Campushubz

  Arthur Richards Constitution (1946) The Richards Constitution of 1946 replaced the defective Clifford Constitution of 1922. It was as a result of the weakness of the Clifford Constitution that the Nigerian nationalists began to pressurise Sir Bernard Bourdillon, the Governor of Nigeria from 1935 to 1943, to give them a new befitting constitution. It was Sir Bernard Bourdillon who split Nigeria into three (3) regions: North, East, and West in 1939. FEATURES OF THE RICHARDS CONSTITUTION Integration of Nigeria under one (1) council. Each region had its own regional council. Bi-cameral legislature in the North but uni-cameral for the East and West. An executive council of official to assist the governor. Regional Assemblies functioned as electoral colleges for the indirect election of members of the legislative council. MERITS OF THE RICHARDS CONSTITUTION North and South, for the first time, were legislatively integrated (i.e. had one all-Nigerian legislative council). Nigerians were...

  Hugh Clifford Constitution (1922 ) The Clifford Constitution adopted in 1922 derived its name from the then governor of Nigeria, Sir Hugh Clifford, who took over from the former governor, Lord Lugard. The constitution introduced a new legislative council and executive council which replaced the abolished old legislative council for Lagos colony and the Nigerian council. The constitution introduced elective principle which increased political agitation and awakened the spirit of nationalism in Nigeria. The Northern Nigeria was not represented in the new legislature. The Governor General retained the legislative power for the North. FEATURES OF THE CLIFFORD CONSTITUTION The introduction of elective principle. It encouraged the development of political parties. Members in the legislative council were increased (46 members). Elective principle was restricted to Lagos and Calabar. Northern Province was not represented. Governor made laws for the country. MERITS OF THE CLIFFORD CONSTIT...

 On January 1, 1914, Lord Frederick Lugard, the governor of both the Northern Nigeria Protectorate and the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria, signed a document consolidating the two, thereby creating the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Forty-six years later in 1960, Nigeria became an independent state. Anniversaries are times for refle ction, and given that today, just over 104 years after amalgamation, the country is still grappling with its national identity and a reanimated separatist movement, it is worth reflecting on how exactly Nigeria became Nigeria.  Before Europeans arrived in the territory that is now Nigeria, a number of different civilizations existed whose presence is still felt today. For example, in the north, Islam was predominant. In the nineteenth century, there were two Islamic empires, the Sokoto Caliphate and the Bornu Empire. To the southwest lay numerous Yoruba city-states that generally had in common animist religion and were only sometim...