GCE Government 2022 Theory Past Questions

Model answer

- Extravagance/opulence of government officials on the part of politics. - Citizens develop lack of trust due to lack of trust in resources at her disposal to protect government. - Failure on the part of government to provide social services e.g. education, roads, health, etc. - Inability of the government to discourage electorate from participating in politics. - Widespread poverty: increases on daily basis and affect the income of the people. - High cost of living/high rate of inflation which discourages the electorate from voting. - The state of insecurity e.g. armed robbery, kidnapping, terrorist attacks, banditry prevent the citizens from participating in political process. - High level of unemployment: youths from participating gain no job opportunities, discourages welfare packages etc. - Unfulfilled promises by politicians during campaign, which often leads to lack of trust. - Poor service delivery: government's failure to give a fair and credible electoral process discourages electorates from participating in politics. - Tribalism, nepotism and open bias of government. - Corruption in government/corrupt government officials: large-scale corruption by the civilian to loot the public treasury. - Human rights abuses committed by government officials: unlawful detention of citizens and use of impunity with which cases are treated encourages citizens' distrust. - Arbitrary use of power by government officials, government trust in most cases. - Under the judiciary/judicial system: partisan interference in politics discourages electorate from trusting judicial institutions. - Poor remuneration of workers. - Press censorship: government preventing the media from giving fair and credible information to the citizens.

Model answer

- Neutrality: the electoral body should be truly neutral in its operations. - Every stakeholder should be involved in all the electoral processes. - Up-to-date voters register: the electoral body should compile a credible and updated voters' register. - Adequate provision of election materials: adequate provision should be made for election materials in order to conduct free, fair and credible elections. - Training: adequate training should be given to electoral officers before election day so as to discharge their duty effectively. - Provision of transparent ballot boxes to discourage electoral malpractice. - Government should ensure adequate security at polling stations to curb intimidation of voters by political thugs. - The electoral body should undertake regular and effective voter education to sensitize the people on the need to exercise their franchise. - Electoral umpire should adopt open counting of ballots at polling booths/units/centres for fairness and to curb manipulation of votes. - Avoidance of gerrymandering: constituencies should be delineated evenly and should not be drawn to favour a political party. - Prompt declaration of election results, which would discourage politicians from manipulating votes. - Quick and impartial resolution of electoral disputes: an aggrieved party should be given prompt and impartial attention after the polls. - Adoption of transparent collation of results in the presence of party agents. - Enactment of satisfactory electoral laws which should be fair and accepted by all parties involved. - Appointment of electoral officials must be based on merit. - Adequate remuneration for electoral officers so they are not tempted to accept bribes. - Gradual adoption of electronic voting process, alongside a free, fair and credible option, should be considered. - Electoral body should ensure effective distribution of electoral materials across the country. - Effective funding by the state: government should adequately fund the electoral body as and when due.

Model answer

- It leads to a state of lawlessness and recklessness i.e. anarchy. - Abuse of rights and liberties of citizens: citizens would be incapacitated to seek redress in court whenever their rights are infringed upon. - Loss of confidence in the judiciary/justice delivery system: the judicial system would no longer be trusted to give a fair judgement. - Upsurge in corrupt practices: since there is no rule of law to checkmate the people, there would be increase in corrupt practices such as stealing public funds, rape, etc. - It will lead to an increase in crime rate in the society such as rape, unlawful riot, breakdown of law and order, stealing, thuggery, etc. - Erodes investors' confidence in the state: absence of an impartial judicial system in a country will discourage both local and foreign investors from investing their hard-earned money in a lawless state. - The life and security of personnel of the judiciary is put at risk. - Credibility of the judiciary suffers: it creates credibility crises for the judiciary; people can no longer trust the system to deliver impartial judgement. - Discrimination in the justice delivery system. - Arbitrary exercise of power by commissions, agencies and organs of government. - It creates bad image within and outside the country; it paints the image of the country in a negative way to the outside world. - Encourages electoral malpractices: politicians would be free to engage in electoral malpractice such as vote buying, rigging, etc. - Encourages dictatorship: the government in power have the tendency to become a dictator since there is no viable judicial system to checkmate its activities. - Encourages non-observance of Rule of Law: it encourages violation of the rule of law by the people and the government. - Their role as interpreter of the law will suffer setback. - Abuse of due process with impunity: people would be at liberty to abuse fundamental human right, engage in corrupt practices openly without being checkmated. - It may encourage disputes among the various organs of government. - Justice for the highest bidder is encouraged: it encourages the rich/wealthy to be above the law of the land. - Encourages mob justice: it encourages citizens to take laws into their own hands.

Model answer

- A state has a permanent status while government, on the other hand, is transient. It comes and goes. - A state is a territorial association of people with defined boundaries while a government is an administrative institution of the state. - Membership of a state is compulsory while membership of a government is optional. - A state is an abstract concept while government and its officials are tangible. - A state is a larger entity while government is relatively a smaller institution within the state. - A state depends on the government to carry out its activities while government is the machinery through which the functions of the state are performed. - The state is sovereign while government is not sovereign. - States are identical in their features while Governments differ from state to state. - The emergence of the state has different theories while the emergence of government has one central justification. - Every state possesses a legal status/constitution whereas government in power enforces the constitution. - A state is a fixed entity whereas government and its officials are not fixed.

Model answer

- Politicization of the media / perceived partisanship of the media: undue interference of the government affects the trust that citizens bestow on the media house in Nigeria. - Public loose trust in media because of marginalization of the opposition parties and their members. - Unrepresentative of minority views/opinions on media, most of the time doesn't represent the opinion of the general public. - Affiliation of the media with the ruling government: ruling government often affiliate with the best media house to support their government. - Employment of media personalities by the government: government often employ the best brains in the media to serve as their media assistant. - Media at times gives inaccurate reportage of events and developments to favour the government, especially in cases of security, kidnapping, etc. - Upsurge in the reportage of fake news; the upsurge in reportage of fake news is alarming. Many online media now give unverified news to the public just to get traffic to their page. - There is a high level of unprofessional conduct in the discharge of their duty. - There is strong perceived corruption of media practitioners/media houses in Nigeria. - Some media house now encourage actions that are threats to national security. - Fueling ethnic disharmony/tension: media houses have now become tools to sponsor/fuel ethnic tension in the country. - People loose trust in media due to the way they encourage religious disaffection in the country. - Escalation of tension/violence through bias reportage: bias reportage has been the bane behind escalation of violence in Nigeria. Media now give one-sided narrative in favour of a tribe. - Writing of inciteful reports and editorials discourage the public from trusting the media. - Unbalanced reportage/lack of objectivity in reporting; inability of the media to be objective in their report discourage the public from trusting them. - Promoting corrupt practices among the media personnel which is against fighting corruption in the country. Media personalities write bias reports for money. - Publishing immoral materials that corrupt moral values; this is the most trending in the media globally. Media now sponsor/approve immoral content in other to get money and fame, thereby destroying the existing societal values. - They now serve as a platform for destructive criticisms.

Model answer

- Through their intermediary role as representatives of the gods. - Powers to appoint and dismiss officials: Divisional or district heads were appointed by the traditional rulers and used in the execution of the traditional rulers' policies. - Adjudication of laws/settlement of disputes: disputes were normal in every society and pre-colonial societies were no exception. Any dispute that arose was settled by the chiefs. Culprits were punished, and the innocent were set free. - Rewards/honour: traditional citizens who had contributed to the development of the society were rewarded with titles. Some were given lands and titles, and others were allocated booties of war. - Enforcement of customs, traditions and conventions: there were things that traditional society frowned upon and society were compromised on them. These were aspects of their customs, taboos and conventions. Any infraction of the customs, taboos or conventions attracted a certain form of fine or sanctions. - Punish law breakers/deviants in society/Banishment of criminals: the traditional rulers also had the powers to punish those that had offended the community. - They organize and supervise communal labour. - Imposition of levies/taxes: taxes were collected and made use of in developing their respective areas of authority. - Law making functions: in pre-colonial traditional societies, there were rules and regulations that the inhabitants were required to abide by. - Formulation and implementation of policies: they formulated policies and made use of the traditional laws in governing their territory. - They served as symbol of power and authority. - Invocation of spirits of the ancestors to regulate the conduct of their subjects. - Oath taking by the subjects: in pre-colonial times, one of the ways of ascertaining the truth was the taking of an oath to tell the truth. - Dethronement of sub-chiefs: they dethrone any erring chief to serve as deterrent to others. - The use of trial by ordeal: the use of instant punishment or uncommon punishment to punish an offender to create fear in the people.

Model answer

- Provided for the establishment of traditional councils to promote the culture of the people. - Reduced the age for elective positions with the aim of increasing political participation. - Recall of political office holders in the legislature to make them accountable, responsive and responsible to the people better service. - Creation of federal executive bodies led to job creation and delivery. - Supremacy of the constitution to prevent dictatorship. - Abuja was created as the seat of government to emphasize the federal character. - Centralization of constitutional functions and fiscal resources. - Entrenchment of Fundamental Human Rights to provide adequate protection for the rights of the people. - Entrenchment of separation of powers. - Retention of the Supreme Court as the highest court of the land.

Model answer

- Governance is well-defined and made easier as spelt out in the constitution. - Local issues receive prompt attention from the local government. - Issues of diversities and plurality are addressed by the constitution. - It has offered protection to the minority groups/interest. - Citizens feel a part of the political process and system/sense of belonging. - It ensures the protection of Nigeria against external attack. - Agricultural issues are addressed. - State governors have better understanding of their states, powers and functions. - The system allows for effective checks and balances between the centre and components units. - It has encouraged local initiative: adoption of federal system of government gives room for local initiatives. - It has contributed to the pooling of resources for national development. - It has enhanced prestige of Nigeria among the comity of nations. - The Federation addresses revenue-sharing formula. - The Nigerian Federation allows state governments to contract foreign loans and investments. - The Federation allows the states to develop at their own pace.

Model answer

E-government is the deployment of information and communication technology (ICT) to government functions and procedures with the purpose of increasing efficiency, transparency and citizens' participation.

Model answer

- Higher levels of effectiveness and efficiency in governmental tasks/activities: e-government reduces the time spent on paperwork, which does not create much value for citizens, while enabling hybrid ways of working. - Facilitates and simplifies work processes: technology makes communication swifter, since the internet and smartphones enable instant transmission of high volumes of data all over the world. - Enhances the quality of public services: the use of e-governance makes all functions of the business transparent, and all government information can be uploaded onto the internet. - Allows for better and faster communication: when information is available, citizens can entertain their right to information and access it anywhere. - Allows the use of ICT in both policy formulation and decision making. - Boosts interactions between business and industry: the introduction of e-governance would also facilitate better communications between governments and businesses. - E-governance makes it possible to offer better service delivery to citizens. - Better accessibility to public service information and data: when the information is available, citizens can entertain their right to information and access it anywhere. - Minimizes corruption in governance: one of the major benefits of transparency between the government and businesses/citizens is low corruption. Since the significant reason for corruption is access to only government officials, the involvement of the public can reduce the number of corrupt practices like bribes and scams. - Allows for inclusive governance: e-governance helps in building trust between governments and citizens, an essential factor in good governance by using internet-based strategies to involve citizens in the policy process. - Allows for quick and easy implementation of policies: with e-government, paperwork has been made so simple and intuitive. This facilitates the sharing of information and ideas between all government agencies and departments to build one mega data base. - Reduces cost of running a government: e-government is very cost effective. - Flexibility of working hours and environment: it reduces the stress of physical/office work while it encourages hybrid system of working. - It reduces the risk involved in administration such as missing of file etc. - Reduces the stress in work environment: it makes work more flexible and reduces stress.

Model answer

- One of the impacts of colonial administration in West Africa is the creation of states. - The formation of political parties: colonialism brought about the formation of political parties during the Clifford constitution of 1922. - Formation of pressure groups: it helped in establishing pressure groups to improve the standard of living of the people. - Formation of trade unions: colonialism brought about the establishment of trade unions in the country. - The establishment of the press: the Clifford constitution introduced the formation of media houses in Nigeria e.g. Lagos daily, African Pilot etc. - Creation of bureaucratic institutions: it established strong institutions and procedures to follow in government establishment. - Creation of the legislative institution: the first legislative house was founded by Lord Lugard in 1914, which set the foundation for legislative house in Nigeria. - Creation of the executive institution: executive arm of government was also created by the Clifford constitution of 1922 even though it was just an advisory role to the governor, it set the foundation for executive institution in Nigeria. - The introduction of the elective principle/representative government: it introduced elective principle in 1922 to afford Nigerians to be elected into elective offices. This set the precedence for electoral process in Nigeria. - It contributed to political participation/national consciousness. - It led to the emergence of nationalist movements and leaders in Nigeria and West Africa.

Model answer

- Abuse of power/dictatorship: abuse of power by the civilian government and an act of dictatorship by them often attract the military to power. - Manipulation of the judiciary and judicial system: manipulation of the judiciary by the elected civilians by influencing the decision of the judiciary in other to favour them and their party which has been a major boost for military to come to power. - Corruption in government/corrupt government officials: large scale of corruption by the civilian to loot the public treasury, parading of ill-gotten wealth before the hungry and toiling masses, including distribution of amenities based on ethnic factors, open invitation for military intervention in Nigeria politics. - Electoral manipulation: manipulation of election results to favour the ruling party has always been the catalyst that prompts the military to disrupt democratic process. - Cronyism, nepotism and open bias of government. - Economic mismanagement: the military often come to power with the hope of righting the economic wrongs done by the civilians the civilians embarked on prestigious and economically unviable projects with the aim of getting their percent. - Disregard for Rule of Law: civilians often disobey the court order and find it difficult to adhere strictly to the constitution. They governed arbitrarily. - Suppression of political opponents: the ruling party often intimidate the opposition to prevent them from performing their constitutional role as the watchdog. - Abuse of the Fundamental Human Rights of citizens. - Undue interference in the affairs of the military: undue politicization of the army by the civilian is another reason for military intervention. - Weak and ineffective leadership: the weakness of the democratically elected government to discharge their duty and govern the government with strong leadership. - Military also intervene in politics due to general insecurity and breakdown of law and order in the country. - Failure to uphold the tenets of the constitution: failure of a civilian government to adhere strictly to the principle of the constitution. - Government's failure to provide leadership in the provision of social and infrastructural service; unfulfilled campaign promises: failure to fulfil electoral promises promised to the people during campaign invites the military into politics.

Model answer

- Peace and security reasons: one of the benefits Nigeria pursues in her international relation is to ensure peace and security in the country. - Economic development: Nigeria continues to seek economic benefit in her relation with the outside world such as signing bilateral relation, IMF membership etc. - Political benefits: political benefits such as supply of modern election equipment, international political observers, etc. - Technological development and empowerment: Nigeria benefits from other nations of the world in terms of technology and empowerment. E.g. supply of latest technology into the country, foreign engineering company in Nigeria etc. - Transfer and acquisition of skills and knowledge: there is transfer of knowledge from nations of the world through international conferences and trainings. - Nigeria interacts with other nations of the world for social and cultural benefits. There's exchange of culture and sporting activities. - For job creation and employment opportunities: interaction of Nigeria with other nations has been productive in terms of job creation for the youths. More jobs are created on daily basis as a result of foreign investors in the country. - For military and defence purposes: to defend her territorial integrity from external aggression and to develop her military capacity. - Market for finished and unfinished products: international markets serve as platform for finished and unfinished goods. Countries trade at will based on bilateral relation. - Enhancement of friendship with other countries: it enhances international friendship. Nations get to interact daily and sign bilateral agreement. - Exchange of ideas: it enhances exchange of ideas from friendly countries on sport, economic, electoral reforms, security etc. - It benefits from human resource/capital development. - For prestige and honour: it boosts the countries' honour and respect globally. - To protect the interest of her nationals abroad: Nigeria relationship with nations of the world serve as protection to her citizens outside the shores of the country. - Assist in the process of democratization: positive solutions and suggestions by developed nations developed our nascent democracy. - Enhancement of Fundamental Human Rights: it strengthens the application of fundamental human rights in the country through international human right advocacy and NGOs. - Nigeria benefits in terms of access to foreign aid, loans and grants to develop the country. - It enhances bilateral and multilateral relations among nations of the world. - International relation serve as attraction of foreign investments in the country. - Eradication of racism and racial discrimination in the world. - To seek assistance in times of crises e.g. Floods, terrorism, pandemic.