50 questions. Try each one, then open the answer to check yourself and read the explanation.
Political authority is vested in the
Answer: A (state)
Sovereign political authority belongs to the state; the government is only the agent that exercises it for the state at a given time.
An indispensable feature of any government is
Answer: D (political power.)
Every government, democratic or not, must have the power to make and enforce decisions. Many governments lack a written constitution, an independent judiciary or separation of powers.
The unrestrained power of a state over its citizens defines the concept of
Answer: D (sovereignty)
Sovereignty is the supreme, unlimited power of a state to make and enforce laws over everyone within its territory.
Case-laws are made by the
Answer: C (judiciary)
Case law comes from the decisions of judges in court cases, which later courts follow as precedents.
Which of the following undermines the independence of the judiciary?
Answer: B (Widespread use of tribunals)
Special tribunals, often set up by the executive and staffed by its appointees, take cases away from the regular courts and weaken their independence.
Bicameral legislatures are popular in
Answer: B (federal systems)
Federations usually have two chambers: one represents the people by population and the other gives the component states equal representation (e.g. Nigeria's Senate).
One of the weaknesses of confederation is the
Answer: C (tendencies towards secession)
In a confederation the member states keep their sovereignty and the centre is weak, so members can easily pull out (secede).
A system of government which emphasizes co-ordinate status of component units is referred to as
Answer: A (federal)
In a federation the central and state governments are coordinate: each is independent within the powers the constitution gives it.
A flexible constitution is one that is
Answer: B (easy to amend)
A flexible constitution can be amended by the ordinary law-making process, so it is easy to change (e.g. Britain's).
Unlike the British, the United States constitution is
Answer: A (rigid, federal and written)
The US constitution is a single written document, sets up a federal system and needs a special procedure to amend, so it is rigid. Britain's is unwritten, unitary and flexible.
The terms, oligarchy and democracy, identify governments according to
Answer: A (the number of people who participate in it)
Aristotle's classification uses how many rule: one (monarchy), a few (oligarchy) or the many (democracy).
Governments whose central concern is the equitable distribution of wealth are said to be
Answer: C (socialist)
Socialism aims to share the wealth of society fairly, through public ownership of the main means of production.
The presidential system of government ensures
Answer: C (the concentration of power in the chief executive)
In a presidential system all executive power is vested in one person, the president, who is both head of state and head of government.
The notion of checks and balances guarantees that
Answer: C (each branch of government acts as a watchdog over other branches)
Under checks and balances, each arm can limit the others (e.g. veto, impeachment, judicial review), so each watches over the others and none becomes too powerful.
The principle of collective responsibility implies that
Answer: D (the cabinet stands or falls together.)
Collective responsibility means all cabinet members share responsibility for government decisions; if parliament defeats the government, the whole cabinet goes.
The application of the rule of law may be constrained by
Answer: D (invoking emergency powers.)
During a state of emergency the government may detain people and suspend some rights, which limits the rule of law. The other options all strengthen it.
A device for controlling prolonged debates in parliament is called
Answer: D (a guillotine.)
The guillotine is a motion that fixes a time limit for each stage of a bill, cutting off long debate.
In the parliamentary system, when parliament defeats a major government bill, the
Answer: B (entire cabinet resigns)
Defeat on a major bill shows the government has lost the confidence of parliament, and by collective responsibility the whole cabinet is expected to resign.
A bill becomes an Act of Parliament after it has been
Answer: B (signed by the head of state)
A bill passed by parliament becomes law only when the head of state gives assent by signing it.
The primary duty of citizens to the state is
Answer: D (allegiance to the government.)
A citizen's first duty is to be loyal (show allegiance) to the state and its lawful government, not to particular persons.
Individual rights are said to be inelienable if they
Answer: B (cannot be denied under any circumstances)
An inalienable right is one that cannot be taken away or given up under any circumstances. Rights that can be removed by due process of law are qualified rights.
Elections present the electorate the opportunity to
Answer: D (choose among candidates.)
The basic purpose of an election is for voters to choose who will represent them from among the candidates.
The process of removing an elected official by the electorate after an election is termed
Answer: C (recall)
Recall lets voters in a constituency remove their representative before the end of the term. Impeachment is done by the legislature, not the voters.
Groups which seek to bring about changes in government policies without actually controlling the personnel of government are known as
Answer: B (pressure groups)
Pressure groups try to influence government policy but, unlike parties, do not seek to take over government offices.
The style of government in the Sokoto caliphate was
Answer: B (authoritarian)
The Sultan and emirs held great power (making laws, judging and taxing) with little popular check, so rule was authoritarian. Totalitarianism is a modern idea of total state control of all of life.
Which of the following traditional political systems was segmentary?
Answer: C (Igbo)
Igbo society had no central king; power was spread among village groups, elders and age grades, so it was segmentary (acephalous).
Which of the following led to the introduction of indirect rule in Nigeria by the British?
Answer: D (Manpower and personnel shortages.)
Britain had too few officials to govern a huge territory directly, so Lugard used the existing traditional rulers. Lack of money was another reason.
Warrant chiefs were appointed to
Answer: D (take charge of local administrations.)
In the East, where there were no strong traditional kings, the British gave 'warrants' to chosen men to run local administration for them under indirect rule.
The 1946 Constitution is characterized by
Answer: B (non-official majority in the legislative council)
The Richards Constitution of 1946 gave the central Legislative Council an unofficial majority for the first time, though many were nominated or indirectly elected.
The Willink Commission was set up to
Answer: C (examine issues relating to the welfare of groups)
The Willink Commission (1957-58) looked into the fears of minority groups in Nigeria and how to allay them; it advised against creating new states before independence.
The state legislatures of the second republic in Nigeria had the following EXCEPT a
Answer: B (senate leader)
State Houses of Assembly were single-chamber bodies headed by a Speaker. Only the National Assembly had a Senate, so there was no senate leader at state level.
Which of these constitutions recognised local government as the third tier of government
Answer: D (The 1979 Constitution.)
Following the 1976 reform, the 1979 Constitution guaranteed democratically elected local government councils, making local government the third tier.
A condition for judicial independence is the appointment of judges by the
Answer: B (Judicial Service Commission)
Appointment through an independent Judicial Service Commission keeps politicians from choosing judges for political reasons.
The federal system of government in Nigeria was abolished in favour of a unitary one by
Answer: C (Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi)
Aguiyi-Ironsi's Decree No. 34 of May 1966 abolished the regions and made Nigeria a unitary state. Gowon restored federalism.
One of the measures taken in 1988 to grant more autonomy to the local governments in Nigeria was the
Answer: A (abolition of state ministries of local government)
In 1988 the Babangida government abolished state ministries of local government and paid federal allocations directly to councils to give them more independence.
Traditional rulers were restricted to ceremonial rules by the Local Government Reforms of
Answer: B (1976)
The 1976 Local Government Reform made councils elected bodies and left traditional rulers mainly advisory and ceremonial roles.
Which of the following is NOT associated with local government elections?
Answer: A (Constituency)
Local government areas are divided into wards for council elections. Constituencies are used for state and national legislative elections.
The Public Service Review Commission of 1991 made proposals to ensure that the public service was
Answer: D (efficient and result-oriented.)
Civil service reviews in Nigeria aimed to make the public service efficient and focused on results, rather than to compete with the private sector.
Under military regimes,the branches of government that become fused are the
Answer: C (legislature and the executive)
Military rulers suspend the legislature and make laws (decrees) themselves, so law making and execution are fused. The courts usually continue to work.
Nigeria is NOT a member of the
Answer: C (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
The OECD is a club of rich industrialised countries; Nigeria belongs to the NAM, OPEC and the IMF.
Nigeria broke diplomatic relations with France under the Balewa government over
Answer: C (atomic tests in the Sahara)
In January 1961 Nigeria cut ties with France and expelled its ambassador because France tested atomic bombs in the Sahara.
The Obasanjo administration nationalized the assets of the British Petroleum over the British government's policy in
Answer: B (Zimbabwe)
In 1979 Nigeria nationalised BP's Nigerian assets to press Britain over its policy on Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and majority rule there.
Nigerian foreign policy implementation is the responsibility of the
Answer: B (Ministry of External Affairs)
The Ministry of External Affairs (today called the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) carries out Nigeria's foreign policy through its embassies and high commissions.
The head of a Nigerian mission in a Commonwealth country is called
Answer: C (a High Commissioner)
Commonwealth countries exchange High Commissioners instead of ambassadors.
Which of the following is NOT a statutory function of an embassy?
Answer: C (Espionage)
Spying is illegal and not an official function of an embassy. Issuing visas, gathering information openly and caring for citizens abroad are normal duties.
ECOWAS is aimed at uniting the West African states
Answer: D (economically.)
ECOWAS (1975) was created to promote economic integration and trade among West African states.
Which of the following countries pioneered the idea of ECOWAS alongside Nigeria?
Answer: D (Togo.)
Nigeria's Gowon and Togo's Eyadema led the move that produced the ECOWAS treaty in Lagos in 1975.
Which of these countries was NOT a foundation member of the Organisation of African Unity?
Answer: C (Zimbabwe)
The OAU was founded in 1963; Zimbabwe only became independent in 1980 and joined then.
The United Nations was founded with the primary objective of
Answer: C (promoting world peace and security)
The UN Charter's first purpose is to maintain international peace and security. It was founded in 1945 after the war in Europe had ended.
Until her independence, Namibia was a
Answer: C (United Nations trusteeship)
Namibia was a League of Nations mandate given to South Africa; in 1966 the UN ended the mandate and took responsibility for it until independence in 1990, though South Africa kept occupying it.