Government Lesson Note for Second Term SS1

SCHEME OF WORK

WEEK 1&2 PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

WEEK 3& 4 MONARCHY, REPUBLICAN AND MILITARY FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

WEEK 5&6 CONSTITUTION AND CONSTITUTIONALISM

WEEK 7&8 STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION OF GOVERNMENT

WEEK 9&10 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT

WEEK 11 REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT

 

Lesson Note on Government SS1 Second Term 

Below are the 2022 complete Government lesson notes for SS1 Second Term

Week 1&2

Topic: PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

Presidential System of Government

A presidential system of government is a single executive system whereby a man or woman is both the head of state and the head of government. Examples of countries with presidential constitutions are: USA, Spain, Phillipines and Nigeria.

Characteristics of Presidential System of Government

1.   All executive power is vested in the president.
2.   There is a clear cut separation of power.
3.   The system of checks and balances are pronounced.
4.   The president and ministers are not members of the legislature.
5.   The president can appoint some of his minister outside the party.
6.   The president can be removed through impeachment.
7.   The party discipline is weak.
8.   It is not compulsory for the president to come from the party which has majority in the legislature. To learn more, click here 

Week 3&4

Topic: Monarchy, Republican And Military Forms of Government

Monarchy is a form of government in which a group, usually a family called the dynasty, embodies the country’s national identity and one of its members, called the monarch, exercises a role of sovereignty. The actual power of the monarch may vary from purely symbolic (crowned republic), to partial and restricted (constitutional monarchy), to completely autocratic (absolute monarchy).

Forms of Monarchy

Dependent monarchies;

In some cases monarchs are dependent on other powers (see vassals, suzerainty, puppet state, hegemony). In the British colonial era indirect rule under a paramount power existed, such as the princely states under the British Raj.

In Botswana, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda, the ancient kingdoms and chiefdoms that were met by the colonialists when they first arrived on the continent are now constitutionally protected as regional and/or sectional entities. Furthermore, in Nigeria, though the dozens of sub-regional polities that exist there are not provided for in the current constitution, they are nevertheless legally recognised aspects of the structure of governance that operates in the nation. In addition to these five countries, peculiar monarchies of varied sizes and complexities exist in various other parts of Africa. To learn more, click here 

Week 5&6

Topic: Constitution And Constitutionalism

 Constitution:

Constitution can be refers to as a book or document which contains the rules and principle by which a state is governed. It is the fundamental laws and principle that prescribe s the nature ,functions and the limits of a Government.
Constitutionalism;

The doctrine or system of government in which the governing power is limited by enforceable rules of law, and concentration of power is limited by various checks and balances so that the basic rights of individuals and groups are protected.

A commitment to limitations on ordinary political power; it revolves around a political process, one that overlaps with democracy in seeking to balance state power and individual and collective rights; it draws on particular cultural and historical contexts from which it emanates; and it resides in public consciousness.

Constitutionalism recognizes the need for government with powers but at the same time insists that limitation be placed on those powers. It envisages checks and balances by restraining the powers of governmental organs by not making them uncontrolled and arbitrary. To learn more, click here 

Week 7&8

Topic: STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION OF GOVERNMENT

THE LEGISLATURE

As the second arm of government, the legislature is responsible for the enactment of laws which not only give backing to the government policies but also guide interactions between the government and the governed. The legislature is made up of elected legislative like members of the house of representative, senate and house of assembly.

FUNCTIONS OF LEGISLATURE

The primary function of the legislature is to make law for the good government of the country

Approval of policies of the executive organ e.g. treaties and declaration of law

Control of public funds and expenditure are under the legislature control as well as government spending and taxation

Monitoring and evaluation of government activities i.e. it checks the activities of government agencies. To learn more, click here 

Week 9/10

Topic: Basic Principles of Government

Definition Of Rule Of Law

Rule of law is the law that states that the law is supreme over all the citizens and even those in governments, must be subject to and protected by the law.

Rule of law is the absolute supremacy of the law over everyone in a country. The law of the land supersedes all her citizens. It is the people cognizance of law and living below it.

Principles of the rule of law.

1. Equality before the law: This principle state that no one is above the law and the law has no respect for any person rather people should respect it. Occupation or position of authority does not make one different from another in the face of the law.
2. Impartiality: This principle states that the law is not partial. The law applies the same level of punishment for offenders no matter the person’s status. No one is guilty of an offence unless such individual has been tried in the law court and pronounced guilty.
3. Supremacy: This states that the law is supreme over anybody no matter who you are.
4. Fundamental human right: This principle states that the citizens of the country should enjoy certain basic right and liberties under the law. To learn more, click here 

Week 11

Topic: Representative Government 

Meaning:

A Representative Government is the type of government in which the citizens or the electorate are allowed to elect their leaders i.e. representatives. It is an indirect form of democracy.

Features of Representative Government

1. Political equality (influence)
2. Majority rule; the candidate who gets 50% of the votes plus at least 1, wins. if the election is between more than 2 candidates, then it is narrowed down to the 2 with the highest percentage of votes and then the people vote between them.

   3. Political competition and choice: voters must have more than one candidate to choose from

    4. Transparency in government

   5. Political accountability: the masses have a right to remove an incumbent from office if they are not abiding by the law and/or correctly doing their job. To learn more, click here