WAEC Government 2012 Theory Past Questions

Model answer

Characteristics of a democratic government: Free, fair and periodic elections: Elections in a democratic state are held at regular interval. The conduct of elections in a democratic state is devoid of electoral malpractices. The existence of a competitive party system: There is the existence of a multi-party system in a democratic state. Fundamental human rights: Respect for the fundamental human rights of the citizens is one of the features of a democratic state. The rights of the citizens are respected by the government. Such rights as freedom of speech and association are essential for the successful operation of democracy because they make it possible for the people to participate in the government. Constitutionalism: Adherence to the provisions of the constitution on the part of government is another necessary feature of a democratic state. When a democratic government complies with the dictates of the constitution, the rights of the people will be respected. Tolerance of opposition: Tolerating the views and opinion of opposition parties is another feature of a democratic state. The citizens of any country should be willing to accommodate the views expressed by other groups in the society for the practise of democracy to be successful. Respect for the rule of law: The laws of a democratic state are supreme and both the government and the governed are regarded as equal before the law. Therefore, respect for the rule of law is a necessary feature of a democratic state.

Model answer

(a) Independence of the judiciary refers to the absence of external control, impartiality and absence of bias in the administration of justice by the courts. In other words, it is the ability of the judiciary to dispense justice without fear or favour. (b) Reasons for the independence of the judiciary: I. The judiciary is regarded as the last hope of the common man because it is the organ of government that citizens can seek redress whenever their rights have been violated. Independence of the judiciary is essential to individual freedom. Hence, the reason for the independence of the judiciary. II. When the judiciary is independent, it will not be controlled by overzealous executive and legislature. This makes judges to make judgement without fear or favour. III. The independence of the judiciary hinders the officials of government from abusing their powers by violating the rights of the citizens. This is because the independence of the judiciary empowers the judiciary to make ruling against the executive and legislature.

Model answer

The functions performed by the legislature are as follows: I. Confirmation of appointments made by the executive. II. Law-making: Legislatures all over the world make laws for the good governance and general welfare of the state. The legislature can repeal, alter, or add to the provisions of existing laws and make them applicable to changing times. III. Representation: The legislature plays an important representative role by providing the link between the people and the government. Members of legislature are elected by the people from various constituencies to represent them in the national parliament. IV. Constitutional amendment: The legislature has some powers in the making and amendment of their nation's constitutions. V. Oversight function: The legislature has the power to check the powers of the executive through the role they play in scrutinizing the performance of agencies of the executive. VI. Removal of the executive: The legislature also has the power to remove the head of the executive for gross-misconduct. In Presidential systems, the president can be removed by the legislature through impeachment while in parliamentary systems, the Prime-minister can be removed through vote of no confidence. LIMITATIONS OF THE LEGISLATURE I. One of the limitations to the powers of the legislature is the inability to cope with the increasing governmental functions because of its large size and limited time to make decisions on issues. II. The need for the exercise of emergency powers by the executive limits the powers of the legislature. During periods of emergencies, it becomes difficult for the legislature to meet and make decisions. III. The legislature as a body of people is often composed of people who lack expert knowledge on technical issue. In order to make laws on technical subjects, there is the need on the part of the legislature to consult with experts or delegate law making powers to bodies under the executive.

Model answer

(a) Pressure group is a group of people with the objectives of influencing government policies for the benefits of their members. (b) The following are the functions performed by pressure groups in a democratic state: I. Political education: Pressure groups in their bid to achieve their objectives of influencing government's policies often embark on awareness campaigns to sensitize the members of the public on issues relating to government policies. II. Constructive criticism: Pressure groups also play the role of watch dog in a democratic state. They offer constructive criticism on policies initiated and implemented by the government. III. Representation: They serve as a link between the people and then government and help to transmit, in some cases, the demands of the people to the government. IV. Pressure groups also serve as a check to the government. They help in identifying bad policies of government and criticising such policies. V. Some pressure groups, such as promotional pressure group, help in championing the causes of the public, thus, they render selfless service to the public. VI. One merit of pressure groups is that they help to articulate the demands of not only their members but also that of the general public, this is true of a promotional pressure group.

Model answer

(a) The civil service is the agency of the government that is saddled with the responsibility of implementing the policies and programmes of the government. It belongs to the executive arm of the government. (b) The structure of the civil service can be classified as follows: I. Administrative class: This is the highest class in the civil service. It comprises the most senior civil servants who organise and coordinate the activities of the ministries. Members of this class also advise the government on the formulation of policies. II. Executive Class: The executive class implements the general policies and procedure of the government and is responsible for the day to day administration of the civil service. III. Professional class: The professional class is made up of officers with specialized training and technical knowledge. The members of the professional class include surveyors, architect, teachers, doctors, engineers, etc. IV. Clerical class: The clerical class is responsible for the keeping of records, movement of files, preparation of data and vouchers in the civil service. Members of the class include typist, secretary, clerical officers etc. V. The auxiliary class: The category of workers in this class are drivers, messengers, cleaners and manual labours. This is the lowest class in the structure of civil service.

Model answer

SECTION B

Model answer

Features of the Igbo traditional societies: I. The Family was the basic unit of the Igbo traditional societies. II. Decentralized administration: The Igbo traditional societies were characterized by high degree of decentralization. The exercise of powers and functions in the discharge of the administration of the society was not concentrated in one person or institution but diffused among many institutions and groups. III. Village democracy: In the Igbo traditional societies, meetings attended by all adults, are held at the village level. All adults have the right to voice out their opinion on any issue being discussed. IV. Age-grades: The age-grade was one of the traditional political institutions of the Igbo traditional societies. The age-grade was made up of young men within the same age bracket. They helped in the maintenance of law and order and in the defence of the village. V. Republican: The Igbo traditional societies can be described as a republican because there was no institution of monarchy in the system. VI. Ofo and Ozo title holders: The title holders such as the Ofo and Ozo chiefs are parts of the Igbo traditional societies. As titled men, they are regarded as symbol of respect and accomplishment. VII. The Council of Elders: The council of elders played consultative and advisory roles. The body was made up of the oldest member of each family and its meetings were coordinated by the Okpara.

Model answer

Features of the policy of indirect rule in West Africa: I. The Policy of the Indirect rule made use of the traditional rulers in West Africa as an intermediary to govern the people, using their local laws and customs. II. The Indirect rule system was based on the respect for African cultures and values and therefore sought to preserve the way of life of the African people. The policy did not attempt to make Africans into British citizens. III. The policy of indirect rule was decentralised in that under the system, the British administered each colony separately and did not make any attempt to unify the colonies under a single administration. IV. Under the Indirect rule system, district and resident officers were used to administer the districts, divisions and province.

Model answer

(a) Nationalism is agitation/opposition to foreign rule. In other words, it refers to all the activities tilted towards the desire of a people to attain political independence from foreign rule and control. (b) External factors that aided the growth of nationalism in West Africa: I. The Atlantic Charter of 1941: The Atlantic Charter of 1941 signed by the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States confirmed the rights of all the peoples of the world to self-determination. This encouraged nationalists in their struggle for political independence. II. The influence of the Super powers: The end of the Second World War saw the emergence of the United States of America and the Union of Soviets Socialist Republic as the world's super powers. These two countries had a negative attitude to colonialism and sought to uphold the right of all people to self-government. III. The Independence of India: The independence of India in 1947 from British colonial rule aided the nationalists in West Africa in their struggle for political independence. The independence of India inspired many nationalists in West Africa to believe that they too can secure political independence for their country through agitations. IV. The influence of the Second World War: For many Africans that were enlisted to serve in the Second World Wars as soldiers, the war opened their eyes to see that the white man was in no way superior to the black man. They soon realised that they were fighting for the freedom of Europe from the Nazist Germany, while their home was under colonial bondage. On their return home, many of the ex-service men resort to agitations for political independence. V. The negative posture of the United Nations: The United Nations supports the right of all the people to self-determination. This development encouraged the nationalists back home to push for the political independence of their country.

Model answer

Features of the Macpherson Constitution of 1951: I. The Macpherson constitution created the council of minister which was made up of 12 ministers (4 from each of the three regions), and 6 ex-officio members. The council was presided over by the Governor. II. The ministers appointed under the Macpherson constitution did not have portfolio. They had no control over the ministries they headed and were appointed by the governor on the advice of the regional legislature. III. The Macpherson constitution of 1951 also created regional executive council. IV. The Macpherson constitution extended bicameral legislature to the western region. Both the Northern and western region had a house of assembly and house of chiefs. V. The regional legislatures were empowered under the constitution to make laws on certain subjects, subject to the approval of the central legislative council in Lagos.

Model answer

(a) The Nigeria National Alliance (NNA) was formed in 1964. The formation of the alliance was as a result of the merger of the Northern Party of Nigeria (NPC), Nigeria National Democratic Party (NNDP), the Mid-West Democratic Front (MWDF), the Niger Delta Congress (NDC) and the Dynamic Party. The formation of Nigeria National Alliance by these parties was for the purpose of putting a united front by the parties so as to win the 1964 general elections. (b) The achievements of the Nigeria National Alliance (NNA) were as follows: I. The Nigeria National Alliance (NNA) won the majority of seats in the Federal House of Representatives. II. The alliance controlled the government at the federal level. III. Another achievement of the NNA was that the alliance formed the government in both the Northern and Western region.

Model answer

The basic factors affecting Nigeria's foreign policy are as follows: I. The political structure of the country: An important factor that influences the foreign policy of Nigeria is the political structure of the country. Nigeria is a federal state with diverse ethnic groupings. Nigeria's foreign policy must reflect the diversity of the country. II. Nature of the economy: The nature of the economy whether the economy was experiencing growth or not, influenced the foreign policy of Nigeria. III. Public opinion: The views and perception of the people on burning international issues also influence the foreign policy of the country. IV. Character of political leadership: A major determinant of Nigeria's foreign policy is the character of the political leaders. The nature and character of the leaders influence the making of foreign policy. V. Geo-political location of the country: The location of Nigeria in the Africa continent and the West African sub region greatly influence the country's foreign policy. Nigeria proclaimed Africa as the centre piece of her foreign policy because it is located in Africa.

Model answer

Problems facing ECOWAS: i. Financial problems: ECOWAS as an international organisation is faced with the problem of finance as many of the member states are not committed to fulfilling their financial obligations. The lack of funding by some member states hinders the organisation from implementing some of its aims and objectives. ii. Rivalry among member states: The member-states of ECOWAS are divided into Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone countries. This division leads to rivalry among member states and prevented them from working together on key issues crucial to the aims and objectives of ECOWAS. iii. The Influence of France: Many of the Francophone countries of ECOWAS still have political as well as economic ties to France, which continues to control its former colonies. This posed a problem to ECOWAS efforts at integrating the economy of all the countries in West Africa, which is a key objective of the organisation. iv. The fear domination: Nigeria remains the largest country in the sub-region in terms of population and economy. This makes smaller states in ECOWAS view Nigeria with suspicion and refuse to collaborate with the country on issue pertaining to economic integration. v. Poor transportation and communication network in the region: The West Africa sub-region which houses all the member state of ECOWAS suffers from poor transport and communication system; this slows down the rate of economic and social integration. vi. The influence of former colonial masters: Most of ECOWAS member states continue to trade with their former colonial masters instead of trading among themselves.