MEANING OF A FEDERATION

Federalism is a system of government in which there is division of powers between two levels of government in a state. It is a system where power is shared between the central government and its coordinating units that is states or regional government. Both levels of government are each legally supreme within their areas of jurisdiction and competence. Examples of countries operating federal system of government are USA, Nigeria, Brazil, India etc.

Federalism is based on the principle of unity in diversity in order to harness the potentials and resources of the component units. A federation is a group of states or regions that are united under one central or federal government. These states or regions which are called federating units are in control of most of their internal affairs, while leaving some crucial issues such as defence, currency, external affairs etc. in the hand of the central government.

Nigeria as a federal state is structured into three levels of government namely; federal government, state government and local government. The Nigeria’s federation could be traced to Macpherson constitution of 1954, which provided for the division of powers between the federal government and the regional government.

Features of a federation.

1.     Sharing of Powers between the federal and State Government: in a federation, political powers are shared between the federal and state governments, and each government exercises the powers assigned to it by the constitution without interference from others.

2.     Independence of the Judiciary: the judges can perform their duty without fear or favour in determination of cases. They are not subject to executive control, their tenure is secured.

3.     Written Constitution: the constitution is usually in written form, that is, codified and rigid. This is why the process of amendment is rigid and cumbersome.

4.     It has at least two Tiers of Government: every federation has at least two tiers of government- the central or federal government and the regional or state government.

5.     Existence of Bi-Cameral Legislature: Bi-cameral

Legislature is one in which there exist two houses of assembly, and is common among states operating federal system. In Nigeria and United State of America, they are called the Senate and House of Representative.

The State Government

The state government is the second level of government in Nigeria. The state government is situated between the federal and local government. A state is much larger than a local government, and there are 36 states in Nigeria. The state government is headed by a Governor, and assisted by a Deputy Governor all dully elected as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution 1999. The governor also appoint commissioners to help in running the state. The state government is made up of three arms of government namely; the legislature, executive and judiciary. These arms have separate powers and functions, but work in such a way as to ensure peace and development of the state.

Importance of the State Government

1.     Provision of social amenities such as electricity, good roads, portable water etc.

2.     Provision of finances and educational materials for all levels of education.

3.     Assisting farmers by providing fertilizers, chemicals, and seedlings at subsidized rate.

4.     Maintaining law and order in the state.

5.     Provision of jobs for the people by establishing industries.

6.     Ensuring peaceful coexistence among the people.

Problems Facing the State Government

a.      Corruption: public fund is being embezzled by government officials and politicians. This affect proper execution of projects which leads to backwardness.

b.     Poor electricity supply and bad road: the state’s inability to provide adequate electricity and good road affects its development.

c.      Insufficient Qualified Staff: as a result of poor remuneration, people prefer to work in private business where they received better pay.

d.     Lack of Fund: the state government is also faced with the challenge of inadequate funds to execute projects.

e.      Revenue Crisis: there is always conflict between the state and local government over revenue generation and sharing.

The Local Government

The local government is the third tier of government at the grassroots. It is the nearest and closest to the people. It is set up to meet the needs and aspiration of the people at the grassroots. Local government is a political and administrative unit empowered by law to administer a specified locality. It is one of man’s oldest institution. In fact, democracy itself originated and developed along the lines of local government initiative in the ancient Greek city States. There are 774 local government areas in Nigeria as contained in the 1999 constitution.

A local government is headed by a Chairman and assisted by other councillors. The local government receives money from both the federal and state government to carry out its programs. This is known as statutory allocation from the federal and state governments. It also gets money through taxes, fines, levies etc.

Reasons for the Creation of Local Government

1.     For Administrative Convenience: local government is created for administrative expediency. There are many functions that will be cumbersome for the state and federal governments to perform because of the distance separating them and the people. These functions can be best and effectively performed by the local government. For instance collection of rates, radio and television licenses and registration of births, deaths and marriages.

2.     To Engender Development. Local government is created to bring meaningful development to the rural areas. As an agent of rural development, local government is to use the funds available to them by both the federal and state governments and its internally generated revenue to improve on the lives of the people within the areas of operation through

(a)             Initiating and attracting developmental projects to the local people such as good roads, water and electricity

(b)             Sustaining livelihoods through the provision of credit facilities for agriculture, arts, craft etc.

(c)              Encouraging the formation of cooperative societies and other economic groups.

3.     To Preserve Heritage and common Interest of the People: the creation of local government is intended to bring people of common heritage or ancestry together as a political unit to further their interests and increase their participation in government business.

Problems Facing Local Government in Nigeria

1.     Problem of Party Politics: the party in power often dominates the local government. Members of other parties are not involved in the running of its affairs even if they are more qualified and efficient.

 

 

 

 

2.     Corruption: there is widespread corruption at the local government level. This is because, the officials use public funds for their own interests instead of them to provide social amenities for the community.

3.     Insufficient Funds: the local government is also faced with the challenge of inadequate funds to execute projects. This is because most state governments do high jack the funds released to the local government by the federal government.

4.     There is problem of qualified and skilled workers: due to poor condition of service and remuneration, people prefer to work in private business where there is good condition of service and a better pay.

PILLARS OF DEMOCRACY

 Democracy on its own will not survive without the help of some institutions. It can only thrive where there is regular and transparent elections, political parties and tolerance, doctrine of rule of law, freedom of expression, among others.  Democracy been government by the consent of the governed, is people oriented and all actions and policies of government reflects the yearnings of the people.  These institutions that are the backbone of democracy are called pillars of democracy. They include:
The Constitution

One of the basics Pillars of democracy is a workable  Constitution.  Constitution is a set of fundamental rules according to which a state is governed.  It is also a set of rules or regulations which guides the conduct and  behaviors of people in a society. It lays down guidelines for political interactions among the levels of government and citizens of a state, and it is necessary for an orderly conduct of the affairs of the state. A Constitution is therefore a product of the people's wishes and aspiration contained in an authoritative document.

The Constitution states the fundamental rules and principles which determine the structure, powers and functions to be exercised by various organs of government.  The Constitution acts as a check on exercise of state power by establishing lines which leaders cannot cross. It seeks to regulate the relationship between institutions of State, such as the executives, legislature and judiciary.  It also defines the relations between individual and the state and establish the rights and obligations/duties of citizens.
Basically, there are two forms of a Constitution namely; written and written constitution.  Written constitution is a properly documented legal instrument. It is a fundamental document containing the basic laws   that govern the people. Written constitution contains laws that are codified (written down) in a single document. It is the practice of modern nations to codify their Constitution.  Example of countries with written constructions are Nigeria USA I Ghana.

Unwritten Constitution on the other hand refers to rules and regulations governing a country that are not contain in a single document.  There is no single official document, but the rules or practices are contained in different documents.  Great Britain is a good example of a country that Operate an unwritten constitution.

The major sources of a Constitution are; conventions, customs, judicial proceedings, acts of parliament, writings of eminent political philosophers etc.

Features of the Constitution

1.     Division of powers:  a constitution confers specific powers on various organs and institutions of government.  For instance, the constitution stated that the primary functions of the legislature is to make or repeal laws, the executive to implement laws and judiciary to interpret laws.  Any actions of any organ or official beyond the limits of its power or authority will be declared ultravires (null and void).

2.     Supremacy over ordinary statue law:  in most modern states, the constitution has supremacy over ordinary statue law. A statue law is a written law passed a legislative body. Any provisions of the statute law in conflict with the constitution will be declared null and void and therefore of no effect, as the provision of the constitution prevail over the statute law.

3.     Codification:  A fundamental feature of a constitution is either it is codified or not. A codified constitution is one that is contained in a single document, consisting of several different sources which may be written on unwritten.
4.  Entrenchment: The presence or lack of entrenchment is a fundamental feature of a Constitution.  An entrenched Constitution is one that is firmly established that it cannot be altered in any way by the legislature as a part of its normal business concerning statutory laws.  That is to say, it requires special procedures for its amendments.  The Nigerian and U.S.A. constitution is an example an entrenched constitution, and the U.K. constitution is one that is not entrenched.  That means, it's require no special procedures for its amendments.

5.     Distribution of sovereignty:   the constitution established where sovereignty is located in a state.  Sovereignty means supreme power or authority.  There are three basic types of distribution of powers according to the degree of centralization of powers. Unitary, Federal and Confederal.  In a Unitary State, sovereignty resides in the state itself. The state may be divided into regions, but they are not sovereign, but are subordinate to the State.  In a federal state, there exist central structures containing institutions of the federal government and several regions or states.  Sovereignty is divided between the central and the constituent regions or states.  A Confederal State comprises several regions or states, but the central structure has only limited coordinating powers, while sovereignty is located in the region or States.

6.     State of emergency:  Many Constitutions allow the declaration of a state of emergency in exceptional circumstances such as natural crisis or war.  In such times, some rights of people are suspended for national interest.

Assignment

Explain the necessary components of a constitution

The Institutions of Government

The business of government cannot be carried out without the existence of institutions. Such institutions ensure political stability and peaceful co-existence as well as welfare of citizens. These institutions include;

The Arms of Government

There are three arms of government, they are; the legislature, executive and judiciary. The legislature is responsible for law making and oversight functions. The executive is responsible for implementing laws and policies of government, while the judiciary is mainly responsible for the interpretation of laws and the constitution.

The Legislature

This is the arm of government that is charged with the responsibility of making or repealing laws of the land. In Nigeria, the legislature is called the National Assembly at the central level, and House of Assembly at the state level. The legislature performs some of these functions

1.     Law making: this is the primary function of the legislature. This is done through the constitutional and parliamentary procedures employed by the National or State Assembly, which involves several readings, public hearings, legislative committees etc. in the passage of bills to law.

2.     Oversight function: this is the constitutional power of the legislature to check or control the exercise of constitutional powers of other arms of government in order to make them accountable to the electorate.

3.     Watchdog over Public Finance: it is the legislature that gives authorization to the executives for all expenditure from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. The Appropriation Bill is the basis of the executive’s plan for running of government within the fiscal year.

4.     Removal powers: the legislature have the ultimate powers to remove the president, vice president, governor or deputy governor through impeachment. The provision for the removal of members of the chief executives from office is found in section 143 and 188 of the 1999 constitution.

The executive

The executive is the arm of government whose main function is to implement the law. At the federal level, the executive is headed by the president, who is the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, supported by the vice president and ministers, while the Governor heads the executive at the state level.

The executive formulate and execute government policies and programmes. The executive must operate within the limit of the constitutional provisions and other laws of the land. Any violation of the constitution or law is subject to judicial review by the judges, and any arbitrary action or policy of government may be declared null and void, and therefore, of no effect by the courts.

The Judiciary

The judiciary’s primary responsibility is to interpret the law. The Nigeria’s legal system is based on the combination of common law, statutory (legislative) law, customary law and sharia law. At the federal level, the judicial arm consist of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court. At the state level, there is the State High Court, and at the local government level, there are the Sharia Court and Customary Court.

Armed Forces/ Paramilitary Organizations

The military is a strong institution for the defence of the state. It comprises the armed forces such as the Army, Navy and Airforce. The Armed forces are to defend the state against external aggression and assist in suppressing internal insurgency. The police and other paramilitary organizations such as Civil Defence, Man O’ War, Vigilante Groups etc. The police has the responsibility to maintain internal security.

Trade/Labour Unions

Trade unions seek to protect the interest of their members. They often agitate for better welfare packages such as increase in salary, loans for vehicles and housing and other social benefits. Trade unions have been very powerful in institutionalizing good governance and preservation of human rights. In Nigeria, the labour unions have protested in many occasions against human right abuses by the political class and powerful individuals. Example of labour unions are; Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) etc.

INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY

 Individual responsibility is a term which means that a minister or his ministry is singularly held accountable or responsible for all decisions and actions taken in his ministry. The minister therefore, has both legal and political responsibilities for the ministry he is heading. He answer all parliamentary questions concerning his ministry. He is responsible or accountable to both the president and the parliament for both the actions of his ministry and his private or personal conduct as it relate to his office or duties. The term individual responsibility requires a minister to resign if the administrative blunders of his ministry are exposed and criticised on the floor of the parliament.

Importance of Parliamentary Approval of Appointments under Presidential System of Government

The president in a presidential system of government has the responsibility of appointing ministers, judges of supreme and High Courts, special advisers, chairmen and members of Boards and corporations, permanent secretaries, Heads of Departments, Ambassadors, members of Electoral Commission, population commission, Federal Civil Service Commission, Police Service Commission etc. all subject to parliamentary approval, which has the following importance

a.      Parliamentary approval of appointment is to ensure that the president makes his appointments in conformity with the constitution.

b.     It makes sure appointments reflect the federal character.

c.      Parliamentary approval of appointment helps to check the excessive use of power by the president.

d.     It also ensures that the president’s appointees are qualified.

e.      It help to maintain the doctrine of checks and balances.

f.       It makes the present to be cautions and meticulous in his appointment there by avoiding thoughtless and hasty appointments

g.     It ensures that public officials are brought under popular control.

h.     It ensures that the president does not appoint more than the required officials, thereby ensuring prudent use of resources.

i.       It prevent the president from being a dictator.

COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY

Collective responsibility is a principle which states that all members of the cabinet are collectively accountable or responsible for all decisions and actions taken by the cabinet. It also means that members of the cabinet are expected to publicly support all governmental decisions made in cabinet, even if they do not privately agree with them. The cabinet is responsible collectively to the parliament, and must present and defend their actions and policies in unison. All ministers must be prepared to support and defend the policies of the government. A minister who is not ready to accept, support and defend the actions and policies of government must resign his ministerial appointment, because members of the cabinet share the blame as a body for any maladministration. If the parliament passes a vote of no confidence on the cabinet, which means that the cabinet has failed, all the members of the cabinet including the Prime-minister must resign.

Merits of Collective Responsibility

1.     Collective responsibility makes members of a cabinet to work as a team and speak with one voice.

2.     Collective responsibility prevent shift of blames.

3.     It compels the ministers to be careful.

4.     It leads to the settlement of inter-ministerial disputes at the cabinet level instead of at the floor of the parliament.

5.     Collective responsibility ensures stability of government.

Demerits of Collective Responsibility

1.     Collective responsibility does not allow a minister or his ministry to be assesses individually.

2.     It makes it difficult for the blunders of a minister to be exposed and criticised in the parliament.

3.     Ministers hide under/behind it to commit atrocities since they cannot be judged individually.

4.     It does not allow members of the parliament to demand information about a single minister.

5.     It encourages collective sharing of blames and praises of individual members of the cabinet.