Government 2020 Past Questions | WAEC

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Study the following Government past questions and answers for JAMB, WAEC NECO and Post-JAMB. Get prepared with official past questions and answers for upcoming examinations.

46. The West African Students Union (WASU) was formed by _______

A. Siaka Stevens

B. K. A. Gbedemah
C. E.F Small
D. Oladipo Solake

47. A military coup d’etat is followed by _________

A. enforcement of fundamental human rights
B. suspension of the constitution

C. breaking of diplomatic relations with foreign countries
D. mass importation of firearms

48. Which of the following countries is a Unitary?

A. Nigeria
B. Egypt
C. Ghana

D. Canada

49. Which of the following does not influence a country’s foreign policy?

A. Desire for foreign investments

B. International law, Conventions and Treaties
C. Religion and racial factors
D. Age of the leader

50.

The National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA) was founded in _______

A. Sierra Leone

B. Liberia
C. Ghana
D. Nigeria

GOVERNMENT THEORY PAST QUESTIONS 2020 WITH SOLUTIONS

(a) What is Political socialization?

(b) identity four features of a nation

Solution & Explanation:

(a) Political socialization is defined as the process of acquiring political beliefs, values, attitudes and citizenship training that shapes a citizen’s political behaviour.

Political socialization can be defined as the way in which people acquire values and opinions that shape their political stance and ideology.

(b) (i)Permanence: A nation remains permanent. However, the Government can change many times.

(ii)A defined territory: A nation has a defined territory with a limit to its size. It must have clearly boundaries, separating it from others.

(iii) Government: Although the government is not a permanent feature of a nation, it remains a significant feature because it is machinery set up by the nation to steer the affairs of the people in the nation.

(iv) Sovereign: The sovereign of a nation is not negotiable and must be free from external interference and control. The nation has the supreme power to make decisions and enforces the same on the people.

(v) Population: This is an important attribute of a nation. There must be a given number of people making up a nation.

(vi) Recognition: A nation must be recognized both internally and externally.

Highlight five features of federalism?

Solution & Explanation:

(i) Constitutional division of powers: Powers are constitutional shared between the central authority and other subordinate units, e.g state and local government

(ii) Derivation of powers from the constitution: The central, state and local governments derive their powers from the constitution

(iii) Supremacy of the constitution: The constitution of a Federal state is powerful and supreme.

(iv) Written and Rigid: The constitution of most federal systems are written and rigid

(v) Separation of powers: The constitution separate the functions and powers among three organs of government, namely: executive, legislature, and judiciary

(vi) Bicameral legislature: Most of the federal constitutions have bicameral legislature. For example, in Nigeria and the USA, there are the senate and the House of Representatives.

(vii) The supreme court: There is always a supreme court that interprets the constitution and decides on any conflict between the Centre and the constituents units

(viii) Equal representation: Every interest group is recognized and represented in federalism.

(a) What is a Public Corporation?

(b) Identify four ways in which Public corporations are controlled.

Solution & Explanation:

(a) A public corporation is an entity that is created by the government to carry out certain public missions and services.

A pubic corporation is defined as the government establishment or enterprise set up by an Act of parliament to provide essential services like electricity, postal services, pipe-borne water etc

(b) (I) Legislative control: Legislative control or Acts of parliament: Public corporations are set up by Acts of parliament. Their power is stipulated in the Acts. Abolition: Any public corporation that is deficient and unproductive could be abolished by the legislature. Auditing: Any accounts of the public corporations are always audited by a body set up by the legislature. Summoning of officials: The legislature can ask any official to appear before it if there are allegations of wrongdoing.

(ii) Ministerial control: Dissolution of the board of directors: A minister whose ministry controls a public corporation can appoint and dissolve a board of directors of such a corporation. Appointment and dismissal of senior officers: The minister also has the power to appoint or even dismiss some senior categories of staff in any corporation under his control. Approval of loans and expenditures: The minister approves any loan to be taken and some major expenditures. Auditing: A minister can appoint auditors to audit the accounts of public corporations under his or her control.

(iii) Judicial control: Judicial control of court order: The courts can declare any act made by some corporations illegal and unconstitutional. This is done when they are breaching the acts upon which they are set up. Denial of services: The judiciary can also stop any public corporation from denying its services to any customer e.g. PHCN

(iv) Financial control: Finance: Most public enterprises depends, to a large extent, on the government for allocations to meet their running costs. The government may withhold such allocations. Budget: This is usually debated upon. The senior official or the minister responsible for the enterprise can be questioned before the legislative committee. Annual Report: Annual reports of public corporations are presented to the parliament for scrutiny.

Outline five ways in which Public opinion is being measured?

Solution & Explanation:

(i) Channels of communication: Public opinion can be determined by exploring all the channels of communication, e.g. opinions expressed in Newspapers, radio, television etc.

(ii) Opinions expressed by leaders of thought: It can be measured through opinions expressed by local leaders of thought or leaders in the representative assemblies.

(iii) Letters to government: It can be measured through the letters written by citizens to the government agencies expressing their opinions on particular issues of national importance.

(iv) Response to government policies: It can be measured through mass protests and demonstrations for or against government programmes.

(v) Referendum or Plebiscite: Government may conduct a referendum or plebiscite to determine what the people want on any particular issue.

(vi) Telephone calls: Phone-in programmes on radio and television stations, especially in Nigeria, are a great way of measuring public opinion

Explain five means of safeguarding rights of citizens?

Solution & Explanation:

(i) Obedience of Law: The law of the land should be obeyed

(ii) Educating the citizens: Citizens should be educated on their rights.

(iii) Punishing the rights violators: The violators of the rights of citizens should be punished severely by the court of law

(iv) Separation of powers: There should be adherence to the theory of separation of powers among the organs of government.

(v) Sufficient remuneration of judges: There should be sufficient salaries and remunerations of judges, and these should be from the consolidated funds.

(vi) Immunity of judiciary: There should be immunity of the judiciary so that they can safeguard the rights of citizens

Identify five challenges faced by the United Nations Organizations (UNO)

Solution & Explanation:

(i) Shortage of funds: the involvement of the United Nations Organization in large-scale operations results in a shortage of fund

(ii) Sovereignty of nations: The organization cannot effectively enforce its decisions because member states are not willing to surrender their sovereignty to its authority.

(iii) The veto power: Each of the five permanent members of the Security Council has veto power. The refusal of any of them on any issue under consideration.

(iv) Differences in ideology: There are differences in ideology, culture, politics and methods used in pursuing economic goals. This may negate the evolution of lasting peace in the world.

(v) Difficulty in achieving the goals of the organization: The achievement of the goals of collective security can be jeopardized by negative action by any of the Big- Powers – USA, Russia, Britain, France and China- determining the direction of events in the world.

(vi) No permanent Military force: The absence of a permanent military force is affecting its peace-keeping operations worldwide. The member countries provide troops only when called upon.

(vii) Problem of arms race: The UN has failed to find a permanent solution to the arms race, Many nations spend so much on the manufacture of weapons of war, e.g USA, Russia, France, Britain, Even some countries like Iraq and Iran equally do the same thing.

(a) State two problems confronting Nigeria Federalism

(b) Highlight three features of Nigeria Federalism

Solution & Explanation:

(a) (i) problem of acceptable revenue allocation formula

(ii) over-concentration of powers at the Centre

(iii) ethnicity and tribalism

(iv) fear of the majority domination

(v) threat to national unity/ integration

(b) (I) division of powers between the Centre and component units

(ii) existence of a written and rigid constitution

(iii) supremacy of the constitution

(iv) existence of a bicameral centralized police force

(v) existence of a supreme court

Highlights five differences between the crown colony and the protectorates?

Solution & Explanation:

(i) Crown Colony is a form of direct rule of British annexed territories in which the British established political institutions such as the executive council, legislative council and governor which were used in ruling the people who were regarded as British subjects.

Protectorate is a region, political unit or state that is controlled and protected by another or government by which it is ruled

(ii) Crown colony is a part of a larger country governed by that same country.

A protectorate is its own state merely protected by a larger country.

(iii) For a colony, all foreign relations are created and dealt with by the mother country.

A state which is a protectorate has the aid of a larger nation when conducting foreign relations

(iv)The governors are virtual colonial dictators as they have veto powers.

The people in a more equal relationship are governed through their traditional rulers and chiefs.

(v) Unlike a protectorate, a colony is not in an equal relationship with its mother country.

A protectorate is in a more equal relationship with its mother country than a colony

(vi) There is the existence of the monarch (the king or queen) who is the head of all the British colonies.

There is the existence of traditional rulers and chiefs ruling the people subject to the control by the governor on behalf of the monarch.

(vii) Colonies can be seen as a threat to other nations, as it is the spreading of one country to other countries.

Protectorates can be seen as an alliance. The more allies, the stronger the territory and country.

(viii) A colony is governed internally and externally by a foreign power.

A protectorate governs itself internally, while the foreign power controls its external relations.

(ix) It is far more expensive to govern.

(a) List three political parties and their leader who contested during the 1979 presidential elections in Nigeria

(b) Highlight the features of political parties in Nigeria since independence.

Solution & Explanation:

(a) (i) The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) – Shehu Shagari

(ii) Unity Party of Nigeria – Chief Obafemi Awolowo

(iii) Nigeria People’s Party (NPP) – Dr Nnamdi Azikwe

(iv) People’s Redemption Party (PRP) – Mallam Aminu Kanu

(v) Great Nigeria People’s Party (GNPP) Alhaji Ibrahim Waziri

(b) (I) Unity: Political parties unite the people on major issues affecting the state

(ii) Serving as a link: They always serve as a link between the people and the government

(iii) Accountability: They enable the government to become accountable to the electorate through constructive criticism of the government in power.

(iv) Machinery for recruitment: They provide machinery for recruiting political leaders.

Highlight five weaknesses of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

(a) List three features of the Igbo Political system.

(b)Identify four democratic tenets of the Igbo Traditional Political system.

Solution & Explanation:
(i) Costly to run: The constitution operates a presidential system of government with comprehensive duplication of political functions, thereby making it too expensive and costly to run.
(ii) Abuse of impeachment clause: The impeachment clause as stipulated in the constitution could be abused by the lawmakers to victimise a political opponent.
(iii) Delay in implementation of programmes: Separation of powers could result in a delay in the implementation or carrying out of government programme. For example, the National Assembly can delay the approval of budget, ministerial and other appointments to be made by the president.
(iv) Refusal of the executive to honour the judgement of the supreme court: the executive can refuse to honour the judgement of the supreme court because of the sovereign immunity it has.
(v) Activities in government: Government activities could be brought to a standstill because of problems between the executive and legislative arms of government, especially when the ruling party does not have a majority seat in parliament.
(vi) Over- concentration of powers: Some critics have argued that the Executive president as both Head of State and Government has excessive powers concentrated in him, and this creates room for abuse of powers.

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Government 2020 Past Questions | WAEC

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Correct Option: Answer is D

Correct Option: Answer is B

Correct Option: Answer is B

Correct Option: Answer is D

Correct Option: Answer is C

GOVERNMENT THEORY PAST QUESTIONS 2020 WITH SOLUTIONS

Solution & Explanation:

Solution & Explanation:

Solution & Explanation:

Solution & Explanation:

Solution & Explanation:

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