JAMB Government 2018 Past Questions & Answers

A confederal system is a loose union of independent states where the component units are more powerful than the central government; Nigeria has never practiced this system. Between 1960 and 1980, Nigeria was a parliamentary democracy $(1960-1966)$ and a federal state. It also experienced a unitary system in practice during military rule, especially under General Aguiyi-Ironsi's Unification Decree of 1966.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'unitary' because Nigeria is officially a federation, but they forget that military regimes operated with a centralized, unitary command structure.

The Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) is the correct answer because it was founded in 1923 by Herbert Macaulay. This makes it the very first political party to be established in Nigeria. It was formed to contest the elections introduced by the Clifford Constitution of 1922, marking the beginning of organised party politics. The other parties listed, such as the NCNC (1944) and the AG (1951), were formed much later.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose the NCNC because it was a more prominent and widespread nationalist party, but it was founded in 1944, over two decades after the NNDP.

The most fundamental and primary responsibility of any government is to maintain law and order. This involves protecting the lives and property of citizens, which creates a safe and stable environment for all other activities, like economic development and providing social services, to take place.

Common mistake: Students may incorrectly choose option A, as building schools is an important social service, but it is a secondary function that can only happen effectively once the primary function of security is established.

For a country to have a good government, it needs both a strong legal framework and competent, ethical leaders. A good constitution acts as the rulebook for governance, but it is useless if the people in power (the operators) ignore it or are corrupt. Therefore, the combination of a good constitution and good operators is essential for achieving good governance.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose option B, believing that good leaders can govern well even with a flawed constitution, but a bad constitution can frustrate the efforts of even the best operators.

A fundamental principle of democracy is majority rule, which means the decision of the greater number of people prevails. However, a true democracy also ensures that the fundamental rights of the minority groups are protected and they are not oppressed by the majority. This combination of majority rule and minority rights is essential for a fair and stable democratic system.

Common mistake: Students may mistakenly choose option D because some famous democracies have two major parties, but a two-party system is a type of party system, not a universal principle of democracy itself.

Political authority is the legal and legitimate right to exercise power and make binding decisions. In a democracy, this right is granted to leaders by the people through the process of elections. Therefore, the power that comes from the electorate (the voters) is the foundation of legal political authority.

Common mistake: Students may confuse 'power from the gun' with authority, but this represents coercive force or might, not the legal right to rule.

In a presidential system of government, which Nigeria practices, there is a separation of powers between the different arms of government. The Executive arm, headed by the President, is responsible for implementing laws and policies. To carry out its plans, the executive often needs to propose new laws or changes to existing ones, which it does by preparing bills and sending them to the legislature (the National Assembly) for debate and approval.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose an arm of the legislature like the House of Representatives because its primary role is law-making, forgetting that the executive also has the power to initiate bills.

In democratic systems, the principle of universal adult suffrage is practiced, which means all qualified adult citizens have the right to vote. The key word here is 'adult,' which implies a minimum age requirement. Therefore, age is a legitimate and universal basis for restricting political participation to ensure that voters are mature enough to make informed decisions. Other options like religion, sex, or class are considered discriminatory and undemocratic.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose options like religion or class because they know discrimination exists, but in a proper democracy, these are not considered legitimate grounds for restricting participation like age is.

The term 'franchise' or 'suffrage' means the right to vote. The prefix 'dis-' is used to show a negative or opposite meaning. Therefore, 'disenfranchisement' means to take away or deny someone the right to vote, which makes option C the correct answer.

Common mistake: Students might confuse disenfranchisement with the general concept of political rights and mistakenly choose option D, which defines franchise, not its denial.

The right to life is a fundamental human right protected by the constitution, but it is not absolute. The constitution itself provides for exceptions, or limitations, to this right. The most significant limitation is when a court of law sentences a person to death for a capital offence after a fair trial, which applies only to a convicted person.

Common mistake: Students might incorrectly choose 'in the government' because it is a broad term, but the specific legal limitation applies to the status of an individual after being convicted by the judiciary, not a general power of the government.

Political socialisation is the process through which individuals learn and develop their political attitudes and values. This learning happens through various 'agents' like the mass media, peer groups, and educational institutions such as universities. These agents actively shape our understanding of politics and contribute to public opinion. Tourism, on the other hand, is a recreational activity and not a primary or structured institution for transmitting political culture within a society.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'University' because they see it as a place for general education, but universities are key agents where political ideas are formally taught and debated.

Political sovereignty is the supreme and ultimate authority within a state, from which all other powers are derived. In a democracy, this power belongs to the people, who are the source of all political authority. The people exercise their sovereignty by electing representatives to govern on their behalf and can withdraw this power during elections.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'government' or 'parliament' because these bodies exercise state power daily, but they only do so on behalf of the people, who are the true and ultimate source of that power.

Naturalization is the correct answer because it is the legal process by which a non-citizen (an alien) of a country may acquire citizenship after fulfilling certain requirements. In Nigeria, these requirements include residing in the country for a continuous period of at least 15 years and being a person of good character. The twenty years mentioned in the question clearly satisfies the long residency condition for naturalization.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'nationalisation' because it sounds very similar to 'naturalization', but nationalisation refers to the government taking control of private industries.

In a parliamentary system of government, there is a distinction between the Head of State and the Head of Government. The Head of Government, who is the Prime Minister, holds the real executive power. The Head of State has a ceremonial or symbolic role. Since the question specifies a 'republic' (a state without a monarch), the ceremonial Head of State is the President.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'Prime Minister' because they confuse the ceremonial Head of State with the Head of Government, who holds the actual executive power in a parliamentary system.

A representative government is a system where citizens elect officials to represent them and make decisions on their behalf. The primary method for choosing these representatives in a democracy is through voting. A general election is the formal process where the entire electorate votes to select their representatives, thus establishing a government that represents the people.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'a military coup' because it is a way a government can be formed, but they forget that a coup is a forceful takeover and is the opposite of a representative or democratic process.

Delegated legislation is the power given by the legislature (parliament) to the executive arm or other bodies to make detailed rules and regulations. This is done because parliament has too much work and may not have the technical knowledge for every specific area. By giving this power to others, parliament is relieved of its heavy workload, allowing it to focus on more important national issues.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'enthroning the rule of law' because it involves making laws, but uncontrolled delegated legislation can actually undermine the rule of law by giving too much power to the executive.

The British system of indirect rule worked by using the traditional rulers and their existing political structures to govern the people. In Northern Nigeria, the Hausa-Fulani had a highly centralized and organized system with Emirs, a clear line of authority, and an established system for collecting taxes. This existing administrative structure made it easy for the British to simply rule 'indirectly' through the Emirs, which is why the system was so successful there.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose option A, believing that a single religion was the main reason for success, but the key factor was the existing administrative structure that the British could easily control.

The French initially used the policy of Assimilation, which aimed to turn Africans into French citizens by making them adopt French culture and language. This policy largely failed because it was expensive and met with resistance from Africans. As a result, the French replaced it with the more practical policy of Association, which respected local cultures and institutions while still maintaining French political and economic control.

Common mistake: Students often confuse the colonial policies of the British and the French, mistakenly linking the policy of Association to the British, who actually practiced Indirect Rule.

Nationalism is the strong feeling of love and loyalty for one's country, which creates a desire for self-rule. This desire for independence from foreign control drove African nationalists to fight against their colonial masters. The ultimate result of this struggle was de-colonisation, which is the process of colonies gaining their political independence.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose option D because international groupings like ECOWAS were formed after independence, but these were a consequence of being independent, not the primary goal of the nationalist struggle itself.

The Richards Constitution of 1946 is most famous for its effort to promote the unity of Nigeria. Its main achievement was creating a central Legislative Council that brought representatives from the Northern and Southern Protectorates together for the first time to legislate for the whole country. This was a significant step in unifying the administrative and political structure of Nigeria before independence.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose option D because the elective principle is a major constitutional milestone, but it was actually introduced by the earlier Clifford Constitution of 1922, not the Richards Constitution.

The 1954 Lyttelton Constitution is considered the foundation of true federalism in Nigeria because it was the first constitution to formally establish a division of powers. It created specific lists of responsibilities (the Exclusive, Concurrent, and Residual lists) that assigned different functions to the central government and the regional governments. This sharing of power between different levels of government is the defining characteristic of a federal system.

Common mistake: Students may mistakenly choose option D because the 1954 constitution did introduce new executive posts, but the creation of a Prime Minister's post relates to a parliamentary system, not the federal structure itself.

The 1954 Constitutional Conference, held in Lagos, resulted in the Lyttelton Constitution which formally established a federal system in Nigeria. A major and contentious decision made during this conference was to separate Lagos from the Western Region. This was done to make Lagos a neutral Federal Territory, serving as the capital for the entire country, thereby resolving the intense political struggle over its control.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose the 1953 conference because it was the London conference that first debated the issue, but the final decision was concluded and enacted as part of the 1954 Lyttelton Constitution.

After the first military coup in January 1966, General J.T.U. Aguiyi Ironsi became the Head of the Federal Military Government. Before this, Nigeria had a parliamentary system where the Head of State (President Nnamdi Azikiwe) and Head of Government (Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa) were separate roles held by different people. General Ironsi was the first leader to combine both positions, making him the first person to be both Head of State and Head of Government.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa because he was the first Prime Minister, but they forget he was only the Head of Government, not the Head of State.

The decision to move Nigeria's capital from Lagos to Abuja in 1976 was widely seen as a move to promote national unity by creating a neutral federal capital. While there were discussions, it did not cause a major political crisis, violence, or breakdown of government. In contrast, the motion for self-government and the general elections of 1964 and 1965 all led to severe political conflicts, riots, and instability that tested the Nigerian federal structure.

Common mistake: Students might incorrectly choose the motion for self-government, forgetting that the sharp disagreement it caused between Northern and Southern politicians led to a breakdown in the legislature and the Kano Riots of 1953.

Monarchy is a form of government where the head of state, usually a king or queen, holds their position for life. This position is hereditary, meaning political power is passed down from one generation to the next within the same family. Therefore, a system where power is inherited is correctly identified as a monarchy.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose aristocracy, but this refers to rule by a small, privileged noble class, not necessarily a single inherited position like a king or queen.