WAEC Government 2013 past questions and answers

Government as an academic subject studies how people organise and rule themselves: institutions, processes and ideas of the state.

Subversion means working to overthrow or undermine a government, which no government should do. The rest are normal functions.

A state must have a defined territory, as well as population, government and sovereignty. States are meant to be permanent.

Communism aims at a classless society where wealth is shared and inequalities are removed.

A totalitarian government is controlled by one leader or party that controls every part of life: a dictatorship.

A monarchy is headed by a king or queen who usually inherits the throne.

Democracy, with courts, elections and rights, is the setting in which the rule of law is respected.

Delegated legislation allows quick action in emergencies, when parliament may be too slow or not sitting.

When officials make laws, they take over work that belongs to parliament, reducing its law-making role.

Human rights protect the life, freedom and dignity of every person.

Constitutionalism means government is limited by the constitution and leaders must act within it.

A writ of mandamus is a court order commanding an official to perform a duty; it is a remedy, not a source of constitutional rules.

A constitution sets out lawful government; a coup d'etat is an illegal seizure of power that overthrows the constitution.

In a unitary state all power is concentrated in the central government.

A unitary state has one supreme central government; any local units get power from it.

In a parliamentary system the cabinet is collectively responsible to parliament: ministers stand or fall together.

In a presidential system one person, the president, is both head of state and head of government.

In a confederation member states remain sovereign and may legally withdraw.

Federations are formed when separate units want to unite while keeping some autonomy. Geographical nearness, not separation, encourages federation.

The executive arm formulates policies and carries them out.

With two chambers, each bill is examined twice, which checks hasty or arbitrary laws.

A filibuster is the use of long speeches to delay or block the passing of a bill.

The executive implements (carries out) policies and laws. Passing bills is legislative and adjudication is judicial.

Ultra vires means 'beyond the powers': the act went beyond the legal authority given, so it is void.

Paying taxes is a civic duty that funds government services.

During a state of emergency some rights, such as movement, may be lawfully restricted.

Voting is a civic obligation of citizens; arresting, prosecuting and judging belong to police, prosecutors and courts.

Parties educate the electorate (political education), not the government. Articulating and aggregating interests and choosing candidates are party functions.

Franchise (suffrage) is the right to vote, and in a broad sense to stand for election.

Protecting officials and materials prevents rigging and violence, helping a free and fair poll.

In an indirect election voters choose an electoral college, which then elects the official (e.g. the US president).

Electoral commissions demarcate constituencies, register voters and conduct elections. Oaths are given by the Chief Justice.

Pressure groups try to influence policy in their members' interest without seeking to form government; parties seek to capture power.

Public opinion shows government what the people think and want.

Civil servants work behind the scenes; the minister takes public credit or blame for the ministry's work.

Red tape means slow, rigid following of procedures, which delays services.

A public corporation is created by a statute (act of parliament or decree) that defines its powers.

Public corporations provide essential services (power, water, transport) at affordable cost, not mainly for profit.

Shortage of trained staff, nepotism and corruption are well-known problems of local government; obtaining bank loans is a way of raising funds, not one of the listed problems.

Local government brings administration and services closer to people at the grassroots.

A colony was land acquired by Britain through settlement, conquest or cession and ruled directly as British territory (e.g. Lagos Colony).

Britain used indirect rule because of few officers, little money and the chiefs' authority over their people, not because chiefs asked for it.

Indirect rule relied on traditional chiefs and neglected Western education, especially in the North.

ECOSOC co-ordinates the economic and social work of the UN's specialised agencies such as WHO, FAO and UNESCO.

The UN was set up in 1945 mainly to maintain international peace and security.

Every West African state was a member of the OAU, which became the African Union (AU) in 2002. Only a few were OPEC members.

The Tribunal of the Community was an organ of ECOWAS, not the OAU.

The ECOWAS Fund was based in Lomé, Togo; it is now the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), still in Lomé.

(a) Government as an art of governing is the process and activity of ruling: making laws, formulating and carrying out policies, settling disputes and running the affairs of the state through its institutions and officials.
(b) Any four:
1. Making laws.
2. Maintaining law and order.
3. Defending the country against external attack.
4. Protecting lives, property and rights.
5. Providing social services and infrastructure.
6. Raising revenue (taxes).
7. Conducting external relations.
8. Settling disputes through courts.

Separate the meaning of government as an activity from government as an institution or a subject.

(a) Deconcentration is the transfer of administrative work (not political power) from central government headquarters to its own field officers or branch offices in the regions; final authority stays with the centre.
(b) Any five:
1. Brings government nearer to the people.
2. Reduces the workload of the central government.
3. Speeds up decisions and response to local needs.
4. Encourages local participation and initiative.
5. Trains local leaders.
6. Prevents concentration of power (dictatorship).
7. Protects minority interests.
8. Promotes efficiency and rural development.

Deconcentration only moves administrative tasks to field offices; devolution transfers actual power. The book's answer to (a) describes federalism instead.

(a) A constitution is the body of fundamental laws, rules and conventions that establishes the organs of government, their powers and relationships, and the rights and duties of citizens.
(b) Any of:
1. Easy to consult in one document.
2. Clearly defines powers of each organ and level of government.
3. Necessary in a federation to divide powers.
4. Protects rights clearly; citizens know when rights are violated.
5. Rigid amendment gives stability; guards against arbitrary changes.
6. New states write constitutions at independence or after revolution.
7. Easy reference for courts in disputes.

For (b) give reasons, e.g. federalism, new independence, protection of rights.

1. Ward (lowest) level: ward executive and members.
2. Local government/branch level: local executive committee.
3. Constituency level.
4. State/regional level: state executive and congress.
5. National level: national convention/congress (highest organ), National Executive Committee, National Working Committee and national officers (chairman, secretary, treasurer, etc.).
6. National secretariat (administration) and board of trustees.
7. Affiliated wings: youth, women, students.
Authority flows from the national level down; members are represented upward through delegates.

Describe from the ward to the national level, naming the organs at each level.

Points:
1. Called by de Gaulle in 1944 to reward Africans for supporting Free France in WW2.
2. Recommended abolition of forced labour and the indigénat (native code).
3. Recommended French citizenship and representation of Africans in French Parliament (Constituent Assembly).
4. Recommended territorial assemblies in each colony.
5. Promised more economic and social development and education.
6. Encouraged formation of political parties (e.g. RDA, 1946) and growth of nationalism.
7. Laid the groundwork for the 1946 Constitution (French Union), Loi Cadre (1956) and later independence.
8. However, it rejected self-government/independence outside the French bloc.

Show both what it recommended and how it led to later reforms.

Any four:
1. Lack of funds; members were students with little money.
2. Members left when they finished studies and returned home.
3. Leadership problems and internal quarrels.
4. Rise of nationalist parties at home (e.g. NCNC in 1944) took over its role.
5. Ethnic and territorial divisions among members.
6. Suspicion and pressure from the British government.
7. The war disrupted its activities and communication.

Answer with factors that weakened WASU (funding, membership, leadership, rival bodies).

Any six:
1. Ministers had no portfolios (no departments).
2. Governor-General's wide veto powers.
3. Regional legislatures could block central bills (regional veto).
4. Ministers were not responsible to a party; the 'Eyo Ita/NCNC crisis' in the East (1953).
5. Ethnic and regional rivalry among parties (NPC, AG, NCNC).
6. 1953 self-government motion crisis (Enahoro's motion) and the Kano riots.
7. Electoral college system led to manipulation.
8. Quasi-federal structure satisfied no one.
9. Northern dominance by half the seats.

Link the constitution's flaws to the 1953 crises that ended it.

(a) Indirect rule was the British system of governing colonies through existing traditional rulers and institutions, under the supervision of British officers.
(b) Any of:
1. Made chiefs autocratic and unaccountable to their people.
2. Neglected and excluded the educated elite.
3. Imposed warrant chiefs where there were no chiefs (failed in the East: Aba Women's Riot 1929).
4. Delayed modernisation and Western education.
5. Encouraged ethnic division and separatism.
6. Chiefs became tools of colonial exploitation (taxes, forced labour).
7. Delayed national unity and nationalism.

For (b) include examples like the 1929 Aba women's riot.

Any of:
1. Geographical proximity and common borders.
2. Common historical, ethnic and cultural ties across borders.
3. Economic interests: trade, ECOWAS.
4. Security: border disputes (e.g. Bakassi with Cameroon), smuggling, refugees, insurgency.
5. Nigeria's size and wealth (oil) and its 'big brother' role.
6. Membership of ECOWAS and AU.
7. Afrocentrism: Africa as centrepiece of foreign policy.
8. Colonial heritage: francophone neighbours with ties to France.
9. Good-neighbourliness and peaceful co-existence.

Nigeria's neighbours are Benin, Niger, Chad and Cameroon; give examples.

(a) Any four before 2013: Trygve Lie, Dag Hammarskjöld, U Thant, Kurt Waldheim, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Kofi Annan. (Ban Ki-moon was in office in 2013; António Guterres has served since 2017.)
(b) Any five:
1. Chief administrative officer; heads the Secretariat.
2. Brings threats to peace to the attention of the Security Council.
3. Prepares the UN budget.
4. Submits annual report to the General Assembly.
5. Appoints Secretariat staff.
6. Mediates in disputes (good offices).
7. Acts as Secretary at meetings of UN organs.
8. Supervises peace-keeping operations.
9. Represents the UN worldwide.

In 2013 the current Secretary-General was Ban Ki-moon, so he is not 'past'.