CONSTITUTION AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY

CONTENTS:

1.0       Introduction

2.0       Objectives

• Main Content
• Meaning of the Constitution
• Rigid and Flexible Constitutions
• Constitutional Democracy in Nigeria
• Democracy and Political Governance in Nigeria

4.0       Conclusion

5.0       Summary

6.0       Tutor Marked Assignment

7.0       Reference/Further Readings

INTRODUCTION

Nation States reserve the power and rights to stipulate some rules of interpersonal and group relationships and to prescribe the basic principles that guide socio-economic and political organization, and exchange relations. Such rules as agreed upon and endorsed by the parliament become the cardinal elements that characterize the Constitution of a given nation-state. However, such elements are either written or unwritten, but form the super-structure or edifice upon which a particular State is organized and upon which socio-economic competition takes place.

OBJECTIVES

In this Unit, you will be able to understand the following:-

• What constitutionalism is all about
• That a written constitution is a basic law that determines exchange relations
• Constitutional Democracy

MAIN CONTENT

Meaning of the Constitution:

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English has defined Constitution as, “the system of laws and principles, usually written down, according to which a country or an organization is governed.” According to the BBC English Dictionary, “the Constitution of a country or organization is the system of laws which formally states people’s rights and duties”.

In a formal sense, constitution refers to:

• A fundamental legal document.
• The fundamental institutions of a state the laws, customs and great conventions or
• The total system of laws and customs

Bryce defined Constitution as “the aggregate of the laws and customs through and under which the public life of a State goes on, or the complex totality of laws embodying the principles and rules whereby the community is organized, governed, and held together. Thus, Constitution can be aptly defined as laws and principles according to which a State is governed. The objects of a Constitution are to limit the arbitrary action of the government, to guarantee the rights of the governed, and to define the operation of the sovereign power. Constitution can be written or unwritten.

Nigerian Constitution in Focus:

Nigeria has a written Constitution, and this in no doubt, is superior to all other laws. The 1999 Constitution has therefore, vividly emphasized the supremacy of the Constitution. Section 1 – (1) has stressed that, this Constitution is supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on all authorities and persons throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Section 1 Sub-Section 2 also states that the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any person or group of persons take control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

And Section1 Sub-Section 3 of the Constitution has even laid more emphasis on the supremacy of the Constitution by asserting thus: If any other law is inconsistent with the provisions of this constitution, this Constitution shall prevail, and that other laws shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void. As a matter of fact, the Constitution of any country seeks to provide acceptable framework for inflation and societal reproduction. The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, like previous Constitutions, has a broad purpose of promoting the good government and welfare of all persons in the country on the principles of freedom, equality and justice, and for the purpose of consolidating the unity our people.

Rigid and Flexible Constitutions:

According to the ease or difficulty with which Constitutions can be amended they are sometimes divided into rigid and flexible constitutions. Constitutions may be rigid in form or principle, but flexible in substance or practice. For instance, the U.S. Constitutions is difficult to amend but broad enough in text to be interpreted flexibly.

Great Britain has an unwritten Constitution composed of customs, Conventions and regular Acts of parliament. Every country has either written or unwritten Constitution. It is only in truly democratic countries that Constitutions actually limit the powers of government. In Nigeria, the government operates like a Leviathan and political leaders appropriate the institutes of governance to subvert the Constitution and undermine the rule of law.

Constitutional Democracy in Nigeria:

Nigeria returned to constitutional democracy in 1999 with a presidential, federal Constitution. There have been demands by various civil society organizations, the executive and the legislature for review of the Constitution. A national  Political Reform Conference (NPRC) set up in 2005 proposed many constitutional amendments which became controversial, especially the provision to extend the tenure of the executive by another term, and were not passed by the two houses of the National Assembly in 2006. Thus, the process of constitutional review was aborted. Nevertheless, the present government of President Yar’Adua has yet again set up Constitutional Review Committee comprising of some eminent and galaxy Nigerians to look into the areas of the constitution that need to be reviewed, amended, tinkered and what have you.

The principle of checks and balances, which is central to the presidential system, has been difficult to practice, large because the executive overshadows the legislature and judiciary, a legacy of the long period of military rule. Nigeria achieved a major landmark in its democratic evolution by the relatively successful conclusion of the 2003 elections, the first to be done by a civilian regime. However, many international and local election observers have condemned the conduct of the 2007 elections, warranting the President, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, to set up an Electoral Reform Panel in August 2007 to propose changes that will guarantee free and fair elections in the future.

Thus, without doubt, Nigeria has come a long way in its practice of constitutional democracy since 1999. Compared to the Military period, there have been huge improvements in respect for human rights, in equitable distribution of resources and competition for power. Democracy institutions that were established in 1999 are gradually maturing in performing their functions and understanding the limits of their powers.

Democracy and Political Governance in Nigeria:

In recent times, there have been recommendations as well by various civil society organizations and other institutions, to improve the status of democracy and political governance in Nigeria, and some of these key recommendations are the following: -

• Standards and codes not yet ratified should be ratified and domesticated in the shortest possible time;
• The Economic Reform Programme should be faithfully implemented to sustain macro- economic stability;
• Appropriate laws should be passed to institutionalize the economic reforms of the government.
• Capacity-building to deepen new budget orientation and to institutionalize monitoring and evaluation of budget implementation by civil society organizations (CSOs);
• Capacity-building of public servants to operate the Public Procurement Law;
• Passage and operation of the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, strengthening of support to anti- corruption agencies (EFCC & ICPC) to fight economic crimes and speedy trial of corruption cases.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Explain the level of constitutionalism in Nigeria.

CONCLUSION

In this Unit, we have focused our discussions on, the meaning of Constitution, rigid and flexible constitutions, constitutional democracy in Nigeria and, democracy and political governance in Nigeria. Thus, it is pertinent to conclude that corporate governance should be improved, and the rule of law up-held for the welfare of the people.

SUMMARY

In Nigeria for instance, post-colonial political leaderships had tended to reduce the major problem associated with political instability and bad governance to the constitution. As a result, this has resorted to frequent and unrestrained review of existing constitutions.

TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT

• Define Constitution and explain Rigid and Flexible Constitutions
• What is constitutional Democracy and explain some of the key recommendations to improve political governance in Nigeria

REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Ese Malemi, (1999) – Outline of Nigerian Legal System, Lagos, Grace Publishers Inc.

Nnanyelugo Okoro and Aloysius Michael Okolie, (2004) – Law, Politics and Media in Nigeria, Nsukka, Prize Publishers Ltd.

Sanni, A. O. ed., (1999) – Introduction to Nigerian Legal Method, Ile-Ife, Kuntel Publishing House.

1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

APRM Country Self-Assessment Report (CSAR) Executive Summary – NEPAD Nigeria, 2008.