NIGERIA PEOPLES & CULTURE

Mediation in Conflict: one of the major roles being played by traditional rulers is mediating in time of conflict. They mediate in conflict involving individuals or group of people in their communities and even between their communities and other community. By so doing, the traditional rulers are seen to be working with the local government to enhance overall peace and secure environment in the local government.

Because of the love people have for their traditional heads, it’s always easy for the traditional rulers to mediate and amicable pacify the tension and install peace. In some communities they made it as law that issues in their communities should not involve police or going to court. Those communities rely of the sound judgement of their rulers to give verdict on serious matters. It is only when disputes cannot be amicably settled by the ruler that the parties in dispute can take the matter to law court.

Tax Assessment and Collection: traditional rulers play important role in helping the local government to assess and collect taxes from their citizens within their areas of authority. Traditional rulers due to their closeness to the people can better assess the incomes of their subjects and propose tax amount to be imposed. Traditional rulers can arrange for taxes to be paid at a particular point and thereafter remit the money to the local government.

Custodians of Culture and Traditions: traditional rulers are the custodian of the people culture, arts and traditions. They also control traditional titles, offices and rituals. It is their duty to inform the local government when there are modifications in their cultural practices.

They also inform the local government of major cultural events and possible seek their participation in such event. The traditional rulers help the local government in maintenance and development of culture which is one of the functions of the local government.

Communication channels: traditional heads are channel of communication between the people and the local government. It is the duty of the traditional rulers to communicate government policies and programmes to the people in a manner they will understand and encourage them to actively participate in the programmes. They are also channel through which the people express their grievances to the government.

Mobilization of community resources for government or community initiated development: traditional headsassist the local government in sensitizing and mobilizing the support and resources of the people of their communities towards government initiated programmes and projects or even the ones initiated by the communities themselves.

Such mobilization is specifically in terms of engaging local resources, leadership potential and entrepreneurial abilities for effective and efficient implementation of development programmes initiated by the people of the community.

The traditional heads also help in effective mobilization of the community people towards the various government political, social, health, educational, agricultural or economic programmes as may be initiated by government from time to time. Traditional rulers help the local government in its overall effort at rural community development.

Maintenance of Security: they assist local government in ensuring security of life and property in their various communities. They do this through the framework of village or community neighborhood watch or vigilante groups and their membership of the local government peace and security committee and police relations committees.

Other roles of traditional rulers outlined below:

• The traditional rulers are the fathers of their respective communities.
• They are empowered to belong to or preside over the emirate or traditional councils whose primary responsibility is to maintain peace, law and order and stimulate community development in their various communities.
• Traditional rulers through the emirate or traditional councils should from time to time, formulate general proposals, which they offer as advice to local governments within their areas.
• They are expected to discuss through their traditional councils then specific problems affecting local governments of their areas generally and give advice and guidance on them.
• They have the power to coordinate development plans of their local government by joint discussion and advice.
• They help in tax assessment and tax collection within their areas.
• They help to determine religious matters and give full support to Arts and Culture.
• Traditional rulers control traditional titles and offices.
• Traditional rulers through their traditional councils determine customary laws and practices.
• They serve as important link between their communities and the government.
• They assist in the compilation of nominal roll for community tax.
• Traditional rulers help to accelerate the task of mass mobilization and participation of the people in community development programmes of their respective communities.
• The role of the traditional rulers in the modern local government system is purely advisory. The emirate or traditional council also performs an advisory role to the local government.

Lyttleton constitution of 1954 is remembered as one of the colonial constitution that was not named after a Governor-General of Nigeria. Oliver Lyttleton was the secretary of state for the colonies; he encouraged the drafting of a new constitution. The role he played in the process of making the 1954 constitution earned him the reward of naming the constitution after his name.

Lyttleton spearheaded the drafting a new constitution for Nigeria in 1953. Constitutional conferences were held in London in 1953 and Lagos in 1954 to harmonize views of Nigeria political elites and colonial administrators and the proposal of the fiscal commission headed by Sir Louis Chick.

In the conferences, matters like regionalization of public service and judiciary, appointment of regional premiers and regional ministers, direct election of members of House of Representatives, enlargement of central legislature to a hundred and eighty four members etc were discussed.

When the Lyttleton constitution of 1954 came into force, the constitution made Nigeria a federation of three regions. Area of legislative competence between the central government and regional government were spelt out in the exclusive, concurrent and residual list.

Where there is conflict between the federal government and regional government, the federal authority would prevail. The subject in the exclusive list include external affairs, immigration, defense, atomic energy, copyright, census, currency, mining, patent, banking, custom, foreign exchange etc. In the concurrent list both the regional government and the federal government have right to legislate.

However, where there is a conflict of law, the constitution provided that the federal law would prevail over the regional law. Matters in the concurrent list include education, health, public works, insurance, statistics, etc. The residual list contains matters of legislative competence of the regions only.

The governor of Nigeria was renamed governor-general and the Lieutenant-governor renamed governor as were the case in 1914. Members of the House of Representatives were made up of 184 directly elected members – the Chief Secretary, Financial Secretary and the Attorney General. Members of the House of Representatives were elected from the regions on direct election.

The Northern region had ninety two members, Western region forty-two; Eastern region forty two; Southern Cameroon six and Lagos two members. Membership of regional legislature was no longer combined with a seat in the House of Representatives.

The Northern and Western region had bicameral legislature – the House of Chiefs and House of Assembly. The house of chiefs were presided over by the governor in the north and the house of assembly by a president.

In the west, the house of chiefs and house of assembly had a president and speaker respectively. There was a special member but no official member in the house. Eastern region had only a house of assembly. The post of a speaker and deputy speaker were created in the Eastern and Western regions.

The house of assembly in the eastern region has no official or special members. The executive council known as the council of ministers consisted of the Governor-General, three official members, three ministers from each region and one member from Southern Cameroon.

Regional governors ceased to sit in the Council of Ministers, under the 1954 constitution. The post of premier was created in regions and regional premiers presided over the executive councils. The executive council in Northern region was made up of three ex-official members and thirteen ministers of who eight were charged with responsibilities.

The eastern region had nine ministers in the executive council and had no ex-officio member. In the western region the executive council was made up of the governor and nine ministers. The ministers in the federal council – the council of ministers were drawn from the House of Representatives on the advice of the majority leader or regional majority leader.

The ministers participated in fashioning out government policies and in executing them. The post of prime ministers was not created in 1954 because ministers were not fully responsible for organizing their ministries. Only six ministers out of the nine were given portfolios. The governor general presided over the council of ministers.

In summary, Lyttleton constitution of 1954 made Nigeria a federation, spelt out areas of jurisdiction between the two levels of government, reinforced direct election, made some ministers heads of departments and provided the post of premier for the regions.

John Macpherson constitution of 1951 was introduced due to the criticism of Richard constitution of 1946. When John Macpherson became the governor of Nigeria in 1948, the criticism of Richards’s constitution sharpened his political mind and prepared him for a new political leadership in Nigeria.

A new legislative council was set up in 1949 to examine the problems and prospect of introducing a new constitution for Nigeria. The committee suggested a wide measure of consultation with the people, starting from the village, town, and district to provincial level before the new constitution was drafted.

Regional conference met at Enugu, Ibadan and Kaduna and made recommendations to the constitution drafting committee headed by the Chief Secretary Sir, Hugh Foot. An all Nigeria constitutional conference was held in Ibadan in 1950 under the chairmanship of Sir Gerald Howe to discuss matters affecting different regions.

At the end, the conference drew up series of recommendations among which were the setting up of federal system comprising Eastern, Western, and Northern regions, the renaming of the federal legislature, House of Representatives and the central executive, Council of Ministers.

They also recommended that the regional legislature should have legislative power instead of advisory power only while the House of Representatives should have a power of review. Also the committee recommended at the conference that each region should have a measure of autonomy in specified subject and that Lagos should have an independent municipality.

John Macpherson constitution was introduced in 1950 but it came into force in 1951. The constitution provided for central legislative and a central executive known as House of Representatives and Council of Ministers respectively. It also provided for Public Service Commission.

The House of Representatives was made up of the President, a hundred and thirty six members, elected from the three regions, six ex-officio members and six special members appointed by the Governor. The House of Representatives legislated for the whole country but its powers were limited.  It had no power over public finance and public service. The governors reserved power inherent in the 1922 and 1946 constitution persisted in the 1951 constitution.

The executive council known as Council of Ministers at the centre was made up of governor as President, twelve ministers (four from each region) and six ex-officio members. The council was charged with responsibilities over external relations; defense, civil service, legal and financial matters.

The twelve ministers had no portfolio; they were not political executives of their ministries. They however worked in cooperation with the council to ensure the decisions were properly executed. At the regional level the constitution provided for two houses of assembly in the Northern and Western regions.

The constitution gave limited powers to the regions in the legislation of certain matters. The regions had power to legislate on social welfare, education, regional public works, native courts, health, regional finance, town and community planning.

The central legislature had power to veto the legislation passed by the regional legislature. The House of Representatives had over riding power over regional legislature and could legislate on any matter. The constitution also created the executive councils in the regions.

Although the John Macpherson constitution of 1951 gave each region power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of its area, the power of the House of Representatives remain superior to that of the regions.

As earlier stated, the constitution provided for regional legislature and regional executive. The Northern and Western regions had house of chiefs and house of assembly. The Eastern region had only House of Assembly.

The Northern House of Chiefs was made up of Lieutenant Governor as President, three official members, all first class chiefs and thirty-seven other chiefs with an adviser on Muslim law. The House of Assembly consisted of the president, four official members, ninety elected members and not more than ten special members representing the interest of communities not adequately represented.

In Western region, the House of Chiefs consisted of the Lieutenant Governor as president, three official members and not more than fifty chiefs. The House of Assembly of the regions was made up of the president, four officials, eighty elected members and not more than three special members.

The Eastern region had only one House of Legislature. The House of Assembly in Eastern region was made up of the Lieutenant Governor as President, five official members, eight elected members and not more than three special members.

Even though the John Macpherson constitution of 1951 was the result of series of consultations with the various levels of government and educated elites, it received some criticisms from the Nigerian nationalists who saw it as a constitution built on compromise.

The continued appointment of special members in the House of Representatives, House of Assembly and the Electoral College system of election were some of the criticisms. They were also criticism on the creation of unequal status and the adoption of two houses of legislature.

In the executive council, the ministers were not given portfolios; they acted as mere officers of government. They had no power to issue orders to their directors. However, they were collectively responsible for all policy decisions.

The governors still retained reserved powers. Apart from these defects, the constitution recorded its own merits, which included the creation of a house of representatives with elected majority and a council of Ministers, creation of a regional autonomy and public service commission. It could be stated that the 1951 constitution enjoyed wide publicity. Generally, the constitution can be seen as constitution that recognized the demands of the people.

However, a conference was held in London between July and August 1953 to examine the defects of the 1951 constitution. The conference was also to consider the crisis in Eastern region in 1953.

The 1953 constitutional crisis in the Eastern region, the motion for self government in 1956, formation of political parties along ethnic cleavages, the resignation of Ministers from the Western region and the failure of the governor to reinstate them among other things led to the breakdown of the Macpherson constitution.

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Richards Constitution of 1946 was created due to the shortcomings of Clifford Constitution of 1922. The purpose of the constitution was to adequately represent the diverse elements of the country and to secure greater participation of Africans in discussing their own affairs.

Bernard Bourrdillon the predecessor of Richard, made efforts at creating Nigerian unity, he devised a scheme of regional assemblies whose decisions were to be submitted to the central legislative council for determination. The idea was to breach the gap created in the Northern Province, which has no representatives in that council. Bourdillon could be seen as the architect of the 1946 constitution.

Governor Richards succeeded Bernard Bourdillon and started the formulation of new constitution known as Richards Constitution of 1946. The constitution proposed for a legislative council for the whole country, regional councils for the three regions, introduction of indirect representation through native authorities and House of Assembly of the regions to the legislative council, and African majority in the legislature.

The Richard constitution of 1946 was designed to promote national unity and participation of Africans in their own affairs. The 1946 constitution provided for a new legislative council for the whole country. The council was made of the governor as president, sixteen officials and twenty eight unofficial.

The official members comprised of thirteen ex-officio and three nominated members while the unofficial members were made up of four elected and twenty-four nominated or indirectly elected members. The four elected members were from Lagos and Calabar.

A very important feature of the 1946 constitution was that members from Northern Nigeria and members from Southern Nigeria sat together for the first time in the council. Two official and nine unofficial members represented Northern Nigeria. Western Nigeria was represented by two officials and six unofficial and Eastern Nigeria by two officials and five unofficial members.

The special features of the 1946 constitution are the incorporation of the native authority structure in selecting unofficial members of the legislative council. The people’s representatives were given the opportunity of taking part in the work of government.

Richards constitution of 1946 solved the problem of legislating for the North by proclamation. A central legislature was created in which all the regions were being represented. The constitution also created regional assemblies in the Northern, Western and Eastern regions.

In the Northern region, the constitution provided for two chambers – a House of Chiefs and House of Assembly. For Eastern and Western regions, there was only one chamber, the House of Assembly in each. The regional assemblies submitted their deliberations to the Central Legislature for final approval.

The constitution was later criticized on different grounds. It was criticized that the regional assemblies sharpened and intensified regional diversities, which made national unity a mirage. Although supporters of the regional system argued that it allowed regions to develop at its own pace with regards to the differences in education and religion.

Secondly, the representation and delegates at the legislative council were handpicked from among the native authorities. The constitution did nothing to advance the principle of election which was still confined to Lagos and Calabar nor did it emphasize the income requirement for election. Franchise remained the same although income requirement was reduced from £100 to £50 in the case of election to the legislative council.

Thirdly, the governor had supreme control over the legislative council. Thus he could approve or disapprove of the resolution of the council. The relationship of the governor to the executive council remained the same; it had only one African unofficial member and eleven Europeans.

Fourthly, there was no division of power between the legislature and the executive councils. The allocation of revenue to the regions was a matter for the governor to decide and not through constitutional provision. As a result of the lapses, the legislative council was seen as a mere advisory body.

The Nigerian nationalist canvassed against the constitution and its obnoxious ordinances. They claimed that Nigerians were not consulted before the constitution was drafted. The campaign against the enforcement of the constitution according to Justice Udoma was spearheaded by NCNC under the leadership of Herbert Macaulay.

The National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroun toured the whole country and raised fund to send delegation to London to protest against the constitution. Among the distinguished delegates were Dr. Olorum Nninbe, Prince Adeleke Adedoyin, Chief Nijogn Essien and Buka Dipcharima. The secretary of states for colonies Mr. Creech Jones merely advised the leaders to return home and co-operate with the administration.

There was no effective change of the constitution, but the 1951 constitution incorporated some of the grievances of the nationalist.

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1979 Presidential Constitution of Nigeria came as a result of the failure of the 1963 Republican Constitution. The 1963 republican constitution was criticized on so many grounds among them were the creation of president without executive power, the executive power was rested on the office of the prime minister. The president was more or less a ceremonial head without executive power.

The census crisis of 1962-1964, the general election crisis 1964 and the Western region conflict of 1965 gave rise to military rule which began in 1966 and ended in 1979. The presidential constitution of 1979 was the product of the constitution drafting committee headed by Chief F.R.A Williams setup in October 1975.

The constitution created the post of an executive president who headed the government. The president was not only the head of state but also the chief executive of the government. He appoints the members of his cabinet with the consent and approval of the Senate.

The constitution created the National Assembly as the highest national law making body of the federation. The National Assembly was made up of two houses namely the House of Senate and the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives was the most powerful house and it was made up of 450 members.

The House of Senate was the highest law making body and it was made up of 95 members. The executive power under the 1979 constitution was vested on the president. The president now becomes the head of state, the chief executive and commander of the federal armed forces of Nigeria. The president chose his cabinet from among members of the House of Representatives, political loyalist and professionals.

The 19 states created by the constitution also had executive governors and house of assembly each. The functions of the Governors and that of the House of Assembly were similar to that of the president and National Assembly. The governors appointed his commissioners with the approval of the house of assembly. The commissioners were accountable to him.

The house of assembly made laws within the concurrent list for the state. The constitution provided for a democratically elected local government council. Grants were made to the local government as part of the revenue allocation by the federal government as a third tier of government.

Another feature of the 1979 presidential constitution was the establishment of important public bodies which included: the Council of State, the Federal Civil Service Commission, the Federal Electoral Commission, the National Defense Council, the Police Service Commission, National Youth Service Corp etc.

The constitution provided for the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy. This improvement on the constitution was borrowed from India.  The president, the governor and members of National Assembly or House of Assembly were elected for 4 years or two terms (8years).

They could be impeached for abuse of office through the National Assembly in the case of president or State House of Assembly in the case of Governor. It has been rightly pointed out that the 1979 presidential constitution of Nigeria was modeled towards American system of government.

Although the constitution addressed some of the pit falls of the 1963 constitution, it created new political problems which Nigeria and Nigerians politicians had to face. The 1979 constitution was suspended following a military coup which took place on December 31, 1983 that brought General Mohammed Buhari and Idiagbon to power.

Buhari administration lasted till August 1985 when General Ibrahim Babangida removed him. General Babangida administration set up a constitution review committee led by Justice Buba Ado in 1987 and a Constitution Drafting Committee led by Justice Anthony Aniagolu to prepare the 1989 constitution. The 1989 constitution was similar to that of 1979 constitution in so many areas.

The constitution adopted the presidential system of government with an executive president. The National Assembly was made up of the Senate, 91 members, and House of Representatives 45 members. The 1989 constitution created more states and adopted two party system.

The office of a speaker was created for the local government and the independence of the local government as the third tier of government was ensured. The chairman and councilors were independently elected.

The constitution also provided for the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy. It is important to note that the constitution was not fully put into practice following political crisis that developed around the presidential election of June 12 1993 in which M.K.O Abiola was leading.