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POLITICAL SCIENCE

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Public opinion

Public Opinion | Definition & Functions

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There is no generally or accepted term or précised meaning of the term “Public Opinion”, by political scientists. However, there are many definitions of public opinion as there are many different scholars who wrote on the concept. C.A Leeds (1975), defined public opinion as “the opinions held by groups of individuals on a particular issue”.

It refers to those opinions which are relevant to the specific situation, not to all the opinions held by that set of people. V.O. key has applied the term as “those opinions held by private persons which government finds it prudent to heed”. George Huszar and Thomas Stevenson (1968), defined public opinion roughly as “the general outlook at a given time towards a certain issue of public interest”.

Thirdly, it is defined as the public or majority view on any government activities. Public opinion is from one person to another, which means that it is dynamic in nature and character. Therefore, public opinion is better summoned up as the composite reactions of the general public on issues which affect them. It can also be summarized as not what people think but, rather what in practice they want to bring into effect.

FUNCTIONS OF PUBLIC OPINION

  • Some functions of public opinion are:
  • It has the major function as guiding the government in the formulation of its policies.
  • They provide an opportunity for the public voices to be heard on occasions other than election times.
  • Through public opinions, the people will feel free to give their loyalty and support to the government.
  • They act as a counter weight to pressure groups by helping to represent the views o those section of the population not adequately represented by voluntary associations.
  • It help to assist political parties in planning their campaign strategies. This is because through public opinions, political parties will ascertain people’s opinions and then channel their programmes towards achieving their objectives.

FORMATION OF PUBLIC OPINION

Public opinions are formed through the following ways:

Mass media: everybody is subject to influence from television, Newspapers, Books, Radio, Films, Magazines and Journals etc. the above media help people to be aware of certain issues and to know the next line of action to be taken.

Ministry of information: it helps to shape the opinions of people in readiness to support government activities.

Political parties: political parties are seen as the agents of public opinion since they engage on public debates.

Pressure group: through association such as Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Nigeria Bar Association, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), etc. public opinions are formed.

Rumour or gossip: public opinion can be formed by carrying rumours or gossip on certain issues.

MEASUREMENT OF PUBLIC OPINION

Public opinion can be measured in the following ways:

  • It can be measured through mass media such as television, newspaper, magazines and other public conversations.
  • It can be measured through people or public reactions to certain issues.
  • Another way of measuring public opinion is through the conduct of election especially referendum.
  • It can be measured through interviewing or distributing questionnaires to the people and getting their opinions.
  • It can also be measured through the dissemination of information or circulation of rumours or gossip.
THE WEAKNESS OF PUBLIC OPINION

The weaknesses of public opinions are itemized below:

Lack of sufficient information: at times, people lack sufficient information on certain issues and as such, are not capable of forming a rational opinion.

Technicality of matters: in a situation where specialized and technical matters are to be treated, the majority of people are not qualified to express an opinion.

Another weakness of public opinion is that it has been accused of being erratic, inconsistent and conservation in nature.

Propaganda: political propaganda agencies constitute problem to the achievement of public opinion.

Complexity of society: also, because of the complexity of society, more and more people or groups stand out distinctly from the public opinion.

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doctrine of separation of powers

Doctrine of Separation of Powers

Doctrine of separation of powers was first propounded by the Frenchman called Baron de Montesquieu, in his book ‘the spirit of the laws’ written in 1748. He strongly believed that the civil liberty which the 18th century England enjoyed was derived from the separation of powers among the three organs of government.

In order to avoid tyranny and oppression, those who make laws should be different from those who interpret the law and punish the offenders. The Executive also should be different from the judiciary and the Executive and Judiciary should be separated from the legislature.

The members of the Executive should neither be members of the legislature nor the member of the judiciary. One organ of government should not control or influence the functions of the others. If there is no separation of powers of government, there might be tyranny, oppression and victimization.

It is a practice among most democratic countries to put this doctrine of separation of power in their constitution in order to protect individual liberty and freedom.

Taking Nigeria, Ghana and Gambia as our example, the executive which govern in any of these countries are different from the law making body (the legislature) and the legislature is different from the judiciary. In presidential system of government, individual ministers or adviser is responsible only to the president who appoints him.

HOW SEPARATION OF POWER WORKS IN PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

In presidential system of government there is a clear separation of powers. The president and his body of advisers or ministers are different from the parliament.

In the same vein, the judiciary is also separate from both executive and the legislature.

This shows that there is a clear separation of powers among the three organs of government.

Nigeria and United States of America offer good examples of the countries that practice presidential system of government.

This is because in Nigeria, the president and his Ministers have the executive powers and are not members of the legislature.

Again in United States of America, the president and his ministers are not members of the congress.

HOW SEPARATION OF POWERS WORKS IN CABINET SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

In cabinet system of government there is a union of power between the executive and the parliament.

The cabinet system has a parliamentary executive which is accountable to the parliament.

In reality, there is no complete separation of powers between the executive and the parliament; the executive can always get support from the parliament since the members of the executive are also members of the parliament.

THE PRINCIPLE OF CHECKS AND BALANCES

The principle of checks and balances is a complement to the doctrine of separation of powers.

This principle of checks and balances means that power should be used to check power; that no organ of government should possess absolute power.

This is because “power corrupt and absolute power corrupt absolutely”, as stated by Lord Axon and Thomas Jefferson respectively.

That each of the three organs of government should act as a watch dog over the other.

In essence, neither the executive nor the judiciary or the legislature should dominate one another and should function in cooperation with each other.

The legislature should watch and control the executive from initiating bad policy. A bill initiated by the executive must be passed by the legislature before it can become law.

The legislature can refuse to pass a bill into law, and in this way, the legislature has acted as a check on the executive.

The executive can also check legislature by refusing to sign a bill into law.

Both the executive and the legislature can be checked by the judiciary, through the declaration of laws made by both organs unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect.

Finally, the executive can control the judiciary through the appointment of judges and by this; he has acted as a check on the judiciary.

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citizenship

Citizenship, Definition & Methods of Acquiring Citizenship

Citizenship can be defined as the total of all the right and principle accorded to all members of a given state. Membership of any state carries with it some right, duties and obligations of its members who are then referred to as citizens. Any other resident of the state who is not included in this category is regarded as an alien.

METHODS OF ACQUIRING CITIZENSHIP

One can acquire the citizen of a state through two major ways namely by birth and naturalization.

CITIZENSHIP BY BIRTH

This is the commonest methods of acquiring citizenship. Acquiring citizenship by birth can be categorized in two different ways namely,

By law of blood and descent:

This means that any child whose parents are citizens of a particular state whether or not, he or she is born within the territorial jurisdiction of that state is a citizen of that state e.g. child born by Nigeria parent’s resident in United State.

By law of soil or place:

In this case, any child born within the territorial jurisdiction of a state is automatically a citizen of that state irrespective of the citizenship of the parents of the child.

CITIZENSHIP BY NATURALIZATION

Naturalization can be defined as the process of acquiring citizenship through formal legal process. There are four types of naturalization.

Direct naturalization:

In this case, an individual acquire the citizenship of a state after complying with and fulfilling the specified legal process of that state.

Derivative naturalization:

Here a child becomes citizen as a result of the parent’s direct naturalization.

Collective naturalization or incorporation of territory:

In this, a group of persons occupying a definite territory acquire the citizenship of a state by either a treaty or statute consequent upon a cession of that territory to that new state.

Formal registration of spouse:

In this case, some states insist that a spouse must first of all renounce the citizenship of her birth before assuming that of her husband.

CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR NATURALIZATION

Residence:

Many state would require the applicant to have domiciled in the territory for a certain number of years, e.g. in Britain, it is one year, in United States of America it is five years and in Nigeria it is fifteen years.

Language:

Some states insist that the applicant must have good command of the language of their citizens.

Moral character:

Most states are mostly concerned about the moral character of the applicant.

Oath of allegiance:

Almost all state insists that the applicant must take an oath of allegiance to the state.

TERMINATION OF CITIZENSHIP

Expatriation:

This is the voluntary loss of citizenship on the part of the citizen himself.

De-naturalization, deprivation or revocation:

This is the process by which the state revokes, cancels or withdraws the legal recognition of a naturalized citizen.

By marriage:

Many people especially women lose their citizenship through marriage.

OBLIGATIONS OF CITIZENS

The obligations of citizens includes prompt payment of taxes

Obedience to the law of the state

Defense of the state against internal and external enemies

Upholding the honor and dignity of the state

Paying supreme sacrifice for the state when the need arises

RIGHTS OF CITIZENS

Freedom of worship/religion

Freedom of movement

Right to life

Right to private and family

Freedom of association

Right to vote and be voted for

Right to own moveable and immovable property anywhere in Nigeria

Freedom of expression and the press

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Types of government

Types of Government | Unitary | Federal | Parliamentary & Presidential System

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  • Unitary system of government
  • Federal system of government
  • Parliamentary system of government
  • Presidential system of government

There are four types of government which includes unitary system of government, federal system of government, cabinet or parliamentary system of government and the presidential system of government.

UNITARY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

A unitary system of government is a government with only one level of governmental authority constitutionally recognized. The central authority constitutionally possesses and exercises all political power. Other powers and functions exercised by any other units within the state are mainly delegatory. In other words, in a unitary system of government, the central authority may delegate power and functions to some units which are set up to assist in the discharge of political functions. Such delegated powers may be withdrawn at the discretion of the national or central government.

In a unitary system of government the central authority imposes uniform laws and regulation on all part of the country and obtains undivided loyalty. A military government usually adopts an unwritten constitution which makes it possible for them to change any part of the constitution easily.

FEDERAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

In a federal system of government there exist two or three levels of government, usually, there is a central or federal government constituting the first level of government and the government of the constituent units which could be called state, region, province, local government etc have constitutional right or power to exist.

Citizens in a federal system of government owe allegiance to both the federal government or central authority and the component units. The 1999 constitution of Nigeria made the local government the third tier of government.

In a federal system of government also there exist the exclusive, concurrent and residual lists. While the exclusive list contains functions to be performed only by the federal government such as international affairs, currency operation, the concurrent list contains functions that are performed by both the federal and state government. Such functions includes health, education etc.

On the other hand, the residual list contains functions that can be performed by the state government such as health, education, agriculture etc. federal system of government usually adopt written constitution which makes it difficult to alter any of its provisions. There are certain factors that are responsible for the existence of federal system of government.

Such factors includes the desire for the constituent units to federate, i.e. economic advantage, fear of insecurity and the need for increased defense capability etc.

CABINET/PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

In a cabinet system of government, the Prime Minister is the Head of Government and a few of his most senior and some influential and trusted colleagues of his political party form the cabinet. The head of government reserves the right to appoint a minister into the cabinet rank.

This means that a person can become a minister without being a member of the cabinet. In this case he is regarded as a minister without cabinet rank or non cabinet minister. The cabinet is usually appointed from political party with the majority in the legislature and is responsible to the majority.

In theory, a cabinet that loses the confidence and support of the majority is immediately thrown out or asked to resign by the majority. In practice, it is not so simple; the resignation of the cabinet means the resignation of the government and the resignation of the government in turn means the dissolution of the legislature and fresh elections.

This is a risk many legislators are not prepared to take because if election are held most legislators may not win their seat back. The cabinet members must agree on and strive to implement one common political party manifesto. The cabinet must come from the party with majority in the legislature in order to enable it implement it policies.

There is the existence of collective responsibility. In this case, every cabinet member must accept and endorse the actions and policies of the cabinet even if they do not appeal to him personally and even if he spoke against it during a cabinet meeting. Any member who feels strongly against certain decision and actions of cabinet and does not want to be identified with them must resign his membership of the cabinet.

Again, the cabinet stands and falls together. This is because since all cabinet members are a party to all cabinet decision and actions, all of them are equally responsible for their success or failure.

The president/monarch under this system of government is usually relegated to the background. He neither takes part in cabinet meeting nor assures responsibilities for its policies and programmes.

He waits patiently to be consulted on certain issues and on the discretion of the prime minister, he assent a bill into law.

Examples of countries that operate this system of government include Britain, Italy, Israel and India.

THE PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

The presidential system of government implies a system of government where the president is dominant. In a presidential system of government, the president combines in his person the important role of head of government or the chief executive, ceremonial chief of state and the leader of his political party.

Usually, the president is elected for a specific term of office. In some countries a president is usually eligible for a re-election. In others, he is limited to one or two term while in other once elected he remains in office for life.

A president once elected has the freedom to appoint his cabinet or the members of his administration from any quarters. It is not usual for a president to appoint members of an opposing political party to his administration.

The members of the president cabinet are usually heads of the department/ministries. Each heads of department/ministries sees to the overall government policies and problems mainly in terms of its effect on his department/ministry.

The president and his cabinet are not members of the legislatures, however, the members of the cabinet may appear before the legislature if and when invited to do so on behalf of their respective ministries.

No bill passed by the legislature becomes law unless assent by the president. The legislature may constitutional impeach the president on cases of gross misconduct and abuse of office but cannot remove him otherwise. The principle of separation of power is clearly operational in a presidential system of government.

This principle gives room for checks and balances among three organs of government. The president can dismiss any of his ministers or ask any of his ministers to resign without consulting the legislatures. Lobbying is a notable phenomenon in a presidential system of government. An example of countries that operates presidential system of government includes Nigeria and United States of America.

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