JAMB Government 2018
Questions & Answers

A student could mistakenly select the Algeria war of independence or French policy in the Congo, as these were also major African geopolitical issues of that era. Nigeria broke diplomatic relations with France in 1961 due to France’s atomic tests in the Sahara. Common mistake: confusing French military conflicts with French nuclear environmental provocations in Africa.

One might mistakenly choose Kenya, Angola, or Botswana, thinking of general liberation struggles across southern Africa during that period. In 1979, Obasanjo nationalized British Petroleum assets due to Britain’s policy on Zimbabwe’s independence. Common mistake: mixing up the specific Southern African frontline state whose political transition triggered Nigeria's drastic economic sanction.

A test-taker might mistakenly select the Department of Immigration or the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, confusing operational security or research bodies with executive policy administration. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs manages Nigeria’s foreign policy and diplomatic relations. Common mistake: attributing high-level diplomatic execution to research institutes or border control agencies.

One might mistakenly choose an Ambassador or a Consul General, assuming standard diplomatic titles apply uniformly across all foreign nations. A High Commissioner heads Nigerian missions in Commonwealth countries. Common mistake: failing to distinguish the traditional Commonwealth diplomatic title from standard foreign embassy designations.

A student could mistakenly pick the issuance of visas or the welfare of citizens, forgetting that these are core, authorized diplomatic duties. Espionage is not a statutory function; embassies focus on diplomacy and citizen welfare. Common mistake: mistaking covert intelligence-gathering operations for legitimate, transparent consular responsibilities.

One might mistakenly select politically, socially, or culturally, given that regional blocs often touch upon those areas. ECOWAS focuses on economic integration, promoting trade and regional development. Common mistake: overestimating the initial political integration scope of a community primarily founded for financial and trade cooperation.

Students might mistakenly select Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, or Liberia thinking they were the primary co-founders alongside Nigeria. Looking at the origins of this regional bloc, the establishment in 1975 was propelled forward through the active leadership of Nigeria working together with Togo. Common mistake: Confusing general West African member states with the specific initial co-driver of the organization.

A student might incorrectly choose Ghana, Ethiopia, or Tanzania assuming they became independent much later or had different foundational timelines. Tracing the establishment of the continental organization, Zimbabwe could not be among the original creators because its freedom and statehood were achieved only later in 1980. Common mistake: Overlooking the historical independence dates of southern African nations.

One might mistakenly pick ending the Second World War or terminating colonialism as the primary objective because the global body emerged immediately after that major conflict. However, looking closely at its foundational charter established in 1945, the core aim was to foster global peace and security. Common mistake: Confusing the historical context or trigger event of an organization's birth with its overarching institutional purpose.

A student might select German colony or British protectorate due to historical imperial presence in the region, or South African province given its heavy administration. Examining its formal status prior to 1990, the territory was actually managed as a United Nations trusteeship under South African oversight. Common mistake: Mistaking regional administrative control for the official international legal status of the territory.

An unprepared test-taker might choose nation due to common interchangeable usage in everyday speech. By examining formal political science terminology, however, the entity possessing supreme governing authority over a defined geographical space is precisely defined as a state. Common mistake: Equating a cultural or ethnic population grouping (nation) with a legally organized governing body (state).

A student might incorrectly guess political culture or political training, thinking about general civic education or prevailing societal attitudes. Tracing how civic values pass down through time, the specific process by which orientations and beliefs are transmitted across generations is known as political socialization. Common mistake: Confusing the lifelong developmental transmission process with the resulting set of societal attitudes.

Someone might mistakenly choose the presidential system, forgetting that it strictly separates powers between branches. When analyzing governmental structures where legislative and executive branches are merged rather than separated, the correct classification is the parliamentary system. Common mistake: Confusing the separation of powers in presidential models with the branch integration found in parliamentary models.

A student might pick making laws too technical or ineffective in emergencies, assuming administrative rules are complex or slow. The primary democratic concern with delegated legislation, however, is that it grants lawmaking powers to unelected officials, thereby subjecting citizens to executive decrees and reducing accountability. Common mistake: Focusing on the technical complexity of rules rather than the democratic deficit of unelected rulemaking.

An examinee might mistakenly choose federal or confederal, confusing systems where regional governments hold varying degrees of constitutional autonomy. When looking at a political arrangement where the national government holds supreme and unbroken power over any other sub-national levels, it is defined as a unitary system. Common mistake: Confusing decentralized administrative units with genuinely autonomous federated states.

A student might select any written legal document or doctrines limiting government power, assuming all legal texts or limit-focused papers qualify. Reviewing political science definitions, a constitution is fundamentally the basic set of laws used for governing a state. Common mistake: Treating any specialized legal writing or rights limitation as equivalent to the foundational governing document of a polity.

One might mistakenly choose feudalism or democracy, thinking of historical class structures or popular governance models. When examining governance philosophies that demand absolute oversight over all aspects of public and private life, the correct term is totalitarianism. Common mistake: Confusing authoritarian absolute control with traditional class hierarchies or free systems.

A student might mistakenly select referendum, recall, or initiative, confusing them with standard civic participation tools. Among the choices, riots represent violent disruption rather than a recognized, lawful democratic procedure for achieving political goals. Common mistake: Confusing unlawful civil unrest with established constitutional mechanisms of democratic participation.

An examinee might mistakenly choose no individual is responsible for decisions or only ministers are responsible for errors, misinterpreting ministerial accountability. In a cabinet system, individual responsibility means that ministers remain personally accountable for their departments, and the prime minister holds the authority to remove erring ministers. Common mistake: Misinterpreting ministerial accountability as collective immunity rather than direct subordination to the prime minister's disciplinary power.

A student might select cabinet members are responsible or legislative and executive work together, assuming branch cooperation causes collective accountability. In a presidential system, collective responsibility is absent because the executive branch is elected for a fixed term and is not collectively answerable to the legislature for survival. Common mistake: Confusing cooperative governance with joint constitutional accountability.

An examinee might mistakenly choose delegated legislation or administrative enactment, confusing military procedures with routine civilian bureaucratic rulemaking. Under military rule, laws are established directly through the promulgation of decrees by the ruling junta. Common mistake: Equating standard civilian administrative regulations with autocratic military decree-making.

A student might choose the first reading or third reading, confusing the initial introduction of a proposal or its final vote with the main debate stage. During the second reading of a bill, lawmakers engage in critical debates and propose necessary amendments. Common mistake: Confusing the formal introduction phase of a bill with its primary floor debate and amendment stage.

An examinee might choose religious freedom and collective aggression or social security and free speech, mixing valid rights with unconstitutional actions. Looking strictly at the core entitlements guaranteed to individuals, the right to life and liberty stand out as fundamental rights. Common mistake: Selecting options that bundle a legitimate civil liberty with an unlawful or non-fundamental concept.

A student might select are expensive, thinking about the logistical cost of running elections. The core political science criticism against electoral colleges, however, is that they can override the popular vote, thereby negating the electorate's direct wishes. Common mistake: Confusing the financial cost of running elections with systemic democratic distortions of the popular will.

An examinee might incorrectly select literates or landed property owners, recalling historical restrictions on voting rights. Under universal adult suffrage, voting eligibility is appropriately restricted to citizens of the state, removing older property or literacy barriers. Common mistake: Applying historical property or educational restrictions to modern universal adult suffrage.

A student might mistakenly select mandate, by-election, or run-off election, confusing general or legislative contests with issue-specific votes. When citizens cast ballots directly on a particular policy question or constitutional query, the process is called a referendum. Common mistake: Confusing an election for choosing political officeholders with a direct vote on a specific policy question.

An examinee might mistakenly select lobby the government or elect spokesmen, viewing parties merely as pressure groups or nominators. The defining, primary objective of political parties is to win elections in order to control the government. Common mistake: Confusing the broader policy-influencing role of interest groups with the direct governing ambitions of political parties.

A student might mistakenly choose win governmental power or elect officials, confusing interest groups with political parties. The primary function of a pressure group is to lobby and influence government policy without taking direct control of state apparatuses. Common mistake: Equating the electoral ambitions of political parties with the policy-influencing goals of pressure groups.

An examinee might mistakenly select mobilization, indoctrination, or distortion, assuming any form of political messaging fits the definition. When information is intentionally presented in a biased manner to sway public opinion, it is specifically termed propaganda. Common mistake: Confusing general civic mobilization or education with the deliberate bias of propaganda.

A student might pick Idoma Kingdom, Nupe Kingdom, or Igala Empire, confusing smaller regional entities with major pre-colonial military forces. Historical records show that the Kwararafa Empire was a great military and political power prior to Nigeria’s colonization. Common mistake: Confusing minor regional groups with major pre-colonial imperial powers.

An examinee might mistakenly choose egalitarian, republican, or democratic, projecting modern governance ideals onto traditional structures. The traditional Yoruba governmental system was structured as a monarchy, headed by traditional rulers known as Obas. Common mistake: Confusing traditional hereditary monarchical authority with modern republican or democratic systems.

Students might mistakenly choose options like secret societies or pressure groups, thinking they represent formal institutional checks on power, or fear of dethronement assuming individual rulers held absolute sway. However, looking at the political organization of the region, the Igbo lacked centralized authority, which naturally prevented the rise of autocracy. Common mistake: Confusing localized political structures with centralized kingdoms.

Options like the Tiv or Igbo and Efik might look plausible if one confuses segmentary lineage systems with feudal administrative frameworks. By contrast, the Hausa-Fulani utilized vassalage as a political system under the Sokoto Caliphate to govern their vast territories. Common mistake: Assuming all traditional Nigerian political systems shared the same administrative structure.

One might incorrectly select forced labour, low export prices, or taxes on the population, as these are frequently associated with the burdens of colonial economic exploitation. Education levies, however, were not a feature of colonial administration. Common mistake: Assuming every financial exaction or hardship experienced under colonial rule was an official administrative policy.

Students could easily mistake explorers or administrators like Hugh Clapperton, Hugh Clifford, or George Goldie for the architect of this specific policy due to their prominent roles in Nigerian history. Lord Lugard proposed the dual mandate specifically for colonial development. Common mistake: Confusing early explorers and colonial governors with the specific policy creator.

A student might choose immediate independence or continued British rule by projecting extreme political stances onto a major historical party. The Northern People’s Congress instead favored a gradual evolution to independence. Common mistake: Misattributing radical timelines to conservative political bodies.

Options such as indirect rule, the warrant chief system, or forced labour might seem like the primary instigators since they were deeply unpopular colonial impositions of the era. The 1929 Aba women’s riot was specifically sparked by direct taxes on women. Common mistake: Blaming broad administrative systems rather than the immediate fiscal trigger of a protest.

It is easy to mistakenly select the prime minister, the office of the speaker, or regional executives because these offices became prominent features of later parliamentary governance. The Macpherson Constitution specifically introduced regional premiers. Common mistake: Attributing later constitutional offices to the 1951 framework.

One might think the body's role was drafting the Second Republic constitution or passing the constitution into law, confusing the assembly's work with the initial drafting committee or the legislature. The assembly debated and amended the draft constitution. Common mistake: Confusing constitutional review bodies with original drafters or lawmakers.

Students might mistakenly select requirements like at least 40 years of age, Nigerian citizenship by birth, or simply having the highest number of votes, assuming standard electoral victory rules apply. Under the 1979 Constitution, a presidential candidate needed 25% of votes in two-thirds of states to demonstrate nationwide acceptance. Common mistake: Ignoring the geographical spread requirement in presidential elections.