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Political Institutions of West Africa. London: Hutchinson. II, Abuja, , p. Wight, M. British Colonial Constitution. Oxford: Clarendon Press, In a confidential letter dated July 7, See Draft Confidential Letter , he made some scathing observations and later, recommendations on the Central Legislative Council and other administrative policies of Lord Lugard.

Therefore, on assumption of office, Sir Hugh Clifford introduced a new Constitution with some striking provisions that distinguished his administrative system from that of his predecessor. In Lord Lugard was posted out and was to be replaced by Sir Huge Clifford who assumed office in following the passage of a new Order by the Nigerian Legislative Council which came into effect in What was later to be known as the Clifford s Constitution of opened the epoch of Constitutional development in Nigeria.

Clifford merged the Legislative Council meant for the Colony of Lagos with the Nigerian Council to become a new one under the new ordinance.

The Governor as the President 2. Executive Council members 3. The Ten Senior Residents in Nigeria 4. The Deputy Chief Secretary to the Government 5. The Secretary to the Northern and Southern Provinces 6. The General Manager of the Railways 7. The Director of Public Works, and 8.

Other important provisions of the Clifford s Constitution were: a The Governor had powers to veto or give consent to any law passed by the Legislative Council subject to the instruction given to him by the British Government.

No law took effect until he or the British Government had assented to it. Although the elective principle introduced by the Constitution was commendable, it came under heavy criticisms by the African elites on the basis that it limited the franchise of Africans.

According to the Constitution, only the British subjects or protected persons who met the condition of possession of properties and annual gross income of Pound Sterling were qualified to vote, or be voted for See Tamuno, These conditions made it difficult for many Nigerians in Lagos and Calabar to be qualified.

The outrageous income was fixed at a time when an average worker earned about 25 pence a day. Another drawback of the Constitution was that the Executive Council was predominantly white officials to the exclusion of Africans.

The Council exercised wide powers on policy formulation and implementation with far reaching effects on the lives of Africans. Another defect of the Constitution was that the North was excluded from the purview of the Legislative Council.

The Northern provinces were ruled by proclamation as was the case under Lord Lugard. This isolation had adverse effects on the political development in the area as Nigerians in that part of the country were indifferent to the Nationalist struggles like their Southern counterparts. Finally, the retention of casting vote and veto power on policy issues by the Governor did not make the new Legislative Council any better than the one it sought to replace.

In addition, the nominated members were at liberty to act at the whims and caprices of the Governor when matters came to voting. Perhaps the most striking feature of the Constitution was the introduction of Elective Principle which, for the first time, provided opportunity for Africans to elect their representatives and participate in the Legislative process.

This was commendable because it provided an impetus for the early rise of nationalist movements in Nigeria and also the evolution of political parties in the Country. The political parties joined forces with the nationalist movements to give the British Government a stiff opposition. Another important merit of the Constitution was that it encouraged the establishment of newspapers to further the cause of the struggle for decolonization.

Nnamdi Azikiwe. The debut of the Newspapers contributed tremendously to the awakening of the political consciousness of Nigerians. The continued retention of isolation policy of the Northern provinces retarded the process of political and constitutional developments of the area.

The elective principle, limited to Lagos and Calabar, disenfranchised many Africans because of the obnoxious qualification requirements attached to it. The composition of the Executive Council was predominantly Europeans. Africans were not represented in the Council despite enormous powers it wielded. The wide powers given to the Governor by the constitution to veto the laws made by the Council, coupled with the fact that majority of its members were nominated by the Governor made the Legislative Council a caricature of the Lugard s Nigerian Council which was criticized by Clifford.

The activities of the newly emerged political parties and the nationalist movements precipitated debates on the future of Nigeria. There were agitations for political reforms to give Africans prominent roles to play in their own affairs. Although some provisions of the Constitution were criticized, it provided some elixir for Africans to take more than passing interests in the colonial administration and policies in their country.

In the subsequent units, we s hall discuss the role of the early nationalists and the political parties in the development of the Nigerian nation. It brought about the development of early political parties that worked pari passu with the Nationalists Movements that fought the colonial government in Africa.

The elective principle was not without some limitations. How will you distinguish between the Nigerian Council and the Legislative Council of ?

Churchill, Secretary of State for the Colonies , C. O , Vol. II, Abuja, p. Tamuno, T. N Nigeria and Elective Representatives, London. The emergence of early political parties during the period was a product of the activities of the nationalist leaders. These were the major political platforms used by the Nigerian leaders to confront the British colonial administration. This is somewhat a complex concept to grasp in terms of definition because there is no single factor to which it could be traced.

Nationalism is usually a passion for unity, community of tribes, geographical contiguity, religious and cultural affinity and, to crown it all, political and historical aspirations. It is, therefore, a phenomenon derived from the word nation which Price 24 defines as an association of men and women who have or believe that they have the following things in common: common ancestry; common history and tradition; common language, common culture, common religion and shares common boundary.

Nationality is another word very close to nationalism but Appadorai defines it as a spiritual sentiment or principle arising from amongst a number of people usually of the same race, resident on the same territory, sharing common language, the same religion, similar history and traditions, common interests, with common political associations and common ideas of political unity.

The word nationalism can also be explained within the prism of a State given the s ymbiotic relationship between the two concepts - nation and State. In fact, the two concepts are often used interchangeably or as a compound word but going by the definition of a State, one would notice certain characteristics of it that cannot be attributed to a nation and vice versa. While it is true that a State is also a territorial association of men and women like a nation, they may not necessarily share common attributes of tribal affinity like a nation.

A State is an association organized for specific purposes with a clearly defined territory and an organized system of government. A nation may or may not have its territory as clearly defined as that of a State. For instance, Yoruba nation has its territory across two modern nation-states i. The Hausa- Fulani nation also has its territory cut across many countries in West Africa. Many examples abound, even within the Nigerian States. No inherent inherent spiritual quality spiritual quality Territory may not be cl early A cl early defined territory over which it defines.

May spread across many exercise coercive powers States Modern nations lack sovereign States are sovereign over their territories powers May have organized governmentIt is a prerequisit e to have an organized with a system of laws government with a system of laws There is a feeling of nationalit y orMay lack the feeling of nationality or oneness oneness This leads us to the myths and conceptual analysis of nationalism for the purpose of this course.

To many people nationalism connotes a tendency of warfare between ethnic groups or as the force that destabilizes multiethnic countries. However, this view is wide off the mark because of the fact that nationalism is a phenomenon that affects peoples everyday actions in many positive ways without necessarily making them violent.

Another misconception that must be cleared about this concept is that it is something fundamentally different from racism. The basis of nationalism could be influenced by religion, ethnicity, language, race among other factors. Nationalism in the Twentieth Century could be perceived as the ideological movement for the attainment and maintenance of autonomy, cohesion and individuality for a social group, some of whose members conceive it to be an actual or potential nation.

Nielsen contends that the term nationalism has a variety of meanings and encompasses the two phenomena noted as: i The attitude that the members of a nation have when they care about their identity as members of that nation, and ii The actions that members of a nation take in seeking to achieve or sustain some form of political sovereignty.

For our present purpose, let us align with the definition of nationalism in the context of the colonial politics in Nigeria as a policy designed to achieve national self-determination by the removal of alien rule. Although the goal of the early nationalist was initially not for self- determination, it was rather to demand for increased participation in the governmental process on a regional level.

It also included a fight against inconsistencies inherent in the British colonial policies which ignited regional animosities by attempting to preserve the indigenous cultures of each area and introduced western political and social concepts all at the same time.

There were so many sources of the ideological and socio-political inspirations as-well-as economic factors responsible for the southern nationalists. Among the motivators were the prominent American-based activists such as Marcus Garvey and W.

They were later to become so critical of colonial rule that they started championing the cause for self-government, constitutional and social reforms and eventually, independence. One of the social reforms demanded was the religious racism practiced by the European missionaries and public servants. The whites openly discriminated against Africans from attaining certain status in their churches which led to the emergence of independent African Christian churches at the end of the Nineteenth Century.

Also in the civil service, education and business sectors, Africans suffered discriminations from their European counterparts. All these gave impetus to nationalist struggle in Nigeria. In the economic sector, the import and export trades were dominated by European traders and a few commercial firms.

These firms came together with other European firms to form a cartel called Association of West African Merchants AWAM which was used to control prices of both manufactured goods they sold and the cash crops bought from African farmers. African farmers had no control over the prices of farm implements and other imported goods they bought from the European firms and at the same time, they had no control over the prices of their farm produce like cocoa, cotton, cash crops and others.

The banks were willing to accept deposits from Africans but when it came to borrowing, they ran into difficulties. The control of the economy was totally in the hands of expatriates, to the detriment of Africans who found it difficult to compete with the Europeans in the import and export business for lack of capital base.

Further, the wage employment opportunity was another factor that aided the early nationalism in Nigeria. The civil service, judiciary and the organized private sectors were almost closed against Africans. The few Africans employed suffered discrimination as they were prevented from rising to positions of responsibility to exercise control over expatriates, no matter the level of their education. Africans cannot rise beyond the level of a clerk which explained why early educated Africans took to professions such as Law and Medicine where they can be self-employed.

Also, ethnic and kinship organizations that often took the form of a tribal union were formed in the same period. These organizations were visible mainly in the urban areas and also sprang up as a result of rural-urban drift in search of white-collar job by Africans who felt alienated by the anonymity of the urban environments and were drawn together by ties to their ethnic homelands.

By the mids, the major ethnic groups had formed such associations as the Igbo Federal Union and the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, a Yoruba cultural movement, formed in London by Obafemi Awolowo in Another type of organizations that was more politically inclined was the youth or student groups such as the West African Students Union WASU , the Lagos Youth Movement which became the vehicle of intellectuals and professionals.

They were the most politically conscious segment of the population and stood in the vanguard of the nationalist movement. In Dr. Newspapers, some of which were published before World War I, provided coverage of nationalist views.

He aroused political awareness through his newspaper, the Lagos Daily News, while leading the Nigerian National Democratic Party NNDP , which dominated elections in Lagos from its founding in until the ascendancy of the Nigeria Youth Movement NYM in which first used nationalist rhetoric to agitate for improvements in education.

Similarly, Macaulay s political platform called for economic and educational development, Africanization of the civil service, and self-government for Lagos.

Significantly, however, Macaulay s NNDP remained almost entirely a Lagos party, popular only in the area with experience in elective politics. In addition, the rapid growth of organized labour in the s also brought new political forces into play in form of labour movements. But the proliferation of labour organizations, however, fragmented the movement, and potential leaders lacked the experience and skill to draw workers together.

Howells v Treasurer L. Ojukwu vi Auditor were Messrs: L. Ogedegbe vii Legal Advisers were Messrs: E. Alex Taylor, J. David, E. Akerele, A. Alakija, Ladipo Odunsi and J. This could be as a result of the British inconsistencies in the policy implementation. For instance, the elective principle of was restricted to Lagos and Calabar while the northern Nigeria was ruled by proclamation by the colonial Governor. This dichotomy also had historical and cultural dimensions, which the British government intended to preserve.

What is nationalism? Compare and contrast nation and state. Carefully analyse the evolution of nationalists and political movements in Nigeria. What do you think were the factors that aided the nationalist struggle in Nigeria? The Substance of Politics 11th ed. London: Oxford University Press. Ekundare, R. An Economic History of Nigeria. London: Methuen. Nielsen, K. Liberal Nationalism, Liberal Democracies and Succession. University of Toronto Law Journal, Vol.

Topics on Government Constitutions, Vol. Ilesha: Jola Publications. Political Institutions in West Africa. In this unit we are going to discuss the constitution introduced by Sir Arthur Richards in and its implications on the structure and superstructure of Nigeria. We shall also examine why the educated elites continued to demand for further reforms despite some merits inherent in the constitution. His views as contained in the proposals were greatly influenced by the nationalists agitations for administrative and constitutional reforms in Nigeria.

Earlier, his predecessors Sir Donald Cameron and Sir Bernard Bourdillon were critical of the Clifford s constitution and saw the need for changes to be brought into the existing system. By when Sir Arthur Richards became the Governor of Nigeria, there was a growing realization among the official and unofficial opinions that the Constitutional Order had outgrown its usefulness. Some of the bones of contentions were the use of the traditional rulers to the exclusion of the educated elites in the native administration and the segregation of the north from the rest of the country.

The Richard s constitution for the first time, gave Nigerians a majority in both national and regional legislative assemblies. It was also the first time that the North was brought under the same administrative control with the South.

The objects of the constitution were, among others: to promote the unity of Nigeria; to provide adequately within that unity for the diverse elements which make up the country; and to secure greater participation by Africans in the discussion of their own affairs.

See Awolowo, The main features of the constitution were as follows: 3. The House of Chiefs was made up of all first class and not less than 2nd class Emirs. The Western House of Assembly was composed of the following: a 14 official members b 15 unofficial members these included three Chiefs nominated by the Governor; seven members were selected by the Native Authorities while the remaining five members were also nominated by the Governor to represent some special interests.

It divided Nigeria into three regions North, West and East and established legislative councils in each of the regions, thereby allowing the people of each region to develop at their own pace. For the first time, the northern part was brought within the same legislative authority. It gave powers to the regional assemblies to elect members to the central legislature.

It retained the elective principle of the constitution with the limited franchise to Lagos and Calabar but increased the number of the unofficial members at the Legislative Council. The constitution also retained the veto power for the Governor. The nationalists were not completely happy with Sir Arthur Richards for the manner he introduced the constitution without consulting the Nigerian people for their inputs. Although the draft constitutional proposals were approved by the African unofficial members of the legislative council, the nationalists contended that they were not the true representative of the people hence, the proposals was passed in utter disregard of the peoples opinion.

Obafemi Awolowo opined: because he did not consult the people before he introduced his constitution, Sir Arthur Richards came under heavy strictures. Another defect of the constitution was that it retained most of the objectionable features of the past. Though it aimed at securing greater participation of Nigerians in their own affairs, the new legislative councils created remained mere deliberative bodies with the retention of the veto powers by the Governor.

The constitution failed to provide for ministerial positions for Nigerians which the nationalists saw as a step towards self- government. The Richards constitution also came under heavy criticism by the nationalists who felt that both the Chiefs and the unofficial members nominated by the Governor were colonial stooges who will always support the government.

The retention of the elective principle without increasing the number of Africans to be elected, coupled with the restricted franchise was seen as a calculated attempt by the government to exclude the educated elite who were sufficiently conscious of their rights. The establishment of regional assemblies moved the government closer to the people and served as a leap towards representative government.

These new innovations increased the tempo of political activities in Nigeria. This was assisted by the increased tempo of agitations by the nationalists who took part in the war on the side of Britain.

Therefore, the British parliament wasted no time in approving the proposals submitted by Sir Arthur Richards who became the Governor of Nigeria in The constitution though, brought some changes in the sub-structure and superstructure in Nigeria, it was not without some objectionable features which were condemned by the nationalists and served as impetus for improvement in the subsequent constitutions.

What were the major provisions of the Richards constitution of ? Despite the marked departure of the Richards constitution from that of the Clifford s of , it still suffered condemnation from the nationalists.

How would you justify their criticisms? Thoughts on Nigerian Constitution. Ibadan: Oxford University Press. Letter dated 6 December from A. Richards to Oliver Stanley, Secretary of State for the colonies. Issued as a Session Paper, No. Olawale J. Therefore, in introducing his own constitution in , Sir John McPherson who too became the Governor in , meticulousl y avoided his predecessor s error by giving the people across, all shades of opinion, the opportunity to ventilate their views on the constitution.

Therefore, Sir John McPherson made a history of being the first colonial Governor ever to, allow Africans to have inputs in the document that explained, how they were to be governed.

According to Awolowo the colonial Governor, through his Chief Secretary Sir Hugh Foot, framed a number of questions to which people were called upon to apply their minds and give specific answers. Should the number of unofficial members be increased? Should the system of nominated members be retained? At the end of the conferences, the followings were the general consensus from each of the regions. The Lago s Colony According to Awolowo , the recommendations of the Lagos Colony conference were substantially in the same terms as those of the Western Regional Conferences.

Both the North and the West had a bi-camera Legislature each while the East had a single-chamber Legislature. This was the first constitution ever to be drawn with the full participation or consultation of Nigerians which was seen as an improvem ent on the previous exercises. The constitution was also the first to introduce quasi-federalism in Nigeria and also to introduce Ministerial positions for Nigerians. It was commendable because it introduced a Revenue Allocation formula based on the principles of Derivation, Needs and National Interest.

The constitution was condemned by the nationalists because it was only the government proposals that were eventually considered at the final stage. The constitution was also criticized for not providing for the position of Prime minister and Premier at the Central and Regional levels of government, which would have given the government a semblance of responsible leadership. The ministers were not in charge of given departments or a ministry that is, they were ministers without portfolios.

The subsequent political intrigues led to the breakdown of the Constitution and gave way to another one in The constitution retained some of the old structures but introduced some modifications thereto. The constitution was rejected because of its inherent defects. Critically examine Sir John Macpherson s Constitution of Discuss some of the landmark innovations introduced by the Constitution. Elucidate briefly on the processes and stages that the making of the Constitution took.

Thought on Nigerian Constitution. Ibadan: Oxford University P ress. Olusanya, G. London: Evans Brothers. In the opinion of Obafemi Awolowo , the Federation which existed under the Macpherson s Constitution was a very tight one.

In the opinion of Awolowo , it proved unbearably restrictive and obstructive in operation. The document contained some provisions that were patently contradictory to the principles and norms of federalism. This and some other factors such as: intra-party crisis, mutual suspicion by major ethnic groups, the Kano riots of May and the issue of self-government in precipitated the total breakdown of the Constitution in Against this background, series of Constitutional conferences were organised and held between and to address the Constitutional crisis the outcomes of which culminated in the Lyttleton s Constitution of and the Independence Constitution of It was attended by nineteen delegates who consisted of six from each of the three regions and one from the Southern Cameroons.

Some of the important issues discussed were: i The shortcomings of the Constitution ii The motion for self-government in iii How to implement the changes 3. The constitution, among others, established a Central Legislative Council and Regional Assembli es in which both the Governor-General and Regional Governors ceased to be members respectively.

The Legislative Council at each level was composed of the followings: 3. For the first time, the Constitution laid a foundation for a federal structure for Nigeria by providing for a clear division of both legislative and executive powers between the Central and the Regional governments.

It also paved the way for self-government which was later achieved by the Western and Eastern regions in while the Northern region attained the status in The Constitution provided for direct elections to both the federal and regional legislatures unlike the previous Electoral College system. The constitution also provided for appointment as ministers with portfolio for Nigerians, thereby giving Nigerians both authority and responsibility for the first time.

Its failure to provide for the second legislative chamber at the centre to guide against any possible tyrannical tendencies by a single-chamber legislature and also to ensure a balanced representation by Nigerians. The appointment of the ministers which was based on the regional-based political parties made their allegiance and loyalty tilted toward their regions rather than to the entire nation.

Although, the Governor-General and Regional Governors were exempted from the legislature, they still held most of their traditional powers enjoyed under the constitution. For example, the approval of the Governor-General or the Governors must be obtained before any budget estimate could be laid before any of the legislature.

They were also empowered to veto any legislation by withholding their assent. The main provisions of the colonial constitution were very much similar albeit, with some modifications to satisfy the curiosity of the nationalist leaders.

In general, the constitutions were meant to serve as instrument of authority for colonial administrative policies in Nigeria. What do you consider as the main achievements of the Constitution?

Discuss the preliminary steps taken before the Lyttleton s Constitution of was promulgated. Examine the merits and deficiencies of the Constitution. The constitution contained most of the issues settled at the and constitutional conferences specifically organized to remedy some of the weaknesses inherent in the Lyttleton s Constitution and also, the issue of independence for Nigeria. Allan- Lennox Boyd, the Colonial Secretary with delegates from the regional governments and a cream of political leaders were also in attendance.

It lasted between September 29 and October 27, See Ojiako It provided for a Cabinet, Westminster or Parliamentary system of government in which there was a Governor-General representing the Queen of England and a Prime Minister as head of government. Under the system, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe who was the Governor-General was a ceremonial head while Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the Prime Minister exercised the Executive powers in the day-to-day running of the government. The one Governor-General was a dignified or ceremonial head of state while the other Prime Minister was the effective head of government.

Therefore, he was primus inter pares first among equals. It established a Federal parliament which was made up of two chambers A Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate was composed of 44 members, in which the three regions were represented by 12 selected members. The Federal Territory of Lagos had 4 members while 4 members were selected by the Governor-General in consultation with the Prime Minister. The Regions were empowered to legislate on any subjects under the Residual List which were matters not listed under the Exclusive or Concurrent Lists while both the Federal and the Regions were to legislate on any subjects under the Concurrent Legislative List which included Education, Judiciary, Agriculture, Industrial development, Census, Taxation, Elections, etc.

The Independence Constitution of enshrined in details, the Fundamental Human Rights as a measure to allay the fears of the minority groups and also to guarant ee the liberties of the Nigerian citizens. It included: Rights to freedom of speech; Freedom of association and movement; Freedom from discriminatory treatment on account of sex, religion, tribe or language; Freedom of worship; Freedom of expression; Freedom to privacy and life, etc.

The Constitution provided for emergency powers given to the Prime Minister with the approval of the Federal parliament to declare a state of emergency for the purpose of maintaining peace, order and good government.

In order to ensure the independence of Judiciary, the Constitution established a National Judicial Service Commission with the powers to recomm end for appointment, Justices of the Supreme Court and High Court Judges. Another important feature of the independence Constitution was the provision for its amendment, the procedure of which was made cumbersome to protect the federal union. The motion for amendment must receive a two-thirds majority votes in the federal parliament in concurrence with a two-thirds votes in at least, two-thirds of the regions.

Apart from the fact that its making was left entirely in the hands of Nigerians, it went further to entrench the federal system of government in Nigeria.

This was aimed at making the federal structure more meaningful in the post-colonial Nigeria. It was also necessary to make representation more equitable both at regional and federal level. Hitherto, the principle of universal adult suffrage was alien in the Nigerian electoral system, especially in the Northern part where women were not allowed to vote or be voted for. The electoral commission, judicial service commission and public service commissions were given some degree of autonomy from the federal executive in order to allow for fairness in their discharge of duties and also to ensure job security for the officers.

The decisions reached at the two Constitutional conferences were incorporated into the Independence Constitution of which was in use in Nigeria in the First Republic.

Critically examine the achievements and drawbacks of the Nigerian Independence Constitution of 2. What are the features of the Nigerian Constitution? Introduction to Nigerian Government and Politic.

Evanston: Northwestern University Press. Nigeria: Yesterday, Today, And. There were a number of issues left unresolved by the British government before they left. According to Ojo Therefore, Nigeria inherited a weak socio-political structure, a defective and unbalanced federation, an intensification of ethnic consciousness and rivalries, a subverted indigenous ethos of government and culture, and above all, an inexperienced leadership Ojo, When discussing the leadership problem in Nigeria, Eleazu , is of the view that: Most people taking a cue from their leaders did not develop a commitment to the ideal of national unity.

The values and symbols that loomed large in their political imagery were those of sectionalism and sub-national centres of power. Hence, any group that felt aggrieved immediately sought its own centre of power a state within which it could protect what it has as unique to itself. The All- Party conference was preceded by the meeting of the Prime Minister and the regional Premiers for the same purpose. Consequently, the Constitution witnessed some changes that led to the severance of the last vestiges of colonialism in Nigeria which enjoyed general acceptability by Nigerians.

According to Obafemi Awolowo : As for the Republican Constitution, it is on record that, save for the provisions relating to the Judicial Service Commission, the Privy Council and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, it was jubilantly and eulogistically hailed by practically all sections of our community.

This element was removed and substituted for the Federal Act of the Nigerian Parliament , thereby granting full autonomy to the Nigerian Parliament. Under the Constitution, the Queen of England ceased to be Nigeria s Head of State while the position of the Governor-General was replaced with the President who became the repository of the federal executive powers. Governors were vested with similar authority at the regional levels, although, this arrangement was just in theory since the real executive powers were exercised by the Prime Minister and his cabinet ministers.

The President was to remain in office for a period of five years See Sec. The President could be removed from office if found guilty of misconduct or was unable to perform his duties See Sec.

He was to perform the following functions, among others: i To invite the leader of the majority party in the Parliament to form the government ii To convene or prorogue the Parliament when its tenure is expired or after fresh elections, as the case may be iii To receive letter of credence from foreign ambassadors iv To dissolve the Parliament if a vote of no confidence was passed on the government. By convention, the Prime Minister was expected to resign v He must assent his signature to bills passed by the Parliament to become laws vi To declare a state of emergency in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

Another landmark in the Republican Constitution was the regionalization of the judiciary with the Supreme Court of the Federation as the highes t appellate Court of the land instead of the Privy Council in London. In the Constitution, both the Senate and the Federal House of Representatives were jointly responsible for the selection and the removal of the President in consonance with the laid down procedure in the document.

Nnamdi Azikiwe was elected by secret ballot at a joint session of the Parliament. Other important functions of the Parliament especially the House of Representatives were to: i make laws for the whole country; ii control public fund; iii approve budget and ratify important appointments; and iv act as checks on the other two important organs of government - Executive and the Judiciary.

The Republican Constitution provided for the Police Force for the Federation and also for local authority Police in the regions. The Inspector-General was the head of the Federal Police while a regional Commissioner of Police who was subordinate to the Inspector-General controlled the local authority Police. Like the Constitution, the Republican Constitution also divided powers between the Federal, Regional and Local governments.

Both the Federal and the Regional governments legislated on items under the Concurrent Legislative List while the Residual List was left for the regional government. Perhaps the most striking point in the Constitution was the provision for the process for State creation which gave birth to the creation of the Mid-West region in , the only State to be created so far by the civilian government in Nigeria. Dua l Heads The Republican Constitution threw away the imperial status of Nigeria but retained the imperial Constitutional Monarchical system of government which provided for two people efficient and dignified heads to lead a government.

Yakubu Gowon who restored the federal system and reorganized the four existing regions into twelve states. General Gowon remained in power until July when he was overthrown in a coup led by Brigadier Murtala Mohammed.

Murtala Mohammed reversed some of General Gowon's unpopular policies, set a date for the return to civilian rule and increased the number of states from twelve to nineteen. In February Mohammed was assassinated in a coup attempt, and his deputy General Olusegun Obasanjo replaced him, continuing many of his policies and taking responsibility for the final stages of Nigeria's return to civilian rule.

In a constitution was introduced, which moved Nigeria away from the Westminister parliamentary model to a presidential system with a clear separation of powers and with an executive governor in each state. Alhaji Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria NPN emerged the winner of the presidential election and he was sworn in as the country's first executive president on October 1, Sir William Macgregor Governor of Lagos and Sir Ralph Moore High commissioner of Southern Nigeria were in agreement with Lord Lugard as they felt the amalgamation will make governance more efficient and rescue the country from eminent collapse as a result of tribal acrimony.

So, after deliberations with relevant officers like Mr. Lewis Harcourt the then Secretary of the State for the colonies, the fieldwork and the proposal written in , the Northern and Southern protectorates were amalgamated in and the wife of Lord Lugard named the region Nigeria.

Two 2 years after the amalgamation, that is precisely in Lord Lugard the Governor-General promulgated the Education Code for Nigeria. The ordinance and the code which were Lugard's effort to cater for the education of the whole country were approved on the 21 and 24 December respectively. Fabunmi The ordinance was based on usefulness to both the individual and community and it tried to recognize the school system in Nigeria. The ordinance recommended that grant-in-aid be offered in the following percentages: — 30 percent; Adequate and efficiency of the teaching staff — 20 percent; — 40 percent; — 10 percent.

Fabunmi The ordinance asserted strong government control. This ordinance was slightly changed with the amended ordinance No 8 of just to give more powers to inspectors. By this amended ordinance, inspectors were free to inspect all schools both the assisted and non- assisted schools. It also empowers the department of education to close non-performing schools upon the recommendation of the inspector. Closely following the amended ordinance of was the memorandum of education policy in British Tropical Africa dispatched in March to the colonies for the British colonial education.

This led to the enactment of the Education Ordinance after the Phelps - Stroke Commission on Education in British Africa was set up in to address the need to close down mushroom schools.

This memorandum was necessitated by the need to stop the mushroom primary schools from operating in Southern Nigeria. So the British government adopted a new education policy for its British West African colonies in The memorandum stated the guidelines for operation in the colonial educational system clearly.

According to Osokoya, and Fabunmi the Education Ordinance consisted mainly of the recommendations of the Phelps-Stoke Commission which included the following: educational institutions; on and inspection of schools; These resulted in the provisions of the Education Ordinance which included: -condition for teaching in any school in Southern Nigeria; the Board of Education; in conflict with the interest of the people or the host community; and the Deputy Director of Education, the Assistant Director, ten representatives of the mission and other educational agencies; Osokoya, ; Fabunmi, This policy was a landmark in the development of education in Nigeria because it was the first policy document to be issued on African education with consideration for local content.

The first attempt at educational planning was done in when the Ten 10 year Education Plan was developed. This plan was revised and incorporated into the National Development Plan of This plan was however further revised and incorporated into the Ten 10 year Plan of Development and Welfare for Nigeria in A significant feature of the plan was the inclusion of educational plan into a broad national development plan specifying educational programmes to be executed to achieve specified economic and social goals for the government Adiele et al.

Within this period, different education schemes were also set up for the Northern Protectorate. The North became divided into Islamic and Pagan North with four types of schools namely: hiefs would be taught as boarders in a school or college; In this setup, three forms of education: Qur'anic, traditional and western education co-existed side by side with the North and South each having a different pace of development in terms of western educational attainment.

The constitution gave each region the power of making laws for its territory and citizens as well as its own educational policies. The constitution contained three lists. These are: i Exclusive legislative list, which contained items upon which only the federal legislature or parliament could legislate, i.

The regions quickly exploited this constitutional provision and made regional laws Fabunmi, This was what led to the enactment of the education law of the Eastern region. The Eastern region education law Was reviewed in and later abandoned because it was poorly planned. Though the components of the educational systems of the regions differed, there were some common Administrative and statutory features which are the three stages of education -primary, postprimary And further education.

Pupils did not pay fees in the government schools, the colonial government had to encourage People to send their children to schools in the North. There was a general apathy towards western Education by the people who mostly preferred to send their children to the Quran school and Viewed western education with suspicion. The missions were merely interested in their vision and not the interest of the people.

The missionary schools lacked central school laws thereby leading to non-uniform standard. The Schools lacked standard qualification for teachers and the focus of the school was religion. The Schools also lacked adequate supervision as well as teaching and learning material and necessary facilities. Quality of education was affected as in some cases; some older pupils were used to teach the younger one.

Simply put, the education ordinance was cumbersome to implement in Nigeria because the curriculum, the method, and the medium of communication were too foreign for the Nigerian child. The provisions of the ordinance were more robust in terms of coverage but nothing much was said about the curricula. The content of education was not clearly spelt out.

The British colonial government was not interested in the educational activities of the missionaries until such a time when they noticed a gap in the supply of required trained manpower to run their enterprises. It was precisely about thirty 30 years after the introduction of the Western education by the missionaries, that the colonial government got involved in educating Nigerians And invariably Africans.

This further explains the singular purpose of the colonial masters in Africa. In terms of education ordinances, codes policies etc. The provision made for the inclusion of Arabic studies in the education ordinance of by Sir Arthur Richard and the earlier use of the restrictive rule by the colonial government Which prohibited the introduction of Western education in the North have continued to plague The country and negatively affecting the nation.

The after effect of these policies continues to Threaten the unity of the nation which the constitution of the country is designed to protect. The question then is, why was the country amalgamated and divided again into regions barely forty 40 years of amalgamation, and later made a Federation In ?

It portrays a sense of confusion. These actions of amalgamation, regionalization and Federation at different times and the consequent changes of the educational policy of the nation to meet the needs of these changes, continued to distort the educational system and slows down the wheel of progress of the country.

It is however difficult to specifically declare the impact of each policy on the people and the nation with accurate statistical evidence. It is therefore recommended that a crack intellectual working group comprised of core educationist and educational planners, be put together to review all the historical analysis of the Nigerians educational policies in recent past for the purpose of extracting all the recommendations made so far, analyzing and enumerating them in order of priority for quality decision making and achievement of national goals.

The purpose of this action shall be to adopt a systematic approach To solving the challenges of our educational system and indeed the nation and, doing so in a well-planned Sequence and phases.