JAMB Government 1995

31 reviewed questions with answers and explanations.

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Question 1

The concept of sovereignty can best be defined as the

  1. state of being supreme in authority
  2. power of the executive president
  3. supremacy of the legislature
  4. supremacy of the executive
Answer and explanation

A: state of being supreme in authority

Sovereignty describes supreme authority within a political community and independence in its external relations. It is broader than the powers of any one branch of government.

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Question 2

Power is understood to mean the

  1. right to compel obedience
  2. capacity to compel obedience
  3. relationship between the government and the people
  4. desire to seize the state apparatus
Answer and explanation

B: capacity to compel obedience

Power is the capacity to influence or compel behaviour. The right to do so is authority, so capacity rather than a recognized right is the defining distinction.

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Question 3

The institutions which constitute the main organs of the government of a nation are the

  1. legislature, the executive and the judiciary
  2. judiciary and the civil service
  3. trustee and the presidium
  4. civil service and the senate
Answer and explanation

A: legislature, the executive and the judiciary

The conventional three branches of government are the legislature, executive and judiciary. They respectively make laws, implement public policy and interpret laws or resolve disputes.

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Question 4

The executive arm of government includes the

  1. police
  2. courts
  3. national assembly
  4. senate president
Answer and explanation

A: police

The police form part of the machinery that enforces laws and maintains public order. That places them within the executive rather than the legislative or judicial branch.

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Question 5

Unicameral legislature is often criticized for

  1. restricting the scope of participation
  2. cheapening the opportunity for participation
  3. condoning the participation of traditional rulers
  4. Narrowing participation to the military
Answer and explanation

A: restricting the scope of participation

A unicameral legislature has only one chamber, which can limit the range of institutional representation compared with two chambers. This is a criticism of participation channels, not a claim that only military representatives may serve.

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Question 7

According to Marxist theory, those who own and control the means of production in a capitalist society are the

  1. producers
  2. bourgeoisie
  3. colonialists
  4. proletariats
Answer and explanation

B: bourgeoisie

In Marxist analysis, the bourgeoisie own and control the means of production. The proletariat are wage workers who sell their labour power rather than owning those productive assets.

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Question 9

The goal of the theory of separation of powers is to

  1. make the executive dependent on the legislature
  2. give more powers to the legislature
  3. protect individual liberty
  4. create efficiency in the judiciary
Answer and explanation

C: protect individual liberty

Dividing legislative, executive and judicial powers limits the concentration of authority. This helps protect individual liberty by making arbitrary or tyrannical rule harder.

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Question 10

The power of the courts to declare legislative enactments as unconstitutional is known as judicial

  1. ruling
  2. review
  3. interpretation
  4. edict
Answer and explanation

B: review

Judicial review is the power to examine legislation for constitutional validity. When a court sets aside an unconstitutional enactment it is exercising this review function.

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Question 14

The legal process by which an alien is accepted as a national of a country other than his own is known as

  1. naturalization
  2. citizenship
  3. expatriation
  4. indigenization
Answer and explanation

A: naturalization

Naturalization is the legal admission of a person to citizenship of a country other than their original one. Expatriation and indigenization describe different processes.

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Question 15

Enfranchisement describes the process of

  1. allowing eligible persons the right to vote
  2. allowing special categories of persons to contest elections
  3. allowing all women the right to vote
  4. the actual act of voting
Answer and explanation

A: allowing eligible persons the right to vote

Enfranchisement grants or extends the right to vote to eligible people. Casting a ballot is exercising the franchise, not granting it.

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Question 16

An electoral system that apportions legislative seats to a group relative to its actual voting strength is referred to as

  1. franchise
  2. simple plurality
  3. proportional representation
  4. discriminatory majority
Answer and explanation

C: proportional representation

Proportional representation allocates seats in relation to the votes received by parties or groups. It contrasts with winner-take-all plurality allocation.

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Question 18

The major distinguishing factor between a political party and a pressure group is that while the former

  1. is effectively organized the latter is not
  2. engages in propaganda, the latter does not
  3. seeks power, the latter influences it
  4. does not form a government, the latter does
Answer and explanation

C: seeks power, the latter influences it

Political parties seek to win public office and exercise governmental power. Pressure groups chiefly seek to influence those who hold power on particular interests or causes.

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Question 20

On what is charismatic authority based?

  1. Inherited wealth and power
  2. Tyrannical tendencies
  3. Institutional processes
  4. Personal ability and influence
Answer and explanation

D: Personal ability and influence

Charismatic authority rests on followers’ belief in an individual’s exceptional qualities and influence. It differs from authority derived from inherited office or established legal procedures.

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Question 26

The first leader of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons was

  1. Nnamdi Azikiwe
  2. Michael Okpara
  3. Samuel Ikoku
  4. Herbert Macaulay
Answer and explanation

D: Herbert Macaulay

Herbert Macaulay was the first president of the NCNC when it was formed in 1944. Nnamdi Azikiwe initially served as secretary and later led the organization.

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Question 28

The first executive president of Nigeria was

  1. Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe
  2. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
  3. General Yakubu Gowon
  4. Alhaji Shehu Shagari
Answer and explanation

D: Alhaji Shehu Shagari

Shehu Shagari became Nigeria's first executive president in 1979. Nnamdi Azikiwe had earlier served as a ceremonial president under the parliamentary constitution.

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Question 29

Which of the following organs control the Civil Service?

  1. parliament and the courts
  2. trade unions and the courts
  3. the police and parliament
  4. tribunals and interest groups
Answer and explanation

A: parliament and the courts

Parliament subjects the civil service to legislative scrutiny and financial oversight, while courts review the legality of administrative action. These are distinct forms of public accountability.

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Question 31

Which of the following was Not a function of FEDECO during the Second Republic?

  1. organizing, conducting and supervising all elections
  2. providing guidelines, rules and regulations for political parties
  3. arranging for the registration of persons qualified to vote
  4. swearing in of elected candidates
Answer and explanation

D: swearing in of elected candidates

FEDECO organized elections and related electoral administration. Swearing elected office-holders into office was a separate constitutional ceremony outside its electoral management duties.

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Question 32

Who among the following served as chairmen of NEC under General Babangida?

  1. Chief Ani and Justice Ovie-Whiskey
  2. Prof Awa and Prof. Nwosu
  3. Prof. Uya and Alhaji Kurfi
  4. Col Wase and Chief Esua
Answer and explanation

B: Prof Awa and Prof. Nwosu

Professors Eme Awa and Humphrey Nwosu both chaired the National Electoral Commission during Babangida's rule. Awa was its first chairman and Nwosu succeeded him.

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Question 33

The Minorities Commission appointed in 1957 in Nigeria was headed by

  1. Justice Udo Udoma
  2. Sir Henry Willink
  3. Sir Alan Lennox-Boyd
  4. Justice Darnley Alexander
Answer and explanation

B: Sir Henry Willink

Sir Henry Willink chaired the commission examining minority fears in Nigeria. Its work concerned safeguards against domination within the constitutional arrangements.

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Question 34

Nigeria adopted the nineteen-state structure in

  1. 1966
  2. 1960
  3. 1969
  4. 1976
Answer and explanation

D: 1976

Nigeria adopted a nineteen-state structure in 1976, replacing the twelve-state arrangement. The state-creation decree took effect on 3 February of that year.

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Question 35

Privatization of public corporations in Nigeria implies

  1. Government divestment from the companies
  2. the public take - over of companies
  3. the autonomy of government companies
  4. the commercialization of public corporations
Answer and explanation

A: Government divestment from the companies

Privatization involves government reducing or selling its ownership interest in an enterprise. Commercialization can change operating principles while leaving government ownership in place.

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Question 36

Which pair were public corporations in Nigeria in 1995?

  1. UAC and CFAO
  2. NEPA and UAC
  3. CFAO and NCC
  4. NEPA and NRC
Answer and explanation

D: NEPA and NRC

NEPA was the public electricity authority and NRC is the Nigerian Railway Corporation. UAC and CFAO were commercial companies, so the pair of public corporations is NEPA and NRC.

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Question 37

Examples of public corporations in Nigeria in 1995 were

  1. UAC and CFAO
  2. NEPA and UAC
  3. CFAO and NCC
  4. NEPA and NRC
Answer and explanation

D: NEPA and NRC

NEPA and the Nigerian Railway Corporation were state-owned statutory enterprises providing electricity and rail services. UAC and CFAO were commercial companies, so the other pairs do not consist entirely of public corporations.

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Question 39

The military administration that attempted to tackle the problem of inefficiency in the public sector by mass retirement of public officers was the

  1. Gowon administration
  2. Murtala administration
  3. Obasanjo administration
  4. Buhari administration
Answer and explanation

B: Murtala administration

Murtala Muhammed's administration carried out a large public-service purge in 1975, including mass retirements. It presented the exercise as a response to corruption and inefficiency, though the process was controversial.

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Question 40

Under military regimes in Nigeria, the branches of government that were fused are the

  1. executive and the legislature
  2. executive and the judiciary
  3. legislature and the judiciary
  4. executive, the legislature and the judiciary
Answer and explanation

A: executive and the legislature

Nigeria's military ruling bodies exercised executive authority and issued legislative decrees. This combined executive and legislative functions, while courts continued to operate as a separate branch.

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Question 43

The non-alignment as a principle of Nigerian foreign policy is aimed at

  1. promoting Nigeria’s leadership aspiration in Africa
  2. placing Nigeria on a comfortable position to contribute to international peace and morality
  3. enabling Nigeria to assume equal status with the world powers
  4. fulfilling a basic requirement for her acceptance into the security council of the UN
Answer and explanation

B: placing Nigeria on a comfortable position to contribute to international peace and morality

Non-alignment seeks independent judgment in international affairs instead of automatic loyalty to a power bloc. This can support contributions to international peace; it does not confer superpower status or guarantee a Security Council seat.

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Question 44

The country whose interest conflicted with those of Nigeria over Angola in 1975 was

  1. USSR
  2. USA
  3. France
  4. CUBA
Answer and explanation

B: USA

Nigeria supported the MPLA in Angola in 1975, while the United States supported opposing forces. The Soviet Union and Cuba supported the MPLA, so their positions were closer to Nigeria's on that issue.

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Question 46

Which of these countries has the right to veto substantive decisions of the UN Security Council?

  1. Switzerland
  2. Argentina
  3. China
  4. Sweden
Answer and explanation

C: China

China is a permanent Security Council member and can veto substantive resolutions. The other listed countries do not have permanent-member veto power, even when they serve elected Council terms.

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Question 47

The primary objective of the UNO is to

  1. maintain international peace and security
  2. promote fundamental human rights
  3. develop bilateral relations among nations
  4. serve as a coordinating platform for the actions of nations
Answer and explanation

A: maintain international peace and security

Maintaining international peace and security is the first purpose stated in the UN Charter. Human rights and international cooperation are also purposes that support its wider mission.

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Question 48

The OAU is founded on the principle of

  1. settlement of international disputes by armed struggles
  2. justifiable interference in the domestic affairs of member states
  3. sovereign equality of member states
  4. equal contribution by member states
Answer and explanation

C: sovereign equality of member states

Sovereign equality of member states was a principle of the OAU Charter. It also emphasized peaceful settlement and non-interference, rather than routine armed intervention in members' internal affairs.

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Question 49

One of the achievements of ECOWAS is the

  1. eradication of colonialism
  2. adoption of a vehicle insurance scheme
  3. settlement of Liberian refugees
  4. respect for human rights
Answer and explanation

B: adoption of a vehicle insurance scheme

ECOWAS established the Brown Card motor insurance scheme to support cross-border vehicle liability cover. It is a concrete regional arrangement adopted through a 1982 protocol.

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