Key Points in Government
Quotes for Students
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around - Leo Buscaglia
The most important things we can give to others are actually not expensive. In fact, we don't have to buy them with money because they are right within us.
These include our kind words, listening ears, honest compliments, our 'thank you', those beautiful smiles, our loving corrections, sincere kindness and a caring heart
In the end, it isn't the years in your life that count. It is the life in your years - Abraham Lincoln
One fact remains constant to us all, and that's death. We are not guaranteed of tomorrow because no living human is too old to die, even a newly born. Remember, age is also a number.
Therefore, let us always do good, help the poor, care for the sick and less privileged, forgive transgressions and most importantly, extend the hands of love to everyone we come across.
By doing this, we would have added an abundance of life to our years, regardless its number. Recall that Jesus Christ Himself died at 33
You cannot win everytime. This therefore makes defeat a part of life. However, it is the way and manner at which we rise from our defeats that determines our place among the greats.
Muhammad Ali was a professional boxer with 56 wins and 5 defeats. However, the way and manner at which he rose from his defeats secured his place in boxing history as the greatest fighter of all time
One Day or Day One, you decide - Unknown
We all intend to become great in life. However, we should also understand that it doesn't take one day to become great. Rather it takes many days of work, practice, diligence, failures and successes to become great.
My question to you is this: Concerning your path to greatness, what day are you in?
Whatever you are, be a good one - Abraham Lincoln
If you are a boy, be a good boy. If you are a girl, be a good girl. If you are a man, be a good man. If you are a woman, be a good woman. If you are a student, be a good student. If you are a teacher, be a good teacher.
I can go on and on; but the point is: You are human, so do all in your power to be a good human
Ecclesiocracy is a form of government whereby religious leaders are recognized as the first citizens of a state.
The religious leaders in ecclesiocracy do not proclaim themselves as a direct instrument of divine revelation concerning laws governing the society.
A typical example of ecclesiocracy is seen in Vatican City where the pope presides as the leader of the state. However, the pope does not claim to receive direct revelation from God concerning civil laws.
The grand Ayatollah of Iran (Ali Khamenei) and president of Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir are also considered as instances of leaders in ecclesiocracy.
It is worthy of note to state that the laws and rules governing the land in ecclesiocracy are based on religious beliefs, thus making it somewhat related to theocracy.
One of the duties of the government is to make laws that govern the society. Without laws, some of the rich may oppress the poor. Similarly, some of the highly placed in the society may end up oppressing the weak without being brought to justice.
The absence of government in a society, country, nation, state or community is referred to as anarchy.
An instance of anarchy occurred in Somalia in 1991 after a dictator name Said Barre was overthrown. This made Somalia disintegrate into fractions with local warlords imposing their authority over their land.
Below are some of the functions of government:
It is the role of the government to protect and defend the fundamental human rights of her citizens.
The government maintains law and order through the law enforcement agencies. These will include the police, customs officers and other local securities.
It is the duty of the government to generate revenue. This can be achieved through foreign trade.
It is the responsibility of the government to maintain external relations with other countries. For this reason, the president may visit other countries for business and bilateral trade purposes. Similarly, other presidents may visit your country in this regard.
Government can be defined under the following headings:
1. As an institution of a state.
Government is defined as an institution, agency, machinery or instrument that is established to manage the affairs of general welfare of the people making up a state or country
2. As a process or as an act of governing.
Government is defined as the processes and methods involved in the formulation, administration and implementation of public policies from a procedure which had been specifically spelt out in the constitution of a country or state
3. As an academic field of study.
Government is defined as the study of institutions, theories, ideas, values and doctrines as relating to the acquisition and use of political power for the welfare of the people
The End Sars is considered a pressure group in Nigeria. It campaigned in the interest of Nigerian youths, thus forcing the Nigerian government into scrapping the Special Anti-Robbery Squard (SARS) who had constantly brutalized Nigerians, especially the youths; through extortion, indiscriminate shootings, threats and other violent conducts.
Unfortunately, some Nigerian youths paid the ultimate price with their lives at the Lekki tollgate massacre. This happened on the 20th day of October, 2020.
Burna Boy, a Nigerian musician made a song titled '20 : 10 : 20' in this regard.
The organs of government (also referred to as arms of government or branches of government) are:
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
These three arms of government serves as a separation of power.
Separation of Power implies that they carry out their distinct (separate) functions and responsibilities in accordance to the nation's constitution.
The president (who is number one citizen of a country and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces) is the head of the executive arm of government. It is the responsibility of the executive to enforce or execute the law.
The legislature is a group of elected persons who are required to make law.
In Nigeria, the legislature consist of the bicameral national assembly which are:
The upper house or chamber (Senate)
The lower house or chamber (House of Representative)
The judiciary is an independent arm of government whose power is enforced in the courts.
Like the executive and legislature, they function under the guidance of the constitution.
Below are some functions of the executive arm of government:
They ensure the security of the citizens in a country.
The executive cannot pass laws into the constitution. Instead, they can forward bills to the legislature (or parliament) which will deliberate upon it. (Think of 'bill' as a proposal to be made into law; which will be submitted to the parliament in the form of a draft act).
It is the president's responsibility to provide quality healthcare system, education, good roads (transport system), power, labour and finance through his ministers. For instance, the minister of agriculture oversees the affairs of agriculture in a nation. The ministers may also be accountable to the national assembly with regards to how they go about their ministries.
They bring about maintenance of law and order in a country through the National Security Agencies (NSA) like the police, army, navy and air force.
They prepare and execute the nation’s budget.
The president approves the law into the constitution.
Plesse read more on the functions of executive, legislative and judiciary arms of government here
No one is above the constitution, even the president or prime minister.
The constitution is the supreme law in a country, nation or state.
The constitution specifies how the nation or state should be governed.
The constitution gives power to the different organs of government; (that is, the executive, judiciary and legislature).
Juxtaposing the above points, below is a definition for the term constitution:
Constitution is a supreme law that specifies the government of a nation, the distribution of powers to the different organs of government within that nation and the fundamental rights of all her citizens.
Below are some qualities or characteristics of a constitution:
It is neither too rigid nor too flexible.
It accounts for the rule of law, de-centralization of power, an independent Judiciary system and processes of election transparency.
It accounts for the fundament human rights of the people.
It allocates power to the different arms of government.
It must uphold the people’s sovereignty.
It is written systematically.
Dictatorship is one of the forms of government. It can exist either as:
In 1966, Major General Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi became the first military Head of State in Nigeria after he overthrew a democratic and constitutional government (headed by the prime minister; Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa)
The above instance is a military form of dictatorship.
A typical example of a civilian dictatorship is Adolf Hitler of Germany and Joseph Stalin of Russia and Georgia
A Pressure group is defined as any formal and organized body or group of people with the same interest and whose main goal is to put pressure on any governmental institution in order to influence government policies and laws to their own gain.
An example of a pressure group whose voice is often heard in Nigeria is the Academic Staff Union for Universities (ASUU).
Another instance of a pressure group in Nigeria is the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group who pressured the Nigerian Government into taking appropriate actions towards the release of the 276 kidnapped female secondary students popularly referred to as the Chibok Girls, in Chibok, Bornu State, Nigeria.
Understand that these innocent female students were kidnapped by the so called 'Boko Haram' terrorists on the night of April 14th - 15th, 2014
If men and women enjoyed the same rights, same freedom, same opportunities, same resources and same rewards in all sectors of society, then that's gender equality.
Gender equality is the process of being fair to humans; both males and females.
Below are some ways towards achieving gender equality.
Education of the girl child
Encouraging women to go into power
Putting a stop to sexual harassment and child marriage
Women and girls empowerment
Putting a stop to harmful traditional practices against women
Stopping the violence and war
Please read more on gender equality and ways to achieve it here
Total Topics (14) Paged
Page (1 of 2)
Academic Questions in Government
Which of the following is not a function of government?
A. Government provides all the jobs in the country they govern
B. Government empowers the less privilege and the physically challenged
C. Government provides a support system for the aged
D. Government provides infrastructure for her citizens
E. Government maintains external relations with other countries
F. Government generates revenue for the country they govern
Government
In government, a type of one-party system whereby a single party is officially and legally recognized in a country or state is termed a _____.
A. Hegemonic Party
B. Pre-Dominant Party
C. Dominant Party
D. True Single-State
E. Unique-Ordered State
F. State-Exclusive Party
Government
Which of the following is not a characteristic of the multi-party system?
A. There is an existence of several parties differing in principles and fundamentals.
B. The political parties are legally recognized.
C. It is democratic in nature.
D. Among the various parties, only one dominates the political landscape.
E. Some of the opposition parties can become politically insignificant.
F. It promotes the coalition of governments.
Government
In a two-party system, only 2 political parties are present in countries where they are practised.
A. True
B. False
Government
On February 25, 2023; Nigeria as a country had its presidential election. The party system involved in this election is the _____.
A. Zero Party System
B. One-Party System
C. Two-Party System
D. Multi-Party System
E. APC, PDP and LP Party System
F. Coalition Party System
Government
The following countries practice a zero party system except _____.
A. Cambodia
B. Vatican City
C. Bahrain
D. Saudi Arabia
E. Oman
F. Kuwait
Government
Which of the following is not a characteristic of the two-party system?
A. It is democratic in nature
B. There isn't a third party
C. The two parties are always dominant in the political terrain
D. The president must emerge from one of both parties
E. It encourages freedom of expression at the press
F. It presents a choice of candidates to the people
Government
Len Academy