48 questions. Try each one, then open the answer to check yourself and read the explanation.
Power differs from influence in that it is
Answer: C (coercive while influence is persuasive)
Power can force obedience, backed by sanctions. Influence only persuades people to act in a certain way.
The standing committee of a legislature is one
Answer: B (that has statutory responsibilities)
A standing committee is a permanent committee with fixed duties laid down by law or standing orders, such as the finance or defence committee. Ad hoc committees are temporary.
Where the constitution is supreme, unconstitutional acts of the executive and the legislature can be checked by the courts through
Answer: B (judicial review)
Judicial review is the courts' power to declare laws or executive actions void when they go against the constitution.
The central decision-making organ of a confederation is made up of
Answer: C (politicians nominated by governments of member states)
In a confederation the member states keep their sovereignty and send their own delegates to the central body, so its members are nominated by the member governments.
Which of the following is true of a parliamentary system of government?
Answer: D (Adherence to majority rule)
In a parliamentary system the party or coalition with a majority in parliament forms the government and stays in office only while it keeps that majority.
A major feature of authoritarianism is that government is
Answer: C (centralized)
Authoritarian governments concentrate power in one person or small group at the centre, with little room for opposition or local autonomy.
The central point of capitalism, as expounded by Karl Marx, is that
Answer: A (capitalists' profit is the surplus value obtained from workers' labour)
Marx argued that workers produce more value than they are paid in wages, and the capitalist keeps this extra (surplus value) as profit.
A constitution that requires a plebiscite or a referendum to be amended is
Answer: A (rigid)
A constitution that needs a special procedure, such as a referendum, to be changed is rigid. A flexible one can be changed like an ordinary law.
An important function of a constitution is that it
Answer: C (serves as the fountain head of authority for the exercise of power)
The constitution is the source from which every organ of government gets its powers, and it sets their limits.
When a bill passed by the legislature is vetoed by the executive, the action underscores the principle of
Answer: D (checks and balances)
The executive's veto is a check on the legislature (which in turn can override it), so it shows the principle of checks and balances.
In the legislative process, a bill is a
Answer: C (proposal before the legislature)
A bill is a proposed law laid before the legislature. It becomes a law (Act) only after it is passed and assented to.
One of the advantages of a bicameral over a unicameral legislature is that it
Answer: D (prevents the passage of ill-considered bills)
With two chambers, each bill is examined twice, so hasty or badly thought-out bills can be caught and revised.
The fundamental rights of citizens include rights to
Answer: C (life, liberty and property)
The rights to life, personal liberty and property are classic fundamental rights in Nigeria's constitutions. Free education, employment and social security are only policy goals, not enforceable rights.
The manipulation of boundaries of constituencies in order to win more seats is called
Answer: C (gerrymandering)
Gerrymandering means drawing constituency boundaries unfairly to help one party. Delimitation is the normal, fair drawing of boundaries.
One argument against a multi-party system is the
Answer: A (encouragement of opposition and instability)
With many parties, governments often depend on shaky coalitions, and constant opposition can lead to political instability.
Associational interest groups are organized to
Answer: A (further the interests of members)
Associational groups, such as trade unions and professional bodies, are formally organized to promote their members' interests.
Public opinion is a view that is
Answer: A (held by the majority)
Public opinion is the view held by most people in a society on a public issue.
The idea of making the civil service permanent, neutral and anonymous is to
Answer: A (enhance efficiency in administration)
A permanent, neutral and anonymous civil service keeps experienced staff, serves every government fairly and lets officers work without fear, which makes administration efficient.
The western zone of the Sokoto caliphate was administered from
Answer: D (Gwandu)
Usman dan Fodio split the caliphate: the eastern part was ruled from Sokoto by Muhammad Bello, and the western part from Gwandu by Abdullahi.
Some pre-colonial Nigerian societies are described as stateless because
Answer: A (they had no formal governmental institutions)
Stateless (acephalous) societies such as the Igbo and Tiv had no central ruler or formal government machinery; authority was spread among elders, age grades and kin groups.
The method used by the British to facilitate the administration of Southern Nigeria was
Answer: C (divide and rule)
The British played groups and rulers against one another and dealt with each separately (divide and rule), which made it easier to control the south.
A major function of the Warrant Chiefs was to
Answer: D (take charge of local administration)
In Eastern Nigeria, where there were no strong traditional rulers, the British appointed Warrant Chiefs to run local administration for them under indirect rule.
After 1945, the demand of African nationalists changed from reform to independence because
Answer: C (the Second World War boosted their morale)
African soldiers saw that Europeans could be defeated, and the war's talk of freedom (e.g. the Atlantic Charter) boosted nationalists' confidence to demand full independence.
When Nigeria achieved independence in 1960, the Head of State was the
Answer: D (Queen of England)
Under the 1960 constitution the British Queen remained head of state, represented in Nigeria by the Governor-General. Nigeria got its own President only in 1963.
The central legislature of Nigeria became bicameral in
Answer: C (1959)
Constitutional changes in 1959 created a federal Senate alongside the House of Representatives, so the central legislature had two chambers by independence.
Under the 1963 constitution, items not listed in the exclusive and concurrent lists were within the exclusive competence of the
Answer: C (regional legislatures)
Residual matters, those on neither list, belonged to the regions under the 1963 constitution.
Before Nigeria became a republic, the highest body charged with administration of justice was the
Answer: A (Privy Council)
Until 1963, appeals from Nigeria's Federal Supreme Court could go to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. Becoming a republic ended this.
The equivalent of a commissioner at the local government level is the
Answer: D (supervisory councillor)
A supervisory councillor heads a department of the local government, much as a commissioner heads a ministry in the state.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has the power to prepare and maintain the register of
Answer: C (voters)
INEC registers eligible voters and keeps the voters' register up to date.
The President of Nigeria is advised on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country by the
Answer: B (National Defence Council)
Under the 1999 Constitution, the National Defence Council advises the President on defending Nigeria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The National Security Council handles public (internal) security.
The Nigerian Youth Movement collapsed as a result of
Answer: D (the breakup of its leadership)
In 1941 a quarrel over who should fill a Legislative Council seat (Ikoli versus Akinsanya) split the NYM's leaders along ethnic lines, and the movement declined.
The first restructuring of the Nigerian Federation took place with the
Answer: A (creation of the Mid-West Region in 1963)
The Mid-West Region was carved out of the Western Region in 1963, the first change to the federation's units after independence.
The Land Use Decree of 1978 vested the ownership of land in Nigeria in the
Answer: C (state governments)
The Land Use Decree (now Act) places all land in a state under the state Governor, who holds it in trust for the people. Land in the FCT is under the federal government.
The main source of financing local government in Nigeria is
Answer: B (statutory revenue allocation)
Most local governments rely on their constitutional share of the Federation Account (statutory allocation) far more than on rates and fees they raise themselves.
The most remarkable legacy of the 1976 Local Government Reform in Nigeria was the introduction of
Answer: C (uniformity in structure and functions)
Before 1976 each region ran local government differently. The reform gave the whole country a single, uniform local government structure and set of functions.
The Murtala/Obasanjo regime in Nigeria increased the number of states from
Answer: B (12 to 19)
In 1976 the Murtala/Obasanjo government created seven new states, raising the number from 12 to 19.
A major factor that influenced the formulation of Nigeria foreign policy in the First Republic was
Answer: B (the colonial legacy)
Close ties with Britain, inherited from colonial rule, made Balewa's foreign policy strongly pro-British and pro-Western.
Nigeria's departure from pro-west policy during the Murtala Mohammed regime was as a result of
Answer: D (Nigeria's concern for decolonization in Africa)
Murtala broke with the West over Angola and Southern Africa, backing the MPLA despite US pressure, because he was committed to ending colonialism and white minority rule in Africa.
During the Civil War, the major power that expressed moral support for Biafra's self-determination was
Answer: A (France)
In 1968 France under de Gaulle publicly backed Biafra's right to self-determination and supplied it with arms through neighbouring countries. Britain backed Nigeria.
The Barclays Bank and the British Petroleum Company in Nigeria were nationalized in the late 1970s for transacting business with
Answer: B (South Africa)
Nigeria took over BP's assets (1979) and Barclays Bank's shares to punish their links with apartheid South Africa.
South-South cooperation is a major policy plan on which Nigeria bases her relations with
Answer: C (developing countries)
'South' means the developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. South-South co-operation is co-operation among them.
Nigeria's recognition of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola to lead that country was made under
Answer: B (General Murtala Muhammed)
In November 1975 Murtala Muhammed's government recognised the MPLA as Angola's government, against US wishes.
The first Nigerian Permanent Representative to the United Nations was
Answer: D (Chief Samuel Adebo)
Chief S.O. (Simeon) Adebo served as Nigeria's Permanent Representative to the UN in the 1960s, long before Maitama Sule, Garba and Gambari.
In 1981, Nigeria participated in an Organization of African Unity peace-keeping force to replace Libyan forces in
Answer: B (Chad)
In 1981–82 Nigeria contributed the largest contingent to the OAU peace-keeping force in Chad after Libyan troops withdrew.
Nigeria's withdrawal from the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games in July 1986 was in protest against British
Answer: C (failure to impose sanctions on South Africa)
Nigeria led a boycott of the 1986 Commonwealth Games because Margaret Thatcher's government refused to impose economic sanctions on apartheid South Africa.
The major demand of the Third World countries on the United Nations in recent times is the
Answer: A (expansion of the permanent membership of the Security Council)
Developing countries, including Nigeria, want more permanent seats on the Security Council so that Africa, Asia and Latin America are fairly represented.
Which of the following is the function of the Council of Ministers of the OAU?
Answer: C (Preparing the agenda of the organization's meetings)
The OAU Council of Ministers prepared the conferences (agenda) of the Assembly of Heads of State and carried out its decisions. Co-ordinating general policy belonged to the Assembly.
The Economic Community of West African States has made impressive progress in the area of
Answer: A (free movement of persons and right of residence)
The ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement (1979) lets citizens of member states travel within the region without visas. This is one of its clearest achievements.