6th June 2020

JSS 2 : NATIONAL VALUES : WEEK 1

TERM/WEEK: THIRD TERM/WEEK 1 and 2

DATE: 2nd June 2020.

SUBJECT: NATIONAL VALUES.

CLASS:          JSS 2.

DURATION:   40 MINUTES.

TOPIC:          CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA.

REFERENCE MATERIALS: COMPREHENSIVE CIVIC EDUCATION FOR JSS 2.

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS: A COPY OF THE 1999 CONSTITUTION.

BEHAVIOURAL OBJECTIVES: At the end of the lesson, learners should be able to:

  • Define constitution
  • Identify the various colonial Nigerian constitutions.
  • Discuss features of the colonial constitutions.

ENTRY BEHAVIOUR: Students are familiar with the meaning of constitution

PRESENTATION OF LESSON

 NOTES FOR THE STUDENTS

STEP 1: MEANING OF CONSTITUTION

       A constitution may be defined as the body of fundamental laws, conventions, principles, rules and regulations made to govern a nation.

COLONIAL CONSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA

  • Clifford constitution of 1922.
  • Richard constitution of 1946.
  • Macpherson constitution of 1951.
  • Littleton constitution of 1954.

CLIFFORD CONSTITUTION OF 1922 –

This constitution was made by Hugh Clifford, the British Colonial Administrator in Nigeria in 1922. The features of the constitution include:

  • The legislative council – This was composed of 46 members out of which 27 were British members including the governor. They were 19 non-official members; 15 out of the non-official members were nominated by the governor to represent commercial and mining interests; 10 out of the 19 non-official members were Nigerians out of which four were elected; 3 elected members represented Lagos and one represented Calabar.
  • The executive council was also provided. It was charged with the responsibility of advising the governor. It had 10 ex-official members. The members were principal officials of the government. The governor had veto power over any legislative bill.

RICHARD CONSTITUTION OF 1946

This constitution was made by Sir Arthur Richards in 1946 to correct the    errors of the Clifford constitution of 1922.

FEATURES OF THE RICHARD CONSTITUTION OF 1946

  • Legislative Council: The governor was the president. There were 28 non-official nominated members and 16 official members. The council comprised of:
  • 9 non-official nominated members from the North
  • 6 non-official nominated members from the West
  • 5 non-officials nominated from the East
  • 4 non-officials directly elected from Lagos and Calabar.
  • The Richards constitution made provision for regional assembly in the North, East and Western Region. The constitution provided for bicameral legislature in the North, while the East and the West had unicameral legislature. The North had the house of chiefs and the house of assembly.
  • The executive council was the same as that of the Clifford constitution of 1922.

MACPHERSON CONSTITUTION OF 1951 –

This was composed of the central executive council, regional legislatives and the regional executive councils.

  • The central legislative council was renamed the House of Representatives which was composed of
  • The president who was the governor
  • 6 ex-officio or official members
  • The 136 representatives elected through the regional houses and six special members nominated by the governor to represent the interest of the communities not adequately represented in the house.
  • The central executive council was later known as the Council of Ministers composed of:
  • The governor
  • 6 ex-officio or official members
  • 12 ministers (4 ministers from each region)
  • The regional legislatures had the house of chiefs and the house of assembly in Northern Nigeria. In both the Eastern and Western Regions, there was a unicameral legislature (the regional assembly).
  • The regional executive councils were made up of the lieutenant governor, 5 official members and nine ministers for each of the regions.

FEATURES OF THE LYTTLETON CONSTITUTION OF 1954

  • It was the first constitution that adopted federalism in Nigeria.
  • Lieutenant governors became governors.
  • Governors became governor-generals of the federation of Nigeria.
  • There was the regionalization of public service, marketing boards and the judiciary.
  • There was division of powers between the central and the regional government.

POST INDEPENDENCE CONSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA

The early post-independence constitutions in Nigeria include:

  1. The Independent Constitution of 1960.
  2. The Republican Constitution of 1963.
  3. The second Republican Constitution of 1979.
  4. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1989).
  5. The 1999 Nigerian Constitution

EXERCISES/ASSIGNMENT

(a) What is Constitution?

(b) What are the various Colonial Nigerian Constitutions?

(c) What are the features of the Colonial Constitutions?

(d) Explain the features of the Macpherson Constitution