WAEC Government 2013 Theory — Question 10

Model answer

The following are the reasons for the breakdown of the Macpherson Constitution of 1951: I. One of the reasons why the Macpherson constitution broke down was because the constitution did not envisage the ethnic nature of politics in the country. Many of the members of the central legislative council were loyal to their regions rather than to the central government. For example, none of the political parties of the period commanded a nation-wide support, they were all regional parties. II. The Kano riot of 1953 in which southerners living in Kano were attacked and killed by northerners who retaliated the ‘humiliation' their leader suffered in Lagos for rejecting the motion for self-rule. The Kano riot exposed the flaws of the constitution. III. The Crisis in the Eastern Region House of Assembly was another reason for the breakdown of the constitution. The crisis led to the dissolution of the House by the governor of the region. IV. The Macpherson constitution made provisions for ministers without full control of their departments. The inability of the ministers to control their department revealed another weakness of the constitution, hence, its collapse. V. The party leaders of the three regional political parties were not involved at the central government level. This made the constitution to be ineffective. VI. The Macpherson constitution granted limited powers to the region, thereby falling to grant full fledge federalism to Nigeria. This made the introduction of a new constitution inevitable.