File - AP Comparative Government
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Nigeria: Government
Institutions
AP Comparative Government
Institutions
While the constitution states that the government is a federal
political system with national, local, and state levels, the
government is really run in a unitary manner
The government has 3 branches (executive, legislative, and
judicial) but the executive has the most power in terms of
creating legislation
Each of the 36 states have an executive and legislative
branch, and local courts
Currently neither checks and balances operate and state and
local governments are totally dependent on the central
government
Executive
In 1979, Nigeria’s parliamentary system was replaced by a
presidential system
This happened due to the intense fracturing within Parliament
The U.S. presidential model was followed until a coup in
1983
Major-General Muhammadu Buhari staged a coup and won
He was ousted in 1985 by General Babangida and he was ousted in
1993 by General Abacha
In 1999 Nigeria returned to presidential rule where Obasanjo
was elected in 99 and 03
Under military rule
All 7 military leaders promised a transition to democracy
Only two, General Obasanjo and Abubakar, actually gave up
power to civilians
Buhari and Babangida were extremely repressive
The president has always appointed officials without any approval
The generals have ruled under a system of patrimonialism
The president is the head of an intricate patron-client system and
dispenses government jobs and resources as rewards to
supporters
These means that all senior positions are filled through patronage
Bureaucracy
The Nigerian’s adopted the British system of Bureaucracy
from the time they were colonized
The system is corrupt and bribery is common and jobs are
awarded through the patron-client system, or prebendalism
The Nigerian government agencies are actually para-statals,
These are corporations owned by the state and designated to
provide commercial and social welfare services
Para-statals provide water, electricity, public transportation, and
agricultural subsidies
Para-statals are a form of state corporatism
These organizations are generally poorly run and extremely inefficient
Legislature
Nigeria has a bicameral legislature known as the National
Assembly
Both representatives and senators serve four-year renewable terms
and elections are held the week before the presidential election
The Senate has 109 members, 3 from each state and one from
the capital
They are elected directly by popular vote
The House of Representatives has 360 members from singlemember districts
They are elected by plurality and represented many different
ethnicities
In 2011 only 13 representatives were women as were only 4 of the 109
senators
Legislature
When under military control, the legislature had almost no
power
Under civilian control, the legislature has only recently become
effective in checking the presidents power
This can be seen in stopping Obasanjo from amending the constitution
to allow himself to run for president a third time
Those elected to office have been widely tied to political
corruption
Judiciary
Early in Nigerian independence, the judiciary had great independence
They were known as rendering objective decisions and for operating
independently from the executive
Military rule greatly changed the judiciary
Judicial review was suspended and the president’ friends were appointed as
judges
Very few are well versed in law and render decisions to manipulate the
government
Today the judiciary is supposed to interpret law based upon the
constitution
They are also required to follow sharia standards
In 2007, a tribunal was created to hear accusations about voting fraud
They have the power to remove officials from their positions but the bar for
proving guilt is incredibly high
Military
The military has lost its creditability as a temporary, objective
organization that keeps order and stability
This is because of their massive involvement in the political
corruption of Nigeria
There is a distinction between “military in government” and
“military in barracks”
The military is one of the few organizations that is national in
character
The military has always been there to restore order in times of crisis
The military is the best way to attain social promotion