seen within October 1960 looms even today in Nigeria. Instead of coming up with better innovations and development strategies, this government makes life miserable and put across one of the worst ideas ever: confused, drawing plans, postponing and re-introducing bills yet the years were exhausting. Even if our governments are not the only ones that are bad, they have ranked low for decades on most international comparisons of corruption, state failure, red tape, lawlessness and dictatorship. Our platform "nigeria4betterrule" does not recognize such lousy but tyrant government-- this would be an insult to the many of us who risk their lives to protest this government. Instead, corrupt and mismanaged governments inside this country reflect the unhappy way in which our colonial masters artificially created most nations, often combining antagonistic ethnicities. Anyway, the results of states economics by bad states was a near-zero rise in GDP...
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...CRITICAL ASSESSMENT ON NIGERIAN FEDERALISM: PATH TO A TRUE FEDERAL SYSTEM BY: IRABOR PETER ODION 07037830536 p24real2000@yahoo.com DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL STUDIES, FEDERAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION (TECHNICAL) POTISKUM, YOBE STATE BEING A PAPER PRESENTED AT THE 4TH ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE ORGANISED BY COLLEGES OF EDUCATION ACADEMICS STAFF UNION (COEASU) FEDERAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION (TECHNICAL) POTISKUM CHAPTER HELD AT I.B.B HALL F.C.E (T) POTISKUM, YOBE STATE 31ST OCTOBER, 2011-4TH NOVEMBER 2011 ABSTRACT It is no gain saying that Nigeria is one of those countries that operates a federal system of government along side with the western world. Given the territorially delineated cleavages abounding in Nigeria and the historical legacy of division among ethnic groups, regions, and sections, the federal imperative was so fundamental that even the military government- characteristically Unitarian, hierarchical, and centralist- attached importance to the continuation of a federal system of government. But it must be said here that, while the system benefit most western countries, the reverse is the case for Nigeria considering the high level of political instability, ethnic crisis, and ethno/religious crisis among others The reason is not far fetch; Nigeria is operating a federal system in an awkward manner and this has make frictions and clashes possible which are currently posing a threat to her political development. To this end, this paper seeks to analyze Nigerian federalism from history...
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...shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BCE. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was coined by Flora Shaw, the future wife of Baron Lugard, a British colonial administrator, in the late 19th century. Since 2002 there has been a spate of clashes in the north of the country between government forces and the Boko Haram militant group which seeks to establish Sharia law. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, the seventh most populous country in the world, and the most populous country in the world in which the majority of the population is black. It is listed among the "Next Eleven" economies, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. On October 1, 1960, Nigeria gained its independence from the United Kingdom and has had both the Military Government and a Democratic elected Government since then. The country also suffered its first civil war in 1966. The violence against the Igbo increased their desire for autonomy and protection from the military's wrath. By May 1967, the Eastern Region had declared itself an independent state called the Republic of Biafra under...
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...LANGUAGE AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSIGNMENT Examine the socio-cultural and political and religious implications of English as a national language in a multi lingual society like Nigeria. What is Language? Hornby (2001:667) defines language as the system of communication in speech and writing that is used by a people of a particular country. Oderinde (2005) sees language as a “system and vehicle of communication. Language is a symbol used by members of a given society, both in written and oral form. What is a Nation and a National Language? According to the Oxford Learners Dictionary, a nation is also considered as a group of people with the same language, culture and history who live in a particular area under one government. Countries like Cameroun, France, Thailand, Switzerland, United States of America etc. are nation states . A national language is a language or language dialect that has some connection with a people and the territory they occupy. It can be described as a dominant language in a multilingual environment used for regional and nation-wide communication. French is used as a mother tongue and national language in France, Thai in Thailand, Urdu in Pakistan, English in the United Kingdom and English in Nigeria but some scholars have argued that Nigeria cannot be called a nation exactly because of the presence of various ethnic groups which have their own languages, Hausa, Yoruba and Ibo being...
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...AN INTELLECTUAL ENQUIRY OF THE 1992 CONSTITUTION AND ITS RELATION TO THE LAWS OF THE AFRICAN UNION. BY MICHAEL BOATENG YEBOAH , LLB (KNUST) mikeyeblaw@gmail.com INTRODUCTION AND BACKROUND TO THE AFRICAN UNION The African Union (A.U) is a geo-political entity which is carved out of the Union of African States and the Organization of African Unity (O.A.U). The Organization of African Unity was established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia by representatives of 32 governments on the Charter of O.A.U. Upon the dawn of modern political challenges, the charter of the Organization of African Unity was branded African Union (A.U) at Durban on 9 July 2002 by President Thabo Mbeki. The African Union as of now boasts of 53 African States as its members with the exception of Morocco. The withdrawal of Morocco from O.A.U. was primarily due to the massive support Sahrawi nationalists received from the Union. Currently, the headquarters of the African Union is situated at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The primary cause for the paradigm shift from O.A.U to A.U was that; The O.A.U was politically mandated to see to the emancipation of the colonized African States however upon the emancipation of the entire African states from foreign rule; the need arose for the unification of the balkanized African States. The O.A.U as a result was re-branded A.U. to see to the unification of the entire African states after it adopted the Sirte Declaration at Libya. The A.U has the following administrative...
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...THE POLITICS OF REVENUE ALLOCATION AND RESOURCE CONTROL IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR FEDERAL STABILITY by Emmanuel O. Ojo Department of Political Science, University of Ilorin, Nigeria Email: eojo12000@yahoo.com Abstract: No doubt, one of the perennial problems which has not only defied all past attempts at permanent solution, but has also evoked high emotions on the part of all concerned is the issue of equitable revenue allocation in Nigeria. Thus, the thrust of this paper is an in-depth analysis of the politics of revenue allocation cum resource control. The paper takes a cursory look at virtually all previous attempts at arriving at equitable formula. The paper however, infers that in a deeply plural and divided society like Nigeria a polity that ‘robs Peter to pay Paul’ may eventually be both counter-productive and dysfunctional. The clarion call however is a federal system with fiscal policy that can imbue in the citizenry sense of justice, equity and fairness visà- vis revenue allocation. To do otherwise according to the findings of this paper is to jeopardize all efforts at national cohesion and integration. Keywords: Federalism, fiscal federalism, revenue, resource, Grants-in-aid Federal Governance ISSN 1923-6158 www.federalgovernance.ca Forum of Federations 325 Dalhousie Street, Suite 700 Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7G2 Canada ♥ Ojo About Federal Governance Federal Governance is an online graduate journal on theory and politics of federalism and multilevel governance. Its mandate...
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