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.
