Transportation in Nigeria: Ports
Hey everyone I am still on Transportation. I would like to move into he next stage of this awesome topic which is Transportation through the ports in Nigeria. Let's advance.
*****MEANING OF A PORT*****
PORT: A port is point where ships and other vessels can stop or sail off. It is usually around the meeting point between the land and the ocean or sea water.
*****TYPES OF PORTS*****
Two types of ports exist in Nigeria: (1) Seaports and (2) River ports
1. Seaports: These are large ocean terminals with all the essential port facilities to accommodate large ships or cargos. These are usually located along the sea coast and can be reached by big ships.
*****Examples of Seaports in Nigeria are:*****
(i) Apapa Port, Lagos;
(ii) Tin-can Island Port, Lagos;
(iii) Port-Harcourt Port, Rivers State.
2. River Ports: These are ports which can only be reached by smaller ships, but cannot be reached by bigger ones.
These ports are usually located on navigable rivers.
*****Examples of River Ports in Nigeria are:*****
(i) Warri Port (Delta State) (ii) Sapele Port (Delta State)
(ii) Koko Port (Delta State) (iv) Calabar Port (Cross River State)
(v) Bonny Port (Rivers State) (vi) Onitsha Port (Anambra State)
Hinterland of A Port
Hinterland: The hinterland of a port is the land directly behind a port which supplies it with exports and to which the port supplies imports. It is linked to ports by roads, railways and rivers or by air transport.
*****Examples of Hinterland Ports in Nigeria are:*****
(i) Nigeria is a hinterland to Apapa Port;
(ii) Niger Republic (a land-locked country) is a hinterland to Apapa Port in Lagos, Nigeria.
*****IMPORTANCE OF A PORT*****
1. Import of Raw Materials for Industries: Raw materials are imported for industries through ports, e.g. iron ore from Liberia to Iron and Steel Industrial Complex in Ajaokuta.
2. Fishing: The development of ports further promotes intensive fishing around the port.
3. Import of Goods: Goods purchased from other countries are also brought into the country through the seaports, thereby, promoting international trade.
4. Export of Goods: Goods produced in Nigeria are exported to other countries through the seaports.
5. Revenue to Government: Tariffs and demurrage from imported goods are source of revenue to the government.
6. Employment: Ports provide jobs for many people through various activities within the ports, e.g. clearing agents, importers and exporters.
7. Tourism: Seaports are also centres of tourist attraction.
*****FACTORS WHICH AID THE DEVELOPMENT OF PORTS IN NIGERIA*****
1. Availability of capital for construction of artificial harbour, e.g. Lagos and Port-Harcourt ports.
2. Presence of lagoon and inlets along the coast.
3. Presence of deep and large rivers.
4. The need to engage in foreign trade activities.
5. Availability of resources in the hinterland e.g. cocoa, petroleum, groundnuts, etc.
6. Availability of other occupation, e.g. fishing.
7. Good transport network such as roads, railways, etc.
*****PROBLEMS OR LIMITATIONS OF PORT DEVELOPMENT AND THEIR SOLUTIONS*****
*****PROBLEMS OR LIMITATIONS OF PORT DEVELOPMENT*****
1. Inadequate skilled labour to occupy the specific positions effectively.
2. Problems caused by water weeds such as water hyacinths.
3. Presence of sand bars and sand spits that block the streams or rivers.
4. Inadequate port facilities.
5. Problems of natural harbours.
6. Problems caused by smugglers.
7. Lack of natural harbours.
*****SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS*****
1. People should be trained on port management.
2. Permanent solution should be made to check the growth of water hyacinths and its attendant problems.
3. Modern port facilities should be provided.
4. The seaports should be dredged regularly.
5. Security personnel should be trained and equipped to check the activities of smugglers.
6. Goods imported or exported should be attended to with the necessary urgency it deserves.
*****ROLES OF TRANSPORTATION IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF ANY COUNTRY*****
The roles of transportation (road, railway, water and air) in economic development of any nation include:
1. Movement of Goods and Services: With transportation, the movement of goods and services form point of origin to their destination point is ensured in urban and industrial areas. For example, air transport moves mails, perishable goods, highly valued goods, military equipment and so on.
2. Movement of People: Transportation equally ensures the movement of people (passengers) from one part of a country to another, either for work or for other purposes.
3. Employment: All means of transportation employ lots of people, thereby, enabling them to earn a living.
4. Generation of Revenue: All means of transportation obtain license from government and pay taxes which enable a country to get revenue.
5. National and International Trade: Transportation enhances trade between two countries and also between different regions in a country. For example, through water transport, Nigeria is able to transport her petroleum to USA and Britain and get cars and machinery from these countries.
6. Increased Production: Transportation enables people to increase their production either in agricultural, mineral and industrial goods.
7. Diffusion of Ideas and Technology: Through transportation, new ideas and technology are transferred from one country to another.
8. Linkages Between Areas of Production with Areas of Consumption: Through transportation, the areas of production is easily linked areas of consumption of the goods.
9. National Integration: Through different means of transportation, different regions in a country are brought in constant touch with one another. This enhances national integration and interaction between different people in a country.
10. Opening Up New Lands and Areas: Through various means of transportation, new areas are opened up; and even some inaccessible places are brought to limelight for proper recognition and development.
11. Access to Natural Resources: Through transportation, different natural resources are discovered and exploited in a country.
12. Development of Tourism: People from different parts of the world visit tourist centres through different means of transportation.
Transportation In Nigeria
Today will be best to treat on transportation. Let's look into it.
Transportation is the movement of people, goods or commodities and services from one place to another, by land, water or air.
*****TRANSPORTATION METHODS IN NIGERIA*****
There are five (5) major transportation methods in Nigeria. They are:
1. Human potterage and the use of animals or beasts of burden.
2. Water navigation by ocean liners and boats as well as canoes on inland waterways.
3. Land transport by motor vehicles and trains.
4. Air transport by aircrafts such as planes and helicopters.
5. Pipeline transport.
*****TYPES OF TRANSPORTATION*****
The types of transportation are grouped into four, namely:
1. Land Transportation 2. Water Transportation 3. Air Transportation 4. Pipelines Transportation
*****TYPES OF TRANSPORTATION IN TERMS OF THEIR IMPORTANCE OR ADVANTAGES, PROBLEMS, LIMITATIONS AND SOLUTIONS.*****
1. LAND TRANSPORTATION
Land transportation is the movement of people, goods or commodities and services from one place to another, by land.
*****Means or Forms of Land Transportation*****
Means or forms of transportation on land include:
(a) HUMAN PORTERAGE: This is carrying things and the use of human legs to move from place to another. This can only be used over a short distance where loads may be carried on the head or shoulder through foot paths.
(b) ANIMALS (BEASTS OF BURDEN): This involves the beasts of burden or animals like camels, horses, donkeys, oxen and mules to carry passengers and goods from one place to another, through footpaths and caravan routes. This is very common in the northern part of Nigeria. It is also called animal potterage.
(c) ROAD TRANSPORT
Road transport involves the use of motor vehicles like cars, buses, motor cycles, tankers, trailers, lorries and trucks to move people and goods from one place to another.
The road networks in Nigeria can be classified into three:
(i) Trunk ‘A’ Roads (ii) Trunk ‘B’ Roads (iii) Trunk ‘C’ Roads.
(i) Trunk ‘A’ Roads: These are roads usually constructed and maintained by the federal government. They include the express roads or dual carriage motorways linking federal and state capitals, e.g. (i) Onitsha to Enugu (ii) Enugu to Port-Harcourt (iii) Lagos to Ibadan (iv) Lagos to Badagry to Seme (v) Abuja to Kaduna to Kano (vi) East to West Road.
(ii) Trunk ‘B’ Roads: These are roads usually constructed and maintained by the state governments. They include: Oshodi to Apapa (Lagos State) (ii) Katsina to Funtua (Katsina State) (iii) Onitsha to Nnewi (Anambra State) (iv) Onitsha to Nkpor to Nnobi to Ekwuluobia (Anambra State) (v) Owerri to Orlu (Imo State) (vi) Sapele to Warri (Delta State), etc.
(iii) Trunk ‘C’ Roads: These are roads usually constructed and maintained by the local governments. These are mostly local roads that are not tarred.
*****Importance or Advantages of Road Transport*****
(i) Roads serve as ‘feeders’ to rail, water and air transportations.
(ii) Roads provide door-to-door services and is more flexible means of transport as it can get to anywhere within the country.
(iii) It is the most common means of transport.
(iv) It facilitates the movement of people and goods within a short distance.
(v) It makes goods available where they are scarce.
(vi) It is the most flexible means of transport.
Problems or Disadvantages of Road Transport
(i) Roads are very expensive to construct and maintain.
(ii) Roads are difficult to construct, especially in highlands and swampy areas.
(iii) Roads are more prone to damages, especially washouts caused by heavy rain.
(iv) Amount of goods and passengers carried by road is limited.
(v) Roads are also prone to accidents than any other means of transportation.
*****Limitations of Road Transport*****
(i) Lack of capital and finance to construct and maintain the roads.
(ii) Presence of swampy areas as in the riverine areas.
(iii) Presence of highlands and other rugged relief.
(iv) Soil erosion caused by heavy rainfall.
*****Solutions to Road Transport*****
(i) Fund should be readily available in order to maintain the roads.
(ii) Flyovers and bridges should be constructed on lowlands, passes or gaps around mountain areas with gutters or culverts.
(iii) Bridges should be constructed across rivers.
(d) RAIL TRANSPORT
Rail transport is the cheapest and the slowest means of transportation on land, especially in Nigeria. Since between 1890 and 1930, a total of about 3,520km single track rail lines, having a narrow gauge of 107cm were constructed. The modern railway has a standard gauge of 143cm.
The breakdown of railway lines in Nigeria is:
(i) Railway lines between two or more towns e.g. The Western rail line from Lagos to Ibadan; Northern rail line from Kaduna to Nguru; the Eastern rail line from Port-Harcourt to Umuahia to Enugu to Jos to Kano, etc.
(ii) Railway junctions like Mina, Kaduna, Zaria and Kafanchan.
(iii) Railway terminals (i.e. where railway line ends) such as Iddo in Lagos, Kaura Namoda, Nguru, Maiduguri and Port-Harcourt.
*****Importance or Advantages of Rail Transport*****
(i) Railways help to open up remote and new lands which are potentially good for minerals and agricultural crops.
(ii) Railway is the most convenient means of transporting bulky goods (raw and manufactured) to and from industrial areas.
(iii) It is relatively very cheap in the transportation of people and goods from place to place.
(iv) Underground railway (sub-way) provides the most convenient means of carrying passengers in urban areas.
(v) It has the advantage of transporting goods and passengers over a long distance unlike roads.
*****Problems or Disadvantages of Rail transport*****
(i) Rail transport involves high cost of construction and maintenance.
(ii) It is very slow and therefore not suitable for transportation of perishable goods.
(iii) Nigeria rail tracks are of a narrow gauge and the government is yet to complete the replacement with standard gauge which would enable modern faster trains to ply on them.
(iv) Constant stopping and changing of drivers and passengers at each station waste a lot of time.
(v) Rail transport depends on roads to feed it with passengers and goods at different stations.
*****Limitations of Rail Transport*****
(i) Rail transport is too slow.
(ii) There is lack of spare parts and technical know-how as well as poor maintenance.
(iii) It has very low patronage and high competition with other forms of transport.
(iv) It still makes use of narrow gauges with single tracks.
(v) Inadequate financing or funding.
*****Solutions to Railway Transportation*****
(i) People should be trained on rail maintenance.
(ii) Railway fare should be cheap to attract passengers.
(iii) Modern rail systems with wide gauges and multiple tracks should be developed.
(iv) Spare parts should be made available.
(v) Rail transport should be properly funded.
2. WATER TRANSPORT OR NAVIGATION
(a) Inland Waterways or Navigation
This involves navigation along the creeks, lagoons, canals, lakes and rivers; and the ferrying across them. The main inland waterways or navigation in Nigeria are:
(i) River Niger (ii) River Benue (iii) Cross river (iv) Lake Chad (v) Kainji Lake (vi) Some creeks, lagoons and canals. Vehicles used on inland waterways or navigation are: canoes, boats, rafts, ferries and so on.
(b) Ocean or Sea Navigation
This involves the use of international waters to transport passengers and commodities between Nigeria and other countries, and between two regions in the country using the oceans especially along the coast. Seaports and shipping links are built in the coastal areas of Nigeria such as Lagos, Sapele, Akassa, Warri, Port-Harcourt and Calabar. Coal barges, trawlers, tankers, cargo, passenger and sub-marines (war vessel) ply these routes. Lagos (Apapa and Tin-can Island ports) serve as Nigeria’s leading ports. They handle more than sixty (60%) of ships which come into Nigeria.
*****Importance or Advantages of Water Transport*****
(i) The oceans and seas are free for all nations to use.
(ii) Water transport is the cheapest means of transport between countries.
(iii) Inland waterways have opened up inaccessible areas and allowed them to have social amenities.
(iv) Ocean navigation is used to move bulky goods from one country to another during international trade.
(v) Cost of construction and maintenance is low and only restricted to ships and ports.
(vi) It is good for transporting goods over a long distance.
(vii) It is relatively safe.
*****Problems or Disadvantages of Water Transport*****
(i) Water transport is the slowest means of transport as it takes a very long time to get to its destination.
(ii) Cost of acquiring a ship is very high.
(iii) Cost of port construction and maintenance is high too.
(iv) Lack of technical know-how in ship maintenance.
*****Limitations of Water Transport*****
(i) There are rapids, waterfalls and cataracts, which restricts the use of rivers to some extent.
(ii) Seasonality of most Nigerian rivers is a problem.
(iii) There are lots of alluvial deposits at the delta, sand bars at the river mouth and shallow waters along the coast being constraint to port development.
(iv) Presence of floating vegetation (that is, water weeds) such as water hyacinths.
(v) Most rivers in Nigeria have narrow gorges and ports, which may be silted up or frozen.
(vi) There is the problem of sea sickness during navigation.
(vii) Most of the Nigerian rivers are short and contain shallow water.
(viii) There is limited capital to construct seaports.
(ix) Water transport is too slow for passengers and perishable goods.
*****Solutions to Problems of Water Transport*****
(i) Rivers should be made navigable by dredging regularly.
(ii) Ships should be equipped with refrigerated holds.
(iii) Medical facilities on board should be improved.
(iv) There should be improved technology and installation of modern navigational aids and the use of ice breakers.
(v) Canals should be constructed to reach landlocked countries.
(vi) Construction of canals to by-pass rapids, waterfalls and cataracts.
(vii) Loans should be granted to construct and maintain seaports and river ports.
(viii) Water weeds should be put under permanent control.
3. AIR TRANSPORT
Air transport is the fastest and most expensive means of transportation. It is an efficient and reliable modern means of transportation. It involves the use of aeroplanes, helicopters, jet liners, jet fighters and bombers (war planes) and rockets or space crafts (for space explorations), for travelling from one place to another, by air. Airports or Aerodromes / Air fields are places or points from which aeroplanes take-off and land. Two types of services are provided at the airports or aerodromes:
(a) Domestic (Local) Flight Services by Domestic Airports called the Aerodromes or Airfield; and
(b) International Flight Services by International Airports.
(a) DOMESTIC (LOCAL) FLIGHT SERVICES BY DOMESTIC AIRPORTS
These are the air transport services involving the movement of passengers, mails, and other cargo within the country, using domestic airports within Nigeria. Planes fly from one state to another, e.g. Lagos, Enugu, Asaba, Owerri, Benin-city, Port-Harcourt, Abuja, Kaduna, Maiduguri, Jos, etc , domestic airports.
(b) INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT SERVICES BY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS
These are the air transport services involving the movement of passengers, mails, and other cargo linking Nigeria with other countries in Africa and in other parts of the world. The airports in Nigeria where planes can land and take-off for both domestic and international flights are:
(i) Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos;
(ii) Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano;
(iii) Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja;
(iv) Port-Harcourt International Airport, Port-Harcourt.
(v) Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
*****Importance or Advantages Air Transport*****
(i) Air transport is the fastest means of transport.
(ii) Aeroplanes can cross mountains, dense forests, large oceans, seas and deserts with great ease and speed.
(iii) It uses direct routes.
(iv) It can reach any place provided there are landing facilities.
(v) Urgently required medicare supplies, machine parts, express mails are easily dispatched by aeroplanes.
*****Problems or Disadvantages of Air Transport*****
(i) Air transport is expensive to operate and maintain, especially the aircrafts and airport facilities.
(ii) It is very expensive to in terms of charges or fares paid by passengers.
(iii) Lack of space in aircrafts restricts their use for flights.
(iv) There is the problem of safety as incidence of plane crashes, hijacks and terrorism is becoming rampant.
(v) It is easily affected by bad weather which makes visibility very poor.
*****Limitations to Air Transport*****
(i) There is problem of poor management and inadequate security.
(ii) Weather hazards, e.g. harmattan, lines squalls, may limit air transportation.
(iii) There is limited capital to construct airports.
(iv) There is problem of low patronage due to low income of the people.
(v) There is inadequate indigenous skilled labour for construction and maintenance of airports and airplanes.
(vi) There is limited trade between the countries in the West Africa sub-region.
(vii) There is problem of inadequate spare parts.
*****Solutions to Problems of Air transport*****
(i) Efficient management should be adopted.
(ii) Educational system should be changed to favour technical and scientific skills.
(iii) Loans should be sourced locally or from abroad.
(iv) There should be improvement in technology and standard of living.
(v) Inter-regional trade within the region should be improved.
4. PIPELINES TRANSPORTATION
This is a mode of transportation used to move liquid or gaseous commodities from place to place. It may be petroleum from the drilling areas (wells) to the refinery; or to market depot; or the oil terminals at the seaports for shipment. If gas, to the thermal gas plants for the production of electricity and other things. If water to the reservoir and main pipe-borne water supply distribution mains to homes, industries and irrigated farmlands. And if waste water or sewage, to sewage (waste) treatment plants.
*****Examples of Commodities and Materials Transported By Pipelines*****
(a) Petroleum and gas (both crude and refined products).
(b) Potable water supply (from borehole or reservoirs are distributed through mains to homes, industries and irrigated farmland areas).
(c) Sewage (waste: both Solid and Liquid) products are piped from homes to sewage treatment or recycling plants.
The oil pipeline from Warri to the Kaduna refinery is very important example in Nigeria. Others are the ones that are distribution channels to and connecting the various Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Depots all over the country.
*****GENERAL PROBLEMS OF TRANSPORTATION*****
Problems of transportation can be grouped into physical and human factors:
1. PHYSICAL FACTORS
(a) Presence of Highlands: This can limit roads, railways and airports construction in an area.
(b) Soil Erosion: The roads and railway tracks are often washed away due to heavy rainfall. The solution is to construct culverts or good drainage channels or gutters or canals.
(c) Presence of Marshy Areas: The development of roads and railways also get limited by marshy areas like in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. This can only be overcome through the construction of flyovers and bridges.
(d) Poor Visibility: This is a peculiar problem to air and ocean transportation due to the formation of fog and haze in the lower atmosphere.
(e) Distance: The longer the distance between towns, the more the money (fares), energy, time and cost of transportation.
(f) Presence of Many Rivers: This impedes the development of roads and railways as in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. The only solution is construction of bridges and fly-overs across such rivers, though very expensive.
2. HUMAN FACTORS
(a) Lack of or Inadequate Capital: Lack of, or insufficient capital hampers transport development in such areas as roads, railways, seaports or river ports, airports and so on.
(b) Inadequate Spare Parts: In most cases in developing countries, spare parts are not always available to replace worn-out parts.
(c) Attitude of Road Users: There are problems related to the attitude of road users, who have no regards for High Way Codes. Some drivers may even be drunk while driving, or might even be under-aged and inexperienced.
(d) Lack of Technical Know-how: Poor knowledge of these means of transport leads to wastage and deterioration of transport facilities.
(e) Poor Management: There is problem of mismanagement of resources meant for developing transport system. The financial resources may be mismanaged.
(f) Low Patronage: Owing to low patronage of these means of transportation, partly due to low income and low volume of trade, government is not always encouraged to construct roads, railways and so on.
(g) Port Congestions: There is problem related to congestion of all ports.
Tourism In Nigeria
You can liken tourism to going on a journey to a journey to any foreign country other than yours to spend the holiday. There is no problem there. What will make me very happy would be that you are familiar with tourism or maybe you have gone on a tour before. Possibly when you were younger than you are now your parents must have taken you to a separate country to spend your holidays. Just know that whatever scenario it was it is a form of Tourism. Let's look into the topic I have put in front of us.
*****MEANING OF TOURISM AND TOURISM IN NIGERIA*****
Tourism is the process or act which involves peoples visiting to places of interest where they can relax, derive pleasure and entertainment. It is also the act of discovering the free gift of nature and how man prevents them from extinction.
Tourist or Resort Centres are places where such people visits while the people who visit such places are called Tourists.
*****MAJOR TOURIST CENTRES IN NIGERIA*****
1. The National Theatre, Lagos.
2. The Game Reserves like: Yankari Game Reserve (Bauchi), Borgu Game Reserve (Kwara State).
3. The Beaches of Lagos: Bar Beach, Lekki and Badagri Suntan Beach.
4. The Zuma Rocks, Suleja (Niger State) and Olumo Rocks (Ogun State).
5. The Kainji Dam site in Kwara State.
6. The Museums in Lagos, Benin, Ife and Jos.
7. Obudu Plateau and Cattle Ranch (Cross River State).
8. Some important 5-Star Hotels in Nigeria:
(a) Sheraton Hotels and Towers (Lagos and Abuja);
(b) Nicon Noga Hilton Hotel in Abuja;
(c) Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos.
9. Some Traditional Festivals:
(a) Argungu Fishing Festival in Argungu (Kebbi State);
(b) Ibo Masquerade Festival, Enugu;
(c) New Yam Festival (throughout Igboland).
(d) Itsekiri – Ijaw Regatta in Warri, Delta State.
*****FACTORS THAT FAVOUR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM IN NIGERIA*****
The Following factors encourage the development of tourism in Nigeria:
1. Availability of Funds: Enough money should be invested in it to make it attract people.
2. Political Stability: There should be a suitable atmosphere or stability for development.
3. Beautiful Highlands: Rocks and beaches such as Obudu Plateau, Oluma Rocks, Zuma Rocks, Bar and Lekki Beaches, etc.
4. Abundance of Wild Life: Abundance of wild life such as Yankari and Borgu Game Reserves.
5. Easy Means of Transportation and Communication: Tourist centres should be sited within environments where people can have access to as well communicate with one another easily.
6. Effective Management and Publicity: The government should set up a management comprising professionals who would be well dedicated to deliver the best services. They should ensure that the best publicity possible be given to the tourism project.
7. Good Accommodations: Good accommodations such as hotels of international standard have to be provided.
*****IMPORTANCE OR ADVANTAGES OF TOURISM*****
1. Foreign Exchange: Tourist centres provide foreign exchange to the government as tourists pay in hard currencies to visit or see the tourist centres, e.g. Egypt.
2. Job Opportunities: It provides employment to many people, that is, graduates and undergraduates.
3. Education: It provides some knowledge about the new places visited.
4. Development: It leads to the improvement of certain facilities, e.g. good roads, hotels, seaports, river ports and airports. It also encourages local crafts.
5. Conservation of Wildlife: It aids the conservation of wildlife.
6. Improvement in Culture: It brings positive changes in the people’s way of life.
7. Diffusion of Ideas: It leads to diffusion or exchange of ideas between the tourists and the local people.
8. Popularity of the Country: Tourist centres help to make the country popular in the sense that many people from other countries will be visiting the country which has the tourist centre.
*****DISADVANTAGES OF TOURISM*****
1. Bad Aculturization: It can lead to breakdown of traditional values and ways of life of the people.
2. Over Dependence on Tourism Economic Sector: Over-dependence of a country on tourism industry is risky – mono economy.
3. Epidemic: It can lead to spread of contagious diseases such as venereal diseases: STDs, STIs, HIV / AIDS, mad cow disease, Ebola disease, cholera outbreak Bird flu, coronavirus or COVID-19 disease and other diseases.
As you can see Tourism is not only about the good things. There are both advantages and disadvantages of Tourism. But in my view everything about tourism is awesome.
Everyone would be fascinated to go to another country to spend a time there so there is a high rate of advantages. But economically there will of course be disadvantages and also due to pandemics such as the one which we encountered or are still encountering. The Coronavirus.
Don't mind my language in some parts of this article they are just tourist centers, cities and festivals situated in Nigeria. Hope you like this one it is also informative.
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Foreign Trade in Nigerian Sense
My topic today would be on foreign trade. This article actually required a lot of information to produce so I hope to bless your mind with all I have got. Let's look into our topic.
*****FOREIGN TRADE: FACTORS FAVOURING, PROBLEMS AND IMPORTANCE OF FOREIGN OR INTERNATIONAL TRADE*****
2. EXTERNAL OR FOREIGN OR INTERNATIONAL TRADE
This is the exchange or buying and selling of goods and services between two or more countries, for example, between Nigeria and other countries. Nigeria’s principal customers include the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Others include Germany, the Netherlands (Holland), France, Italy, Japan and members of Economic Community of West African States [ECOWAS] and other African countries.
Three categories of goods may be noted, namely:
(a) Consumer Goods: These are goods which we need everyday to meet some of our daily necessities. Such goods include beverages, food, chemicals, textiles, etc.
(b) Capital Goods: These are imported goods which are used for the production of different items or used for further development within the country. Examples of such goods are machinery, manufactured goods like iron and steel. These account for over 65% of Nigeria imports since 1965.
(c) Luxury Goods: These are goods, which though costly, are purchased either for the pleasure people derive from them or as a way of showing affluence. Luxury goods include goods like cosmetics, television sets, air conditioners, expensive lace materials, flashy cars, luxury cars, private jet planes, etc.
*****FACTORS AFFECTING INTERNATIONAL (VOLUME OF) TRADE*****
Factors which determine the volume of trade between two countries are:
1. Differences in Climate: This favours the growth of different crops for export.
2. Differences in Prices of Goods: The higher the differences in the prices of goods, the greater the volume of trade between two countries and vice versa.
3. Comparative Cost Advantage: A country as a result of her comparative cost advantage which she has over some other countries, may engage in trade relation with one another which has less comparative advantages in the production of certain goods.
4. Differences in Natural Resources: The higher the differences in the presence of natural resources like minerals between two countries, the greater the volume of trade between them and vice versa.
5. Differences in Agricultural Products: The higher the differences in the production of agricultural goods, the greater the volume of trade between two countries and vice versa.
6. Colonial Ties: Countries with former colonial ties tend to trade or have favourable trade with their colonial masters, e.g. trade between Nigeria and Britain or Cameroun and France.
7. Differences in Technology: The higher in differences in the level of technology (that is, comparative advantage of specialization), the greater the volume of trade between two countries and vise versa.
8. Differences in Import Duties: The higher the import duties imposed on imported goods and services, the less the goods that will be imported and vice versa.
9. The Need to Earn Foreign Exchange: This also helps to increase the volume of trade between nations.
10. Political Consideration: A country may decide to trade with another based on political consideration, e.g. the enthronement of democracy in a nation may warrant a trade relation with another country.
*****REASONS FOR HIGH VOLUME OF TRADE BETWEEN NIGERIA AND DEVELOPED COUNTRIES*****
Nigeria’s principal foreign partners with high volume of trade between her and them (developed countries) are Britain, USA, Japan, France, Germany, etc. The reasons are:
1. Favourable Market: Nigeria has large market for some goods manufactured in developed countries, e.g. computers, electronics, motor vehicles, military hardwares, etc.
2. Colonial Ties: The inclination of some developing countries to their colonial masters has helped to increase the volume of trade between nations.
3. Preference for Imported Goods: Developing countries like Nigeria has preference for goods produced by advanced countries, hence, the high volume of trade.
4. Similarity of Products: Both Nigeria and other African countries produce goods or products that are similar.
5. Differences in Currencies: They use different currencies and this makes trade difficult.
6. Low Level of Savings: Both Nigeria and other African countries have low level of savings and this affects their purchasing power.
7. Low Level of Technology: They have the same low level of technology; hence, they produce or operate at the same low level.
8. Existence of Regional Trade Unions: The presence of many regional trade unions tends to create a barrier to international trade among African countries.
9. Poor Transport Links: There is poor transportation network linking African countries and this also, creates barriers to international trade among African countries.
10. Similarity in Climate: Majority of African countries has almost the same climate; hence, they produce almost the same type of crops.
11. Trade Restriction and High Tariffs: There are lots of trade restrictions within African countries, hence, a reduction in the volume of trade.
*****FACTORS WHICH MAY LIMIT INTERANATIONAL TRADE*****
(a) Strained International Relations: Strained international relations between countries involved in international trade can lead to non-importation or exportation.
(b) Inadequate Foreign Exchange: Inadequate foreign exchange can seriously affect the volume of trade between two countries.
(c) Political Instability: Political instability in either country can limit the volume of trade. In most cases, there will be no trading at all.
(d) Inadequate Production of Goods: Inadequate production of goods either by the importing or exporting country, can limit international trade.
(e) Low Demand for Products: There will be low sales when the other country’s demand for products is low.
(f) High Tariffs on Goods: High tariffs charged by a certain country can affect the rate of import or export of goods to that country.
*****HOW TO IMPROVE TRADE BETWEEN NIGERIA AND DEVELOPED COUNTRIES*****
(a) Membership of the same international economic organization.
(b) Increased international co-operation between both countries.
(c) Liberalization and simplification of export / import procedures by both countries.
(d) Through technical co-operation between the countries.
(e) Provision of loans to enhance or increase production.
*****HOW TO IMPROVE THE VOLUME OF TRADE BETWEEN NIGERIA AND THE REST OF AFRICAN COUNTRIES*****
1. Unfavourable Balance-of-Trade: Unfavourable balance-of-trade could lead to low production of goods by the country affected. Therefore, it should be corrected.
2. High Cost of Transportation: This has some negative effects on the final cost of finished goods as the consumers will find it difficult to buy. This, therefore, has to be improved.
3. Encouraging specialization in production.
4. There should be construction of trans-continental transport network.
5. Formation of African Economic Community.
6. The saving capacity of the people should be improved by way of salary / wages.
7. There should be protection from foreign competition.
8. Common currency should be pursued.
*****PROBLEMS FACING INTERNATIONAL TRADE*****
Problems facing international trade between two countries are:
1. Inadequate Capital: Inadequate capital among the countries involved in international trade may limit the volume of trade.
2. Colonial History: The existence of colonial ties between the developed and developing countries has posed some problems to international trade.
3. Export of Raw Materials: Most exports to European market are mainly in its raw form. This is a major problem to the developing countries.
4. High Cost of Transportation: This has some negative effects on the final costs of finished goods or products as consumers will find it difficult to buy.
5. Government Policies: Deliberate government policies in most cases can lead to problems in trade between two nations.
6. Unfavourable Balance-of-Trade: Unfavourable balance-of-trade could lead to low production of goods by the country affected.
7. Low Value of Currency: When the value of a country’s currency is very low, such country finds it difficult to transact meaningful trade with other countries.
8. Port Congestions: Owing to low management capacity to handle imported and exported goods, the ports are always congested.
*****SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE*****
The solutions to the problems of international trade between two countries are:
1. Loans should be granted to facilitate trade.
2. Processing facilities should be provided to process raw materials into finished goods before export.
3. Countries should sign treaties and peace accords.
4. Transport network should be improved.
5. There should be proper government policies on trade restrictions.
6. Production of goods and services should be increased.
7. The currency exchange rate should be regulated.
8. Well-trained port personnel should be employed to handle port management.
9. There should be reduction in tariffs.
10. There should be political stability in the country.
*****REMEDIES FOR UNFAVOURABLE BALANCE-OF-TRADE*****
A country within an unfavourable balance-of-trade can take certain steps to improve it, namely:
(a) Granting of loans to indigenous entrepreneurs.
(b) Manufacturing of import substitution goods.
(c) Exporting semi-finished goods.
(d) Import restriction.
(e) Bilateral trade agreement.
(f) Tax relief for young industries.
(g) Creation of export processing zones.
*****IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE*****
The following are the importance of international trade:
1. Provision of Employment: Jobs are provided through activities involved in the exportation and importation of goods and services.
2. It Fosters International Co-operation: International co-operation is fostered between two countries which are involved in international trade.
3. It Stimulates Production of Exportable Goods: Export goods or products are easily stimulated through increased production in the source region.
4. Provision of New Products: New products that would have otherwise been unavailable in a country are provided.
5. Growth of Industries: Through international trade, the growth of industries is enhanced from either the exportation or importation of raw materials for these industries.
6. Improved Living Standard: Provision of goods from other countries can reduce the prices of goods which are easily affordable by the people; hence, the standard of living will improve.
7. Growth of Ancillary Services: Ancillary services are usually stimulated through international trade like the establishment of Trade Bank and Export Processing Zones (EPZs) in Nigeria.
8. The Need to Exchange Skills and Expertise: Through international trade, skills and expertise are exchanged between nations.
9. Generation of Revenue: Government generates revenue from import and export duties imposed on commodities involved in international trade.
10. Diffusion of Ideas: Through world trade, people from different regions of the world interact and exchange new ideas, leading to acquisition of new ideas.
11. Provision of Foreign Exchange: Through international trade, countries do get foreign exchange from sales or exports of their goods to other countries.
*****NIGERIA’S TRADING PARTNERS AND MAJOR COMMODITIES INVOLVED IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE*****
Nigeria’s trading partners are mainly with the advanced or developed countries:
1. Western European Countries: They include Britain, Germany, Italy, Netherlands (Holland), Spain, Portugal, Belgium, etc. Here, Britain is Nigeria’s first and most important trading partner. Nigeria uses the North Atlantic Sea Route for exchange of their products. The seaports being used are:
(i) Lagos – Southampton (Britain);
(ii) Lagos – Hamburg (German);
(iii) Lagos – Antwerp (Belgium);
(iv) Lagos – Rotterdam (Netherlands).
2. North and South American Countries: They are the USA, Canada, Brazil, Venezuela, Canada, etc. Here, the USA is Nigeria’s most important trading partner. Nigeria uses the South Atlantic Sea Route for exchange of their products. The seaports being used are:
(i) Lagos – New York (USA);
(ii) Lagos – Montreal (Canada).
3. Far East Countries: They include Japan, China, Taiwan and South Korea. Nigeria uses the South Atlantic Route and the Cape Route for exchange of their products. The seaports being used are:
(i) Lagos – Yokohama (Japan);
(ii) Lagos – Osaka (Japan);
(iii) Lagos – Taipei (Taiwan).
*****MAJOR COMMODITIES INVOLVED IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE*****
(a) Nigeria’s Exports: These are usually agricultural goods and mineral products:
(i) Agricultural Goods: e.g. cocoa, palm oil, palm kernel, groundnuts, rubber, timber, cotton, hides and skin, etc.
(ii) Mineral Products: e.g. Petroleum or crude oil, tin, columbite, etc.
(b) Nigeria Imports: These are usually manufactured goods: e.g. Computers, electronics, machines, motor-vehicles, military hardwares and few consumer goods like baked beans, sardine, corn beef, drinks, books and other publications.
Trade In Nigeria
Normally we all writers know what trade is. When you enter the market you will see many things there. You will see buying and selling you will also see the exchange of goods and services. Simply put, Trade can be referred as the buying and selling or the exchange of goods and services both online or physically present in the market place. Let us look into our topic today we are going to look at types of trade and factors that encourage trade in Nigeria.
*****MEANING OF TRADE*****
Definition: Trade is buying and selling or exchange of goods and services between one country and another or between one country and other countries.
*****TYPES OF TRADE*****
There are two types of trade, namely:
1. Internal or Home or Domestic Trade; and
2. External or Foreign or International or World Trade.
*****HOME TRADE: FACTORS FAVOURING , PROBLEMS AND IMPORTANCE OF DOMESTIC OR HOME TRADE*****
1. INTERNAL OR HOME OR DOMESTIC TRADE
This is the exchange or buying and selling of goods and services within a country. In Nigeria, we have three types of internal trade which include:
(a) Local Trade: This is a trade that takes place in a village, town or at common boundaries of neighboring towns. Local markets meet periodically at 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 – day intervals. Items sold include agricultural products, foodstuffs, crafts and manufactured goods (mainly consumer goods).
(b) Regional Trade: This type of trade is carried out within a region or state.
(c) Inter-Regional Trade: Here, traders from one state or region move to another to buy and sell.
*****FACTORS THAT FAVOUR OR ENCOURAGE INTERNAL TRADE IN NIGERIA*****
The following factors account for the favourable internal trade in Nigeria:
1. Availability of Good Transport Network: Transportation enhances internal trade by linking different regions by good roads and railways.
2. Availability of Wide Market or Demand: This favours or encourages internal trade if a country can consume the commodities being produced in that country.
3. Availability of Common Currency: This will encourage or favour internal trade if the different regions of a country have the same currency, for instance, Nigeria’s Naira and Kobo, which will make sales and purchases easier.
4. Variation or Differences in Climate: Variation or differences in climate enable different regions of a country to produce different products, thereby creating room for internal trade.
5. Varieties or Differences in Products: Internal trade is boosted as a result of different products being produced by different regions of a country, e.g. Kolanuts in southern part and Tomatoes in northern part of Nigeria.
6. Level of Soil Fertility: Different regions of a country have different levels of soil fertility which enables or ensures the production of different crops.
*****LIMITATIONS OR PROBLEMS OF INTERNAL TRADE*****
The following are the limitations or problems that retard the level of internal trade in Nigeria:
1. Bad or poor transportation network, e.g. bad roads, moribund railway.
2. Spoilage of perishable products due to poor storage facilities and long distance in transport e.g. meat, tomatoes and vegetables.
3. High rate of rural-urban migration.
4. Unfavourable climate which can lead to low yield and poor harvest.
5. High rate of pests and diseases which attack crops leading to artificial scarcity.
*****IMPORTANCE OR ADVANTAGES OF INTERNAL TRAD*****E
1. Internal trade provides income to individuals and nations.
2. It provides employment to many people involved in trade.
3. It provides new products to those areas where such products are needed but unavailable.
4. It provides raw materials for industries, e.g. tomato juice / paste industries.
5. It ensures the growth of ancillary services like agro-allied industries and banking.
6. It also promotes diffusion of ideas when people from different regions come together.
7. It fosters inter-regional co-operation within a country.
This is just the first phase of this article. You will read the next phase in my next article. As you can see this article or let me say that my articles are genuine and informative at every level so my desire is to impart knowledge into you. I hope I will do it successfully.
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Industrial Zones in Nigeria
In my last article we mainly looked at manufacturing and stuffs about Nigeria. Local crafts and all other important things you need to know but now we are going to look at Industrial Zones in Nigeria. It is also under manufacturing but lets get into the business very well.
*****MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIAL ZONES IN NIGERIA*****
In Nigeria, factory or manufacturing industries are classified or grouped into four major industrial zones, namely:
1. The North-Central Industrial Zone.
2. The Western Industrial Zone.
3. The Mid-West Industrial Zone.
4. The South-East Industrial Zone.
1. THE NORTH-CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL ZONE
The North-Central Industrial Zone is located in the northern part of Nigeria or north of Rivers Niger and Benue. It includes towns like Kano, Kaduna and Zaria. The notable industries here are textiles, food processing, rolling mills, mineral products, motor vehicle assembly and so on. Of all these, Kano has the largest concentration or agglomeration of industries.
*****Factors Favouring the Location of Industries in the North-Central Industrial Zone*****
(a) The existence of excellent transport facilities, especially railway and good road network.
(b) Large population which provide skilled and unskilled workers.
(c) Wide range of market.
(d) A lot of agricultural products serving as raw materials and others.
(e) Availability of constant power supply.
(f) Cheap labour supply.
2. THE WESTERN INDUSTRIAL ZONE
The Western Industrial Zone is located in the western part of Nigeria or west of the River Niger. It includes towns like Shagamu, Sango Ota, Ifon, Ewekoro, Ibadan, Ife, Oshogbo, Apapa, Isolo,, Ikorodu, Ikeja, Ogba, Surulere, Mushin, Epe, Ajaokuta. Of all these, Lagos has the largest concentration of industries.
*****Factors Favouring the Location of Industries in the Western Industrial Zone*****
(a) Availability of raw materials.
(b) Large population concentration providing wide market.
(c) Availability of constant power supply.
(d) Availability of water supply, both for domestic and industrial uses.
(e) Availability of good roads.
(f) Closeness or proximity to major exporting and importing ports (sea and air).
(g) The presence of infrastructural facilities.
3. THE MID-WEST INDUSTRIAL ZONE
The Mid-West Industrial Zone is located within the former Bendel State (presently Edo and Delta States), which are also located west of the River Niger. It includes towns like Warri, Asaba, Ughelli, Sapele and Benin-city. In Delta State, the main industries include The African Timber and Plywood (ATP), Sapele, Osse Rubber Estate, Iron and Steel Rolling Plant at Aladja, Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Industries at Warri. In Edo State, the major industries are Timber and Plywood Factory at Nikorowa, Oil Mill pressing plant of the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) at Iguoriakhi and Rubber Processing Plant at Iyanomo and Benin-city.
*****Factors Favouring the Location of Industries in the Mid-West Industrial Zone*****
(a) Fertile soil for the cultivation of agricultural products.
(b) The presence of cheap labour.
(c) Constant power supply.
(d) Good road network.
(e) Availability of wide market for its products.
(f) The presence of natural resources.
4. THE SOUTH-EAST INDUSTRIAL ZONE
The South-East Industrial Zone is located in the eastern part of Nigeria or east of the River Niger. It includes towns like Enugu, Onitsha, Nkalagu, Port-Harcourt, Calabar, Nnewi, Aba, Owerri and so on. The main industries here are breweries, motor and motor-cycle assembly plants, coal mining, limestone and palm produce at Enugu; Rolling Mills, foot wears, motor-cycle auto spare parts at Nnewi; Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals at Port-Harcourt; Cement factory at Nkalagu and boat building at Opobo and Calabar. Others include: timber, cosmetics, vegetable oil and chemicals.
*****Factors Favouring the Location of Industries in the South-East Industrial Zone*****
(a) Availability of natural resources as raw materials.
(b) Availability of power supply from Kainji (HEP), Oji River (Thermal Station) and Gas (Thermal Station) at Afam.
(c) The resourcefulness and ingenuity of the people.
(d) Wider market for their final products.
(e) Availability of skilled and unskilled labour.
(f) Good road network and railway.
(g) Closeness or proximity to major importing and exporting ports (sea and air).
*****CONTRIBUTIONS OF MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES TO THE GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) OF NIGERIA*****
The contributions of the industrial sector to the economic development of all nations, including Nigeria, cannot be over-emphasized. They include:
1. Increase in Gross National Product (GNP): The industrial sector through its operations like payment of taxes, which increases the earnings accruing to the nation.
2. Employment Opportunities: Industries provide considerable employment opportunities (jobs) for many people.
3. Diversification of Economy: It helps many countries to diversify their economies and stop depending on only one product, for example, the present Nigeria’s over-dependence on oil or petroleum and gas. Nigeria needs to invest in other sectors in order to have healthy economy in the nearest future.
4. Source of Foreign Exchange: Products of industries that are exported to other countries of the world provide important source of foreign exchange earning to the country.
5. Improvement of Balance-of-Payment Through International Trade: Export of the country’s products of manufacturing industries to other nations of the world, from which industrial machinery and raw materials are imported, will help to improve the balance-of-trade among such countries.
6. Stimulation of Other Sectors: Industrial sectors help in stimulating other sectors such as agriculture, mining, finance, lumbering and so on. It equally provides means of internal savings for development of other sectors.
7. Source of Market for Agricultural Products: This sector also provides a source of market for agricultural products. The industries need most of these products as raw materials.
8. Control of Inflation Due to Mass Production: Products like cars, machinery and so on, can be mass-produced with modern technology. This can help to reduce inflation.
9. Development of Manpower: In order to be able to operate and manage the different aspects or machine in an industry, many people are trained in many different technical areas.
10. Development of Infrastructures: The establishment of an industry in an area stimulates the development of infrastructures like roads, hospitals, telephone, electricity, pipe-borne water supply, schools, etc.
11. Funding of Education and Research: The industrial sector also provide capital for the funding of education and research work in all nations.
*****SOME REASONS COUNTRIES EMBARK UPON INDUSTRIALIZATION*****
They ask questions while the teacher reacts to them.
1. To improve the standard of living of the citizens.
2. To increase earning either locally or internationally.
3. To reduce dependence on imports.
4. To generate employment.
5. To reduce dependence on primary products as sources of earning.
6. To boost a nation’s international image.
7. To conserve foreign exchange.
*****MAJOR PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IN NIGERIA*****
Here are factors that constrain or are responsible for the relatively low level of industrial development in Nigeria:
1. Lack of, or Inadequate Capital: This is not readily available as most Nigerians are poor and have low level of savings. Access to finance or loans from banks is very difficult to obtain because the indigenous investors usually lack collateral securities to obtain them, and is only affordable by big time investors, who definitely have them.
2. Inadequate or Poor Quality Industrial Labour: Nigeria, like other Tropical African countries have a great number of illiterate unskilled labour. But there is a serious shortage of skilled (and even semi-skilled) labour. Hence, the industries will only achieve lower productivity.
3. Inadequate Infrastructure: Lack of, or inadequacy of such infrastructural facilities as good transport system, housing, medical facilities, potable water and electricity in most parts of the country has led to low productivity.
4. Shortage of Raw Materials: When raw materials are either lacking or inadequately available locally, the infant industries are forced to depend on imported raw materials, which are obtained at high cost and delayed in transit. This leads to scarcity and high cost of finished products and hinders large scale production as well.
5. Restrictive Industrial and Administrative Policies: A times, in government attempt to solve some existing problems, they make certain policies that are detrimental to the growth of some industries.
6. Lack of True or Shortage of Entrepreneur: Since what we have are business men who spend money on polygamous marriages, politics, owning fleet of cars, organizing elaborate parties and ceremonies, they are not ready to bear industrial risks. Also lack of capital makes reliable investors uncommon.
7. Over-Reliance or High Degree of Foreign Dependence: Since most products made in Africa are of low quality compared with their foreign counterparts, many people rely or depend on foreign goods.
8. Intermittent or Inadequate Power Supply: Frequent disruption of power supply brings the production activities to a halt for sometimes, while some areas do not even have power supply at all for months!
9. Low Level of Technological Development: Since Nigeria remains technologically backward and cannot produce or manage the necessary machinery required in industries, such impedes industrial growth.
10. Absence of Developed Markets and Low Purchasing Power: Our system of exchange is still under-developed. There is low demand as a result of large scale poverty in Nigeria as a result of low per capita income. This makes the people’s purchasing power low.
11. Political Instability: Frequent or incessant changes in governments coupled with civil wars, insurgencies, banditory, religious crises and youth restiveness in African countries discourage foreign investors.
12. Poor Management: The spate of corruption, embezzlement and negligence of duty, which are common in African countries openly show poor management resulting in low productivity.
13. Competition from Foreign Goods: Many products of our local industries are usually not patronized because, at one hand, foreign goods are of high quality, and on the other hand, high quality made in Nigeria goods are costlier as a result of high production cost and cannot compete favourably with the foreign goods.
14. Ineffective Transport and Communication: Nigeria has dilapidated roads, few air and sea ports, yet, to improve communication system and moribund railway transport. These conditions render our industries to low productivity.
*****REMEDIES OR SOLUTION TO NIGERIA INDUSTRIAL PROBLEMS*****
1. Good Government Policies: Government should make favourable legislation and policies to protect local industries and should de-emphasize on the indigenization policy.
2. Establishment of Industrial Banks: This should be set up to provide loans to industrialists.
3. Provision of Transport Facilities: These should be provided to ease the evacuation of goods from the production areas to their markets.
4. Incentives to Local Industries: The government should give local industries good incentives in form of low tax rate or tax holiday, so as to encourage them.
5. Acquisition of Skills: Skills should be acquired and improved on by the people through regular trainings such as seminars and workshops where proper induction courses are delivered.
6. Stable Government: In order to attract foreign investors, government should try as a matter of policy to maintain stable government.
7. Trade Strategy: To boost industrialization in Nigeria, the government can employ the ‘import-substitution’ strategy and ‘export promotion’ strategy.
8. Government Active Participation: There should be active government participation in industrial development, that is, co-ownership of companies.
9. Provision of Regular and Improved Power Supply: Power supply should be improved and made regular in order to ensure steady and dependable supply as well.
10. Provision of Infrastructural Facilities: This will help to boost industrialization in Nigeria.
11. Creation of Industrial Zones or Estates: These will, and when well equipped or provided with all the infrastructural facilities, provide conducive environment for industrialization.
Please do not be intimidated by the language. They are just cities situated in Nigeria. That's all.
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Manufacturing Industries in Nigeria
Manufacturing industry is the changing or turning or transformation of raw materials into new or finished products by mechanical or chemical processes at home (cottage) or in the factory.
Manufacturing, as a modern activity in Nigeria, is relatively recent in the nation’s economic development history.
What was previously practiced in the country was the craft industry. Among the products of the craft industry were artifacts of wood, brass, bronze, leather, hand-woven textiles, bags, and fire-burnt pottery from clay. In its modern form, manufacturing activities have been well developed as a result of some basic factors which include: availability of raw materials, large domestic market, hydro-electric power and so on.
CHARACTERISTICS OF MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IN NIGERIA
1. Most manufacturing industries in Nigeria are small scale.
2. They are concentrated in few locations, especially in urban centres.
3. They are dependent on imported raw materials from other countries.
4. They do not easily source their raw materials from within the country.
5. They rely on technical expertise (imported skilled labour) from foreign countries.
6. These industries are also labour intensive, that is, they require large labour force to operate.
7. They emphasize on production of consumable goods.
8. Their products are mainly consumed in the local market.
9. Most of the Nigeria manufacturing industries are mainly light industries.
*****FORMS OR CLASSIFICATIONS OF MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IN NIGERIA*****
Manufacturing industries in Nigeria can be grouped or classified into two different forms:
A. Three main classes: (i) Light Industries;
(ii) Consumer Goods Industries;
(iii) Heavy Industries.
B. Three main classes: (i) Primary Industries;
(ii) Secondary Industries;
(iii) Tertiary Industries.
A. (i) LIGHT INDUSTRIES: These consist of secondary industries which produce relatively light weight goods such as matches, fan, television sets, books, pencils, and so on. The labour force is mostly women. They produce final or consumable goods. Apart from Nigeria, they are found in other tropical countries like Ghana, Ivory Coast and so on.
(ii) CONSUMER GOODS INDUSTRIES: These deal with transforming of raw materials into consumable goods. They are mostly located in cities such as Lagos, Ibadan, Kaduna, Port-Harcourt and so on.
(iii) HEAVY INDUSTRIES: These are also secondary industries. Their products are heavy or bulky. The labour force is usually males. Such industries include metallurgical, petroleum and ship building industries. These industries are, however, commonly found in Europe, USA, Germany, China and Japan.
B. (i) PRIMARY INDUSTRIES: These are concerned with extraction of raw materials provided by nature. They are otherwise called extractive industries. These include: lumbering, fishing, farming of cotton, rubber, palm oil, cocoa, livestock production and others.
(ii) SECONDARY INDUSTRIES: These industries specialize in turning or changing raw materials into consumable goods. These include Peugeot Automobile Assembly Nigeria (PAN) in Kaduna,, Sanyo Assembly Plant in Ibadan, Zenox Computers in Abuja, and other industries such as textile, chemicals, ship and boat building, iron and steel, and so on.
(iii) TERTIARY INDUSTRIES: These industries provide essential services such as direct services like trading, driver (chauffeur), banking, medical and transportation. The services may be indirect like the clergy, teaching, military and paramilitary (army, navy, air force, police, immigration, road safety, custom and excise) and so on.
*****TYPES OF INDUSTRIES IN NIGERIA*****
There are two major types of industries in Nigeria, namely:
1. Local Craft (Cottage) Industries; and
2. Factory or Modern Manufacturing Industries.
1. LOCAL CRAFTS OR COTTAGE INDUSTRIES IN NIGERIA
These are those types of industries that depend mainly on locally sourced or obtained raw materials. These involve craftsmen and women who make use of simple tools specializing in a particular product based on their artistic quality. The main local craft industries include:
(a) Pottery and Glass Making: These are found in Abuja, Ilorin, Bida, part of Auchi (Edo State), Ikot Ekpene and Calabar. The major products are earthen pots that are fading fast and being displaced by plastic products produced by the modern industries.
(b) Canoe Making: This is associated with the Niger Delta creeks and the Niger-Benue trough (valley) in Nigeria. Canoe is used locally for fishing and transportation. Such industries are found in Okitipupa (Ondo State), Opobo (Rivers State), Epe (Lagos State).
(c) Wood Carving: this industry is found in the rain forest zone where the raw material, basically hardwood is abundant in large quantities. The most important wood carving centres are: Benin-city (Edo State), Ikot Epkene and Uyo (Akwa Ibom State), Oyo (Oyo State), Akure (Ondo State), Awka (Anambra State).
(d) Leather Works: The hides and skin derived from animals like cattle, sheep and goats form the bases of raw materials needed. These industries produce things like sandals, cushions, hand bags, belts, hats and caps and so on. They are found in Kano, Bida, Suleja, Sokoto and Oyo.
(e) Metals (Brass, Bronze and Silver Works or Casting): This industry has been associated with the Binis (Edo State), Ife (Osun State), Bida (Niger State), Kano (Kano State) and Awka (Anambra State) for blacksmithing.
(f) Textile and Cloth Weaving: These industries are found in Akwaete, Southern Zaria, Kaduna, Bida, Kano, Okene, Iseyin, Ibadan, Oyo, Ubulu-Uku, Auchi, Ewohimi and so on.
(g) Ropes and Mat Making: These are found in Kano, Bida, Warri, Ikot Ekpene and so on.
(h) Traditional Food Processing Industries: These industries engage in processing of food consumed locally and exported too. These include: “Garri”, which is produced from cassava serving as a ‘staple food’ to large population of Nigerians. This is found in Edo, Delta, Anambra, Enugu, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Ebonyi and Ogun States.
Another major one is palm oil industry, sourced from the palm tree and commonly found in the Equatorial Rainforest region of Nigeria. Once the oil is extracted, palm kernel and palm kernel oil are extracted too.
The edible oil is used for cooking and as raw material, while the shells are locally used for road construction and landscaping.
PROBLEMS FACING LOCAL CRAFT (COTTAGE) INDUSTRIES
1. Inadequate Raw Materials: The local crafts or cottage industries in Nigeria are often affected by inadequate or shortages of raw materials which hinders the production.
2. Poor Local Patronage: Poor patronage from the indigenes is as a result of poor finishing and low purchasing power and these affect the industry.
3. Lack of Modern Machinery: Lack of modern factory equipment makes the production highly labour intensive.
4. Poor Transportation Network: Poor transportation network prevents the assemblage of raw materials and evacuation of finished products from the interior to the urban centres.
Interaction with People In French: Saying what you feel
Qu’est-ce que la deception; c’est de déçu qu’u/qu’(une. D’être déçu.
Que sont les vocabulaires de la deception?
1. Je suis déçu.
2. Tu es déçu.
3. Il/elle est déçu.
4. Nous sommes déçu.
5. Vous êtes déçu.
6. Ils/elles sont déçus.
Les Expressions;
Je suis vraiement déçu.
Tu m’a déçu
Il/Elle m’a déçu
J’ai honte de tes actions. C’est honteux – I am ashamed of your actions. It is shameful.
Elle a honte des habitues de tes enfants – I am ashamed of your children’s behavours.
C’est dégoutant – it is disgusting.
C’est la fraud – it is a fraud.
L’Expressions de la Fâcherir;
Fous-moi la paix – leave me alone (give me peace)
Lache-moi – get off me
Dégage- clear off
Tu me gonfles – you are getting on my nerve.
Tu me soules – you are getting on my nerve
Casse-toi – go away
Fous le champs – go away
Tire-toi-go away
Tu me casses les pieds – you are a pain on my neck
Tu pompes l’air – I am fed of you.
L’Expression de deception et de regret;
Remember, that I have always said that no where in your exams will you be asked to make a list of vocabulaires de la deception, rather it will appear in an essay or comprehension text;
Question 1; Raconter un souvenir lié à une émotion de déception ou de regret.
Solutions:
*****SOUVENIR DE DÉCEPTION*****.
Quand j’avais dix-neuf ans, mes parents m’ont inscris au département de auto-route pour apprendre comment conduire la voiture. J’étais vraiment contente. J’ai assisté à ces cours serieusement pour six mois. À la fin, j’ai râté le permis de conduire et mes parents étaient très décus. Ils étaient mécontent enver moi. C’était vraiment dommage parce que mes parents avaient beaucoup de confiance envers moi. A la fin, Je les est supplier et ils m’on pardoner.
More Vocabulaire:
Je suis désolé €.
Je regret
Quel dommage
C’est dommage que…
Il est regrettable que..
Vous êtes arrive en retard.
Nommer L’expression d’une opinion.
1. Je pense que/Je crois que/Je trouve que… When you are asked about your opinion on a matter you answer spontaneously by saying; Je pense que…. Je pense que c’est magnifique. Je pense que cette situation ne marchera pas.
2. Je trouve nom + adjectif. Ex; Je trouve cette idée absurd! J’ai trouvé ça plutôt interessant.
3. A mon avis/Selon moi/D’après moi. Always use these expressions at the beginning of a sentence. Ex; a mon avis, c’est une excellente idée!
4. To show that you share to save opinion with some one, you say. Je suis d’acord avec toi. Ex; A mon avis, il faut interdire les téléphones portable dans les salles de classe, au college et au lycée.
5. C’est vrai, vous avez raison/Je pense pareil. C’est vrai, vous avez raison. “ Je pense que le monde sans medias sociaux n’est plus possible. On doit vivre avec son temps et accepter le fait qu’ils font partie de notre vie.” Je pense pareil/la même chose.
6. Tout àfait/absolument. Ex; Je suis absolument d’accord avec elle.
7. Personellement, je suis pour./ je suis contre…. Ex; Debate topic; “Les femmes sont les Chefs de la femme” You then say, Je suis pour ce sujet (if you support the idea) or Je suis contre cette sujet (if you are agaist the idea)
8. If you don’t agree, you say; Je ne pense pas que – I don’t’t think that.. Je ne crois pas que- I don’t think that, Je ne trouve pas que then followed with verb in the subjonctif. Ex; Je ne pense pas qu’il soit réaliste.
9. J’en doute/ Je ne suis pas sûre. Ex; Je suis sûr que Chika viendra. Il va fait beau, tu crois demain?
Je ne suis pas sûre/ je doute qu’il vienne.
10. Je ne suis pas d’accord avec vous. Je ne partage pas cette opinion/ Je ne suis pas d’accord avec vous. Je ne partage pas cette opinion.
11. Je suis contre. Questions like que pense tu au marriage precoce? You could respond by saying; C’est simple; je suis contre.
12. Pas du toute/absolument pas; example: Est-ce que je te derange – Am I disturbing you. Your response could be; Absolument pas! Au contraire ça me fait Plaisir de te voir! Exercices de classe: Debateable topics; to be tackle in today’s class.
1. Les femmes sont plus riche que les hommes vrai ou faux?
2. Les filles de GISS sont tres parreuseuses que pense vous?
3. Les garçons sont très sales. Quell est votre opinion?
4. L’argent faire le Bonheur. Que pense vous?
5. L’école publique et l’école privée laquelle est la meilleure?
In English this all has to do with your interaction with people. How you shared words or secrets with people. How you agree with people on various matters and opinions.
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Redaction: Essay
La Redaction – Essay
La redaction c’est l’action d’ecrire
French method of essay writing ç quite very simple once you understand the topic in front of you.
L’expression ecrite will require various skills;
Understanding of the topic;
Structural arrangement of ideas;
Good knowledge of grammer and
A wide range of vocabulary knowledge, in order to actually express what you have or feel within.
*****Les types de redaction;*****
Descriptive
Narrative
Argumentative
1. On commence avec la description; Description d’un objet, la description d’un paysage ou d’un evenement. Chaque description a une manière d’approche propre.
2. How to Describe a person (la portrait); to describe a person, one should start from physical appearance to the behavior of the person. Steps to follow are;
The sex; male or female/homme ou femme.
The height---- taille; tallor short/grand ou petit.
The age …. L’âge; old or young/vieux ou jeune
The colour of his/her hair… la couleur des cheveux
His or her beauty .. la beauté.
The dress of the person… la tenue.
3. under behavior we have; his/her qualities and faults.
Avoir de bon caractères Avoir de bon caractères Sympathique (se)
Bon (ne)
Amusant (e)
Intelligent (e)
Brave
Réservé
Gentil (le)
Antipathique
Timide
Méchant (e)
Mécontent (e)
Bête
Timide/peureux
Jovial
Désagreable etc
La description;
sexe homme femme
Taille Grand/petit
Gros/mince
Grande/petite
Grosse/mince
L’âge Jeune/vieux Jeune/vielle
Les cheveux Blond/brun
Roux/noir
Blobde/brune
Rousse/noire
La beauté Beau, joli/laid
Chemise, chemisette
Belle, jolie/laide
Chemise, chemisette
Les vêtements Veste pantalon, culotte, boubou Veste, pantalon, jupe, pagne etc.
Above are tips for a simple description. For instance, you are asked to describe someone;
1. Decivez votre professeur de Chimie.
2. Decrivez votre village
3. Decrivez votre école.
Tips; in writing an Essay expressing your opinion;
If you are given a topic to write on; for example; Discutez les femmes sont également fortes que les femmes, que penses tu?
First the elementary exploration of the idea you will use.
Express your thoughts on the topic
The introductory phrase to use are;
- Tout d’abord – firstly
- Premierement –firstly
- Connecting phrases which help you connect ideas and sections; et –and, de plus – in addition, ensuite –next, deuxiement – secondly, or – so, ainsi que – as well as
- Concluding phrase; which helps you to introduce your conclusion; you say; En fin – finally, finalement – finally, en conclusion – in conclusion.
- Exemple:
Topic: Les Femmes sont plus fortes que les hommes.
Introduction; Les femmes sont les sexes faible et female. Elles ne s’habillent pas comme des hommes.
Sans les femmes il n’ya aura pas un monde.
Premièrement les femmes sont plus faible que les hommes. Comme ça, a mon avis je trouve que les hommes sont plus fortes que les femmes physicalement. En term d’émotions les femmes sont très fortes. Elles peuvent se controller en temps de colère, elles se calme très bien.
Ainsi que en relation sociale, elles peuvent bien se composer. Quand elles décharge leur responsibilités.
Ensuite, financierement, les femmes sont tres fortes, ells gardent bien de l’argent pour surtenir la famille, alorsque les hommes gaspirent l’argent.
En conclusion, les femmes sont faible physicalement mais fortes en émotion et finacierement.
Le Subjonctif
LE SUBJONCTIF
Que signifie le subjonctif? ( What is the subjunctive?)
Le français exprime son état d’âme( state of mind). Le verbe qui suit cette expression qui se rapport à son état d’âme, se met au subjonctif. Par exemple : l’ expression de la crainte, de l’obligation, du surprise, du doute, de la volonté, de l’incertitude, de l’ordre, de la nécessité etc.
The subjunctive is a verb form that is used in certain circumstances to express some sort of feeling, or to show there is doubt about whether something will happen, whether something is true, to show surprise, wish, order or necessity.
Le subjonctif est utilisé après quelques constructions ( impersonnels constructions) qui exprime la nécessité, la probabilité. It is used after certain impersonal constructions that express necessity or probability etc Par exemples
( a) Il faut que … it is necessary that…
(b) Il est nécessaire que … It is necessary that …
(c) Il est possible que … It is possible that …
(d) Il est dommage que … Il is a pity that …
(e) Il vaut mieux que … It is better that …
(f) Il semble que … It seems that …etc
From all indications,” le subjonctif” is always introduced by the word “ que”
*****La Formation du subjonctif*****
1. For “er” verbs : parler, regarder, écouter etc.
To form the stem of the subjunctive, you take the infinitive and chop off “ er” just as for the present tense. Then you add the correct endings, depending on the pronoun you are using. For - “er” verbs, the endings are the same as for the ordinary present tense, apart from the “nous” and “ vous” forms, which have an extra”i”.
Exemples:
Pronoun Ending Add to stem
e.g parle-
Meaning
Je (j’) -e Je parle I speak
Tu -es Tu parles You speak
Il
Elle
On
-e
Il parle
EIle parle
On parle He/she/it/one speaks
Nous -ions Nous parlions We speak
Vous -iez Vous parliez You speak
Ils
Elles -ent
Ils parlent
Elles parlent They speak
Ex 1. Il est nécessaire qu’il parle. ( It is necessary that he speaks. )
2. Il faut que nous parlions. ( We need to speak .)
3. Il vaut mieux que tu restes chez toi. ( It is better that you stay at home )
Please remember that it is always introduced by “que “
2. For “ir”verbs : finir, sortir, partir, venir etc.
To form the stem, you take the infinitive and chop off “–ir” Then you add the correct endings.
Pronouns Ending Add to stem, e.g fin- Meaning
Je ( j) -isse Je finisse I finish
Tu -isses Tu finisses You finish
Il
Elle
On
-isse
Il finisse
Elle finisse
On finisse He/she/it/one finishes
Nous -issions Nous finissions We finish
Vous -issiez Vous finissiez You finish
Ils
Elles -issent
Ils finissent
Elles finissent They finish
Please note that, “ Je “ changes to” J’ “ in front of a word starting with a vowel, most words starting with “ h “, and the French word “ y “
Exemples; 1. Il faut que tu viennes à l’heure. ( You have to come on time )
2. Il est nécessaire qu’il sorte. ( It is necessary that he leaves )
3. Il vaut mieux qu’ils finissent l’examen. ( It is better that they finish the examination.)
Please, remember that we still have “ re” verbs and irregular verbs. It will be done bit by bit, to avoid confusion.
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Please I want you to notice that Elles, Ils all mean THEY. For example look at this example Ils Mangent, this means they eat.
Je- I
Tu- you
Il- he
elle- her
Nous- we
Vous- it also means We
Ils- They
Elles- They
This is the translation of all these words in English. They are are pronouns just like we have in English.
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How to write an Informal Letter in French
*****COMMENT ECRIRE UNE LETTRE FAMILIALE ( How to write an informal letter )*****
La lettre familiale est une lettre qu’on écrit au membre de la famille ou à un ami ou une amie : l’ami, le père, la mère, le frère, la sœur, le cousin, la cousine, l’oncle, la tante et ainsi de suite. ( Informal letter is a letter we write to members of the family, friends, father , mother, brother, sister, cousins, uncles, aunties . It is a friendly letter.)
*****Les parties d’une lettre familiale ( Parts of an informal letter )*****
1Le lieu et la date ( place and date)
2. Le début ( beginning)
3. Corps de la lettre ( body of the letter)
4. La conclusion/ la terminaison ( conclusion)
5. Le nom ( name )
Le lieu et la date : Il se trouve à droite du papier. ( The place and the date is written at the right hand side of the paper.)
Le début:
Il faut commencer avec le mot de votre choix; comme cher ami, chère amie, cher Joseph, chère mère, cher père, chère Blessing, cher copain, chère copine etc. ( Here, you can start with words of your choice such as “cher Joseph” for masculine, “chère mere” for feminine, “cher ami” meaning “Dear friend” for male friend and” chère amie” for female friend.
Le corps de la lettre:
Ici il est nécessaire de commencer avec la salutation. On parle de objet de la lettre. ( Here, it is important that one starts with greetings after which you talk about the aim of the letter.)
La terminaison:
Pour terminer, il faut choisir l’une des expressions suivantes: Je t’embrasse, Bien à toi (regards), Amicalement , Amitiés de ma part ( best wishes from me )
You can use any of the options above to end your letter.
Example:
1. Ecrivez une lettre de remerciement à votre père pour l’argent de poche qu’il vous a donnée.
( Write a thank you letter to your father, for the pocket money he sent to you ).
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Enugu, le 22 mai 2020.
Cher père,
Comment vas-tu et les autres membres de la famille ? J’espère que tout marche bien. Et les affaires ? J’espère qu’il n’ y a pas de problème. Grâce à Dieu. J’écris cette lettre pour te remercier beaucoup pour l’argent de poche que tu m’as donné. J’ai déjà acheté quelques livres avec l’argent. Je suis très content et je suis en bonne santé. Que Dieu te bénisse. Envoie mes salutations à maman, Annette et David. A bientôt.
Amicalement,
Jean.
Writing letter is a simple way of expressing yourself also writing of articles. So if you look at the format of my essay you will see that this essay is very informative and is well written. You can learn French it is very easy. Although I am from a french speaking country I know how to speak English and write in such language. So any one can learn.
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Le Français
Back then in Secondary School or the foreign people will say High School I studied French back then and I excelled in my examinations. Even before I was admitted into the secondary school I still did great in French in my primary school. Now I have decided to start posting French articles here on read cash. It will be a means of socialization for those that do not know how to speak it and a lot of you will learn many interesting things like; How to greet someone in French, words used in appreciating people in French etc. We will all learn new things. It will be as if we are learning in school. So fellow writers I hope you are ready to gain something interesting. Let us begin.
*****EXPRIMER CE QU’IL FAUT FAIRE ET CE QU’IL NE FAUT PAS FAIRE*****
( Expressions of what one should do and what one should not do)
Exemple : Qu’est-ce qu’il faut faire pour réussir à l’examen ? ( what should one do
to succeed in an exam ?)
1. D’abord, pour réussir à l’examen, if faut que vous soyez ponctuel à l’école.
(Firstly, to succeed in an exam, you should be punctual to school.)
2, Il faut se lever tôt. ( You should wake up early.)
3. Il faut écouter aux professeurs. ( You should listen to the teachers)
4. Il faut que vous soyez attentif à la classe. ( You should pay attention in the class.)
5. Il faut faire le devoir toujours. ( You should always do your assignment.)
6. Il faut copier toujours vos léçons. ( You should always copy your notes.)
7. Il ne faut pas faire du bruit en classe. ( You should not make noise in the class.)
8. Il faut obéir aux autorités de l’école. ( One should obey the school authority.)
9. Il ne faut pas tricher pendant l’examen. ( You should not cheat during exams.)
10. Il faut étudier très fort. ( You should study very hard.)
11. Il faut lire toujours vos cahiers et vos livres.( Always read your notes and textbooks.)
12. Il ne faut pas vous associer avec de mauvais élèves. ( Don’t associate with bad
students.)
13. Il ne faut pas quitter l’école sans la permission.( Don’t leave the school without
permission)
14. Il ne faut pas fumer. ( You should not smoke)
From the following points, you will observe that the expression “Il faut” is always
followed by an infinitive i.e a verb that has not been conjugated /split.
Exemples: 1. Il faut écouter …
2. Il faut obéir …
3. Il ne faut pas tricher …
4. Il ne faut pas voler etc.
Whenever we are writing this type of thing, we don’t number it. We
write in paragraphs using: D’abord, Ensuite, Et pius, Après, and finalement( en
conclusion )
More on Taxation
In my previous article I dealt on Taxation and its types in which one of them was Direct tax. Now let us look at another type of tac which is Indirect tax. I will also look at the different systems of taxation. Read and be inspired.
(a) Indirect Tax
Indirect taxes are taxes levied on goods and services. The incidence of taxation on
commodities does not fall directly. Sellers bear the initial burden of tax before
shifting them to final consumers.
Indirect tax can be avoided by not purchasing the commodities taxed. However,
the consumer who purchases the commodity does not usually know the amount
he is paying as tax.
Examples of indirect taxes are as follows:-
1. Custom Duties:
They are usually of two types:
(a) Import duties; - Import duties are taxes imposed or levied on goods brought into a country from other countries. They are on the other hand called tariffs.
They are usually paid initially by the importers.
(b) Export duties; - This is tax that is levied on goods sent out to other countries. A
tax of that nature is usually paid by producers or exporters at the exporting
country.
2. Excise Duties:
These are taxes levied on certain locally manufactured goods. They are imposed
on such commodities as cigarettes, alcohol, petrol etc.
Excise duties are not an important source of government revenue. This is because
a number of manufacturing industries is relatively small and newly established
industries are granted tax holidays by government.
3. Sales Tax:
This is a tax levied on the sale of a commodity. This type of tax is collected at the
wholesale stage or retail and passed on to final consumer in form of high prices. It
is paid on the sale of commodities such as petrol and agricultural export produce.
4. Purchase Tax:
This is a type of tax levied on the purchase of certain consumer items such as
cars, radios, television sets, cosmetics, etc. The tax is usually collected at
wholesale stage.
However, purchase tax is based on the value of the commodity under
consideration.
Advantages of Direct Taxes
The followings are advantages of direct taxes.
1. They are progressive in nature.
The percentage levied as direct tax increase with the size of person’s income
which is the most ideal form of tax.
2. The incidence of direct taxes is easy to ascertain. The tax payer bears the final
burden since the tax is paid from his income.
3. They are used to control inflation.
Increase in direct taxes in the period of inflation will contribute immensely in
reducing the volume of money in circulation thereby controlling inflation in a
country.
4. The collection of such tax is easy while the tax itself is relatively cheap.
5. They are used in redistributing incomes. The progressive nature of direct taxes
help to redistribute income of an individual; the more income the individual earns,
the more taxes he/she pays.
6. They are easy to calculate. Once the number of income earners are known,
income tax can be calculated.
7. Payers find them convenient to pay. This is because they know when, how and
where to pay them.
8. They arose civic consciousness. Payers of direct taxes are aware that they are
doing so with every amount of sense of responsibility.
Disadvantages of Direct Taxes
The following are the disadvantages of the direct taxes.
1. They may cause deflation. When the taxes are high, they may reduce the volume
of money in circulation than available goods and services thereby causing
deflation.
2. They discourage savings. The left over after paying the taxes may not encourage
any form of saving.
3. They may bring about personal squabbles. This can be attributed to the fact that
their collection involves personal contact.
4. Direct taxes reduce people’s purchasing power. This is because the more the
taxes are paid, the income of workers are reduced.
5. They are difficult to assess. Where it concerns profit tax, some firms declare false
profits.
6. The tax on company profits tends to reduce investment.
7. Discourages hard work and enterprise.
*****Advantages of Indirect Taxes*****
Advantages of indirect taxes include the following;-
1. They are used to correct deficit balance of payment. This is done by increasing
import duties and lowering both export an excise duties.
2. Indirect taxes form an important source of revenue for the government. A lot of
revenue is derived from indirect taxes and contributes to social and economic
development.
3. They are used to protect infant industries. This is true of tariffs. Import taxes raise
the prices of foreign goods. This helps to discourage unfavorable competition with
locally produced goods.
4. Where unemployment is high, indirect taxes yield more revenue.
5. It has a wider coverage than direct tax.
6. It is not easy to evade. Consumers pay as they consume the commodities.
7. It is not disincentive to work.
8. It is used to prevent dumping.
9. They can be used to discourage the production and consumption of harmful and
non-essential items. Items which are either regarded as harmful or luxurious are
heavily taxes to discourage the demand for them. Consequently their production
will fall.
10. Indirect taxes are easy and cheap to collect. Once a consumer purchase a taxed
commodity, he pays the tax. The tax is not evaded by the buyer of the commodity.
Example, custom duties.
*****Disadvantages of Indirect Taxes*****
Disadvantages of indirect taxes include the following:
1. They increase prices of goods. This is because the amount paid as tax is shifted to
the consumers in form of high prices of goods.
2. They may cause scarcity of goods. This is because high tariffs may discourage
people from important goods while the excise duties may also lead to stoppage of
further production of certain goods.
3. Indirect taxes may cause inflation. This may be the aftermath of increase in prices
and scarcity of goods.
4. Indirect taxes are regressive in nature. This is because both the rich and poor buy
goods on which these taxes are imposed from the same source and at the same
price.
5. They curtail investments. High excise, import and export duties reduce the profits
of businessmen thereby reducing their investment propensities.
6. They lower people’s standard of living. This is because they increase the price of
goods.
7. They restrict free trade. Import and export duties do not allow free trade to take
place.
*****SYSTEMS OF TAXATION*****
The systems of imposing both direct and indirect taxes are as follows:
1. PROGRESSIVE TAXATON
A progressive tax taxes a larger percentage of income from people with larger
incomes. A good example is the P.A.Y.E. (pay as you earn) system of taxation
which has been in vogue in Nigeria since many years ago. For example, if Miss
Ngozi earns ₦10,000 a month and pays 10% of her income as tax while Miss
Adobi earns ₦2,000 a month and pays 2% as tax, this is progressive. Progressive
taxation is usually the system adopted with the taxation of personal incomes in
Nigeria. The graph shown below could be used to represent progressive taxation.
2. REGRESSIVE TAXATION:
A regressive tax taxes a larger percentage of income from people with lower
income. Indirect taxes, for instance which are fixed sums added to the prices of
things purchased by consumers irrespective of their income are regressive. In
regressive taxation, the richer may ultimately pay less tax on income. For
instance, if Miss Chinwe earns 1000 and pays 50 as tax while Miss Chioma
earns 2000 and pays as tax, this is regressive because Miss Chinwe pays a
tax rate of 5 while Miss Chioma pays a tax rate of . Therefore, a regressive tax
aggravates inequality of income distribution.
Regressive tax can be demonstrated by a graph shown below.
3. PROPORTIONAL TAXATION
A tax is proportional when all tax payers pay a fixed rate or percentage of the
value of their taxable objects. The rate of tax is the same for all incomes.
Suppose the government decrees that every taxable person should pay of his
income as tax, a worker earning ₦1,500 per annum will therefore 10 of ₦1,500
that is ₦150 while another worker earning ₦3000 per annum will pay 10 of
₦3000 that is ₦300.
Even though the later pays a larger amount of money than the former, the rate
of taxation or payment (10) is the same or proportional. The rate of taxation
remain the same as the tax base or income increases.
Proportional taxation can be demonstrated by a graph shown below.
Please I am very sorry that my graphs couldn't show please just read the important parts. Maybe next time I will attach pictures.
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Taxation
*****TAXATION*****
Taxation is the act of imposing a compulsory levy by the government or its agency
on individuals and firms or on goods and services.
REASONS WHY GOVERNMENT IMPOSE TAX IN THE COUNTRY
1. TO RAISE REVENUE FOR THE GOVERNMENT
Tax is used to raise revenue for government expenditure. Tax is a major source of
government revenue. Money is required for the provision of essential services and
for the financing of capital projects by the government.
2. TO REDISTRIBUTE INCOME
Tax is used to re-distribute income thereby reducing inequality of income among
people in the country.
Reduction of income inequality can be achieved through a progressive taxation (i.e
Pay As You EarnPAYE). It can also be further reduced by spending tax money on
social services such as Health, Education and Social welfare which are designed to
benefit the poor more than the rich.
3. TO REDUCE THE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF COMMODITIES
CONSIDERED HARMFUL OR LUXIRIOUS.
Taxation is used to reduce the production and consumption of commodities which
are considered harmful or luxurious. Heavy indirect taxes impose on such
commodities lead to high selling prices. This could discourage the consumption of
such commodities. Example; Alcohol and Cigarette.
Luxury goods include certain brand of cars. Example; Jeeps (hummer jeep) etc and
some clothing material.
4. AS AN ANTI-INFLATIONARY DEVICE
Taxation could be used as an anti-inflationary device. To remedy inflation, the
government would increase direct tax without increasing its expenditures. For
instance, an increase in personal income tax would reduce people’s disposable
income. This would help to reduce the amount of money in circulation thereby
remedying inflationary pressure within the economy.
5. TO PROTECT INFANT INDUSTRIES
Infant industries are young industries or newly established industries that are at the
developing stage.
Such newly established industries cannot compete effectively with the long-
established foreign firms.
To protect them, high tariffs are set up against the importation of goods similar to
those produced by the infant industries.
6. TO CORRECT ADVERSE BALANCE OF PAYMENT
Too much importation could lead to a balance of payment deficit. Importation of
foreign goods could be restricted by the use of high import duties. This would
reduce demand for such imported goods thereby conserving foreign exchange.
7. Taxes are used by the government to promote economic growth. This can be
achieved by imposing a lower rate of tax on company profits that are ploughed
back into business. The government can also encourage economic growth by
pursuing generous investment policies. It can also grant some industries tax
concessions and encourage the production and purchase of home- made
goods.
8. Tax is used to stimulate recovery from a trade depression. During a trade
depression, aggregate spending is low. This lead to a high level of unemployment.
The government can therefore decrease direct taxes in other to increase people’s
disposable income. This will make demand for goods and services to rise thereby
generating increased production and employment.
9. Tax is used to run and maintain general administration. The administrative
machinery of a country may collapse if there is no money to maintain it. Tax
therefore form one of the sources of such money.
10. Tax is also used for defense purpose. It contributes part of the money used in
maintaining a country’s armed forces.
*****TYPES OF TAX*****
(a) Direct Tax
Direct taxes are taxes levied on the income of individuals, firms and on their
property. Such income would include wages, salaries, profits, rent and interest.
The burden of direct taxes falls directly on the payers. Eg. personal income tax,
company tax, poll tax, capital tax, capital gain tax and expenditure tax.
1. Personal income tax: This is tax levied on the income of an individual usually
during a period of one year. In assessing personal income tax, allowances are
made on the income before the tax. These include personal allowance, wife’s and
children’s allowances, life assurance premium, provident fund scheme, etc. The
remaining part of income which is then taxed is called taxable income, while the
remaining part of income after deduction of tax is called disposable income.
Personal income tax is usually progressive. The rate of tax increases as income
increases.
2. Company tax: This is tax levied on the net profit of companies. Allowances are
also made on the net profit of the company being taxed. Allowances are usually
given for capital expenditure by companies. Company profit tax yields plenty of
revenue for the government in advanced countries, but it is still to yield such
revenue in developing countries. This is because the number of taxable industries
is relatively small. Also, in an attempt to encourage industrialization, the new firms
are granted tax holidays which exempt them from payment of tax up to a period
of four to five years.
However, in general, company tax is easy to collect because companies can
easily identified, and most of them maintain an accurate financial accounts.
3. Poll tax: This is a flat tax usually imposed on those with low incomes. For example,
each adult could be asked to pay per year as tax. People who pay poll tax are
usually exempted from the payment of personal income tax. It is a regressive form
of taxation because each payer pays the same amount irrespective of his income.
In developing countries, it is sometimes difficult to collect this type of tax.
Many people evade it. They run away whenever they hear that tax collectors are
around.
4. Capital tax: This is tax levied on the assets or property of individuals including the
assets of the deceased. Such property may include cars, personal houses, land,
etc.
5. Capital gain tax: A capital gain tax is a tax levied on the gains or profits derived
from the sale of land and capital assets. If someone buys land or any other assets
and resell it at a profit, the gain is taxed in some countries. The higher the gain,
the higher the tax derived from it.
6. Expenditure tax: This is tax levied on the part of a person’s income which is
actually spent. It is not a common type of taxation. The tax is used to encourage
saving.
Fiscal Policy
*****FISCAL POLICY/PUBLIC FINANCE*****
*****PUBLIC FINANCE*****
Public finance is defined as the study of methods employed by government to raise revenue and how it spends the revenue and manages national debt. In other words, it deals with government revenue collection, its disbursement and detailed account of the money spent on behalf of the country as well as how the national debt is managed.
*****FISCAL POLICY*****
Fiscal policy refers to the collection of government revenue and its disbursement usually aimed at achieving certain economic objectives. In other words, it involves the use of government income and expenditure instruments to regulate the economy.
*****USES OF FISCAL POLICY*****
Fiscal policy is used to achieve certain objectives which are beneficial to the economy in the followings ways:
1. INFLATION: If there is inflation in the country, fiscal policy instruments (such as
increased taxation on personal income, increased borrowing from public, reduced
government spending) are used by government to reduce the quantity of money in
circulation and consequently the level of prices of goods and services would fall.
2. LOW LEVEL OF PRODUCTIVITY: If there is a low level of productivity in the
economy, the government could reverse the situation with the aid of fiscal policy
instruments such as reduction on company profit taxes, grant tax concessions to
pioneer industries, grant subsidies to agricultural and industrial producers and
increased the size of government investment in agricultural, industrial and
commercial sectors.
3. DEFLATION: If there is a deflation or recession in the economy, the fiscal policy instruments can be applied by government to change the situation. Such instruments involves the reduction of personal income taxes and an increase in the level of government expenditure. These efforts are aimed at increasing the level of demand and prices to desirable levels.
4. INCREASE IN THE LEVEL OF UNEMPLOYMENT: If there is an increase in the level of unemployment in a country such as Nigeria, the fiscal policy instruments can be applied to reduce it to the barest minimum. The instruments used is that the government will increase expenditure generating ventures which require more labour for production purposes. Eg. Investment on industries, educational institutions, commerce etc.
*****OBJECTIVES OF PUBLIC FINANCE*****
Government perform various functions and to be able to this effectively, they require a lot of budgetary allocations. Government therefore spend money in the following ways which are mainly peculiar to a mixed economy.
1. ECONOMIC SERVICES
Government provides some economic services like transportation and communication, trade and industry, agricultural product, fuel and power, buildings and roads. These are economic services since government aims at making profits or at least break even (cover cost).
Government also make investment in mining. Example: drilling of petroleum from more than eight states of the federation; tin and columbite from plateau state, coal from Enugu state, etc. The notable eight states where drilling of petroleum is in progress include Delta, Edo, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa-ibom, Imo and Abia States.
To increase production in agriculture and industry, government grant subsidies to the producers.
2. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
Government also pay for the provision of services for the general administration of the country. Such services include the civil service responsible for the execution of government policies, foreign services, pension etc.
Money is also spent in maintaining the President, Vice President, Ministers, members of the National Assembly and advisers etc. Little revenue are earned from this services while their provision cost the government huge sum of money.
3. SOCIAL SERVICES
Another major objective of government revenue is the need for the provision of social service free of charge or at very little cost. Some of the social services include Water supply, Health service, Education, Welfare service, Fire protection, Sewage and refuse disposal, Public housing, Recreational centers, Old age allowances etc. Government aims at maintaining a minimum standard of living and providing greater equality of opportunities for all citizens.
4. ECONOMIC SECURITY AND PROGRESS
The government could achieve this objective in a number of ways. To protect individuals in their economic activities, government exercise control by setting up an agency which inspect factories to ensure good quality products.
Such agencies are called Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON), National Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and government spends money to maintain their services.
5. SERVICING OF NATIONAL DEBT
This involves the repayment of loans taking by the government and paying the occurring interest on such loans. Because of the increasing debt burden arising from borrowing to meet financial commitments, a lot of money is spent by the government on servicing debts.
6. DEFENCE/ NATIONAL SECURITY
Money is spent by the government in the training and maintenance of the armed forces the infantry, Navy and Air force. Money is spent on purchasing arms, ammunition and other equipment required. The maintenance of the armed forces is important since they defend the country from external aggression
7. MAINTENANCE OF INTERNAL LAW AND ORDER
The government spends money in maintaining a police force (which helps to keep internal law and order as well as to protect the citizens), Civil Defence (which help to keep law and protect government property), Road Safety (which help to enforce government law on use of highways), Customs (which help to enforce government policy on importation and exportation of goods), Immigration (which help to check illegal movement of people and goods in and out of the country through the borders). Fire service and Prisons. In addition, to maintain and dispense justice, courts are set up and magistrates, judges, etc. are employed.
8. MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTIVES
This include granting of aids and loans to local and state governments; grants and aids to other countries adversely affected by natural disaster such as earthquake, landslide, flood or disease like Ebola, Coronavirus etc
*****SOURCES OF GOVERNMENT REVENUE*****
The government derives its revenue from a member of sources which include the
following;-
1. TAXATION
This is the major sources of government revenue. Taxes includes direct and indirect taxes.
Direct taxes are taxes levied on income of individuals and firms and on their property.
Indirect taxes are taxes levied on goods and services.
2. FEES, LICENCES AND FINES
Government derived its income or revenue from fees, licenses, and fines. These include vehicle and motorcycle licenses, liquor licenses, fees and court fines, etc.
3. INTEREST, DIVIDENDS, PROFITS AND EARNINGS FROM GOVERNMENT
INVESTMENT
Another source of revenue to government is interest, dividend, profit and earnings from government investment.
4. BORROWING INVOLVING DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN LOANS
Government may obtain loans from individuals or institutions, firms within the country through sale of government security by central bank. Loans are also raised from foreign governments and from world financial institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
5. ROYALTES AND RENT
Government also derive its revenue from royalties and rent.
Royalties are paid by the mining sectors of the economy while rent is paid on government land and buildings.
6. GRANTS, AIDS AND GIFTS
Government also derived its revenue from grants, aids and gifts. These may come from individuals, institutions at home and from foreign governments and international organizations.
7. SAVING:
Government can decide to save parts of its earnings to serve as source of income in future especially when a country has budget surplus.
Other sources through which government derive revenue include:
Sale of government assets. Example, NEPA
Money recovered from corrupt officials. Example, Abacha loot.
Profits from direct investments and public enterprises.
The 1979 and 1999 Constitution
*****THE 1979 CONSTITUTION*****
Introduction:
The constitution was fashioned after the American Presidential system of government characterized by separation of powers. The legislature was bi-cameral with 95 Senators and 450 members of the House of Representatives. The qualification for contesting the senatorial seat was 30 years of age while that of the House of Representatives was 21 years and the candidate must be a Nigerian citizen.
The constitution provided for an Executive President that would be directly elected by the people and the candidate must have attained the age 35.
*****General features of the Constitution*****
1. The constitution introduced an executive presidential system of government in Nigeria.
2. It provided for an elected President and nominated Vice President.
3. It gave residual powers to the state government.
4. It gave the legislature the power to impeach the executive.
5. The principle of separation of powers, checks and balances were introduced and entrenched into the constitution.
6. It provided for democratically elected local government councils as the third- tier of government in Nigeria.
7. It ratified the division of Nigeria into 19 states as carved out by General Murtala Mohammed in 1976.
8. Election of the President and Governors thorough direct election by the electorate was introduced and each was to be accountable to the people.
9. It provided for a bi-cameral legislature which it called National Assembly and a unicameral at the states level.
*****Merits of the 1979 Constitution*****
1. There was complete separation of powers among the three arms of government and no one belonged to more than one arm of government.
2. There was provision for Fundamental Human Rights.
3. The President was not accountable to the legislature but to the people who directly elected him into power.
4. The ministers were held individually accountable for their ministries as there was no collective responsibility.
5. Ministers could be selected from any political party thereby making it possible for the government to make use of best hands.
*****Demerits/ weaknesses of the 1979 Constitution*****
1. The system was very expensive to maintain especially where there were many legislators that were paid and many Aides appointed by the president.
2. The use of lobbying guaranteed by the constitution became an instrument of corruption and intimidation as gratification were used by the government to suppress opponents.
3. The legislators used impeachment to intimidate the executive into complying with their desires, (e.g. the Kaduna state executive)
4. The Ministers retained their posts at the discretion of the president and not that of the nation.
5. The legislators were left to fix their salaries and allowances and they concentrated more on how to share the national resources among themselves than the welfare of the nation.
*****NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE (1994)/1999 CONSTITUTION*****
*****National Constitutional Conference of 1994*****
The then Head of State, General Sani Abacha, set up a constitutional conference that was to understudy the problems of Nigeria and work out an indigenous constitution for the country.
The major highlights of the conference included;
1. The issue of rotational presidency.
2. The system of government and diarchy, and
3. Foreign relations.
*****Recommendations of the Conference*****
the conference made the following recommendations;
1. A bi-cameral legislature at the centre with three senators from each state and 360 members of the House of Representatives.
2. A unicameral legislature for the state and local government to avoid the excesses of the previous administration.
*****THE 1999 CONSTITUTION*****
*****Features of the Constitution*****
1. It introduced a presidential system of government as in the 1979 constitution.
2. Supremacy of the constitution over any other legislation was upheld.
3. It provided for bicameral legislature at the centre and unicameral for the states. The qualifications for membership of the legislature are;
(i) Senate# –the candidate must be a Nigerian who has attained the age of 35 and has a minimum of secondary school certificate.
(ii) House of Representatives- must be a Nigerian, who attained the age of 30 and has a minimum of secondary school certificate.
(iii) House of Assembly for the states- a Nigerian citizen who must have attained the age of 30, with a minimum of secondary school certificate.
4. The President and Governor must be 40 band 35 years respectively.
5. Franchise was limited to those who are 18 years and above.
6. The country was divided into 36 federating states with Abuja as the neutral federal capital territory.
7. Fundamental human rights were enshrined in the constitution.
8. Autonomy of the local governments was preserved and there 774 single-tier local government areas.
9. State religion was prohibited.
10. It was a written constitution.
11. Separation of powers, checks-and-balances are inherent in the constitution.
12. Federal Executive Bodies were established, e.g. Code of Conduct Bureau, Council of State, Federal Character Commission, Federal Civil Service Commission, etc.
The London Constitutional Conference and the Republican constitution
*****LONDON CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE OF 1958*****
*****RESOLUTIONS OF THE CONFERENCE*****
The following resolutions reached at the conference; that,
1. Northern region should become self-governing in 1959.
2. A list of Fundamental Human Rights should be enshrined in the constitution.
3. Provisions to regulate the procedure for amending the constitution and altering regional boundaries should be entrenched in the constitution.
4. There would be a new federal parliament in early 1960.
5. As for independence, Her Majesty`s government should pass a bill to enable the federation become independent on October 1, 1960.
*****RESULTS OF THE 1959 GENERAL ELECTIONS*****
After the 1959 general elections the following results emerged;
1. The Northern People`s Congress (NPC) won 142 seats.
2. The National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) and northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) merger won 89 seats.
3. The Action Group secured 73 seats. Since no party secured the absolute majority as stipulated by the electoral law, no party won the election.
*****THE INDEPENDENCE CONSTITUTION OF 1960*****
Before the constitution was given, a plebiscite was held in Southern Cameroun to ascertain their willingness to join the Republic of Cameroun.
The constitution had the following provisions/features;
1. The constitution established a parliamentary democracy with a bi-cameral legislature.
2. The executive authority was vested in the Queen who was represented by the Governor-General.
3. A full cabinet government was established and the Federal Executive Council was headed by the Prime Minister appointed by the Governor-General.
4. A Judicial Service Commission was set up to advice on the appointment of judges.
5. It also provided for the procedure to be followed in creation of new regions.
6. The Governor-General was the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and exercised prerogative of mercy.
7. The Committee of the Privy Council in London was still the highest court of appeal.
8. All regional legislature was bi-cameral.
*****Merits of the Independence Constitution (1960)*****
1. It ushered Nigeria into her political independence in1960.
2. The government of Nigeria became elected by Nigerians.
3. It ensured political stability by retaining and safeguarding the existing regions and their boundaries.
4. Many employment opportunities were created for Nigerians in the civil service.
5. It qualified Nigeria to join international organizations as an independent state.
*****Demerits/Weaknesses of the Constitution*****
1. Senators were not elected but appointed by the regional government.
2. The minority issues and revenue allocation were not resolved.
3. The Queen of England remained the constitutional ceremonial Head of state of Nigeria.
4. The constitution was drafted in London for Nigeria.
5. The Northern region was allowed to retain its size which was bigger than the East and West put together.
6. The Privy Council in London remained the highest judicial court of Nigeria and cases were referred to it for final adjudication.
7. Britain still interfered with Nigeria`s internal affairs with the Queen as the Head of state.
*****REPUBLICAN CONSTITUTION OF 1963*****
The constitution came into effect as a result of the all-party conference held in 1963 in which Nigeria became a federal republic within the Commonwealth on October 1, 1963.
*****Features of The Republican Constitution Of 1963*****
The constitution had the following features;
1. There was full independence as the Queen ceased to be the Head of state of Nigeria.
2. The Federal Supreme Court of Nigeria became the highest court in Nigeria.
3. The post of Governor-General became President.
4. Fundamental Human Rights were entrenched in the constitution.
5. The constitution provided for revenue allocation to be on the basis of Ned, National Interest and Balanced Development.
6. It established a Judicial Service Commission to appoint, transfer and promote judges.
7. The president was to be elected and could be removed by the parliament.
*****Role of the Prime Minister in the 1963 Constitution*****
The teacher explains the following role of the Prime Minister as provided by the constitution;
1. He advised the President on the appointment and removal of the federal ministers.
2. He was the liaison officer between the president and the government as well as the people.
3. He advised the president on other appointments such as; Board Chairmen, Diplomats, etc.
4. He presided over the Council of Ministers.
5. As the primus inter pares, once his office became vacant offices of the other federal ministers become vacant.
*****Merits of the Constitution*****
1. The constitution provided for more state creation.
2. It provided for an acceptable revenue allocation formula.
3. Nigeria had full political independence.
4. The Supreme Court became the highest court of appeal in Nigeria
*****Demerits/Weaknesses of the Constitution*****
1. There was no complete separation of powers in the government.
2. The constitution did not provide for the independence of the judiciary.
3. It failed to remove Nigeria completely from the strong influence of Britain by allowing Nigeria to remain a member of Commonwealth.
4. The constitution made state creation difficult thereby making northern to remain larger than east, west and mid-west region put together.
The London Conference and the Lyttleton Constitution
After the colonial rule of John Macpherson, Lyttleton stepped up with his constitution and began to rule Nigeria in the year of 1954. I hope that you can recall from my former article that some conferences were held to remedy the Nigerian citizens and enable them to be part of the affairs of the country. One of those conferences was the London Conference which was held in 1953. Lets look into today's topic.
*****THE LONDON CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE OF 1953*****
Following the breakdown of Macpherson constitution, a constitutional conference was called for in London by the Secretary of States, Oliver Littleton, between 30th July and August, 1953. The aim of the conference was for a new constitution that would grant greater autonomy to the regions without much interruptions from the center.
*****Delegates to the Conference*****
The delegates were 19 in number, distributed as follows;
1. 6 from each of the 3 regions.
2. 1 from Cameroun.
3. 1 person from N.C.N.C (Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe)
4. 1 person from the Action Group (Chief Obafemi Awolowo)
5. 1 person from the N.P.C (Sir Ahmadu Bello, the sarduana of Sokoto)
and 6. 39 Advisers.
*****Terms of Reference to the Conference*****
The terms of reference were, to;
1. Identify the defects of Macpherson constitution.
2. Consider changes required to remedy these defects.
3. Consider the steps required to put the changes into effect.
4. Consider the question of independence in 1956.
*****Resolutions of the Conference*****
The conference then resolved that;
1. There should be a federal system of government with functions divided into Exclusive, Concurrent and Residual lists.
2. Lieutenant-Governors were to be called Governors while the Governor were to be called Governor-General.
3. A separate region to be created for the southern Cameroun.
4. Lagos was to be neutralized and separated from western region as a federal territory.
5. Britain was to grant self-government to desiring regions.
*****LYTTLETON CONSTITUTION OF 1954*****
The Lyttleton constitution was the outcome of the London conference of 1953 and ushered in a true federal structure in Nigeria. It provided for the Council of
Ministers, Central legislature and division of powers between the centre and the regions.
*****Features of Lyttleton Constitution*****
1. The constitution classified government powers into three namely; the Exclusive, Concurrent and residual powers. Exclusive list was for the central government alone, Concurrent list was for centre and the regions while Residual list of powers was for the regional government alone.
2. A true federal system of government with the region as unit was introduced by the constitution.
3. It provided for a three-regional federal structure for Nigeria.
4. Lagos was made the federal capital territory independent of western region.
5. A Court of Appeal was set up in each region.
6. The membership of the House of Representatives was increased from 148-184 with members directly elected by the electorate.
7. Legislative and Executive Councils were established in each region.
8. Eastern region was granted bi-cameral legislature.
9. Posts of the regional Premiers were created for each region.
10.There were no uniform electoral laws for all the regions.
*****Merits of Lyttleton Constitution*****
1. Federalism came into actual existence in Nigeria by division of powers across the tires of government.
2. It introduced direct election into the political system.
3. It attracted the first General elections in 1954.
4. The Governors and Governor-General were removed from the legislature.
5. Office of the Premier were established for effective governance at the regions.
6. There was proper division of functions into exclusive, concurrent and residual lists.
*****Demerits/Weaknesses of the Constitution*****
1. The constitution had no provision for the Prime Minister at the centre, therefore, the Governor-General controlled the Council of Ministers.
2. There was no uniform electoral law as each region made its own laws.
3. Official members were retained at central and regional legislature.
4. There was no provision for second chamber at the centre.
5. The Governors and Governor-General still retained their veto powers and could still legislate for the governance of the country.
*****THE LONDON CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE OF 1957*****
Resolutions of the Conference
1. The East and West were to become self-governing in 1957, while the north will become self-governing in 1959.
2. The House of Representative was to be increased from 184-320 members.
3. Office of the Prime Minister was created at the centre.
4. The un-cameral legislature was retained at the centre.
5. Delimitation of the country into constituencies was approved and the country was to be divided into 320 single member constituencies.
6. A permanent electoral commission was to be set up.
7. Southern Cameroun was regionalised with their own Premier but Northern
Cameroun wanted to remain part of Nigeria.
Another conference was held in 1958 so let us look at it briefly.
*****THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE OF 1958*****
The aim of this conference was to give finishing touches for Nigeria`s independence.
*****Resolutions of the Conference*****
1. A long list of Fundamental Human Rights was drawn to be entrenched the constitution to allay the fears of the minority.
2. October 1, 1960 was accepted for as the Independence Day for Nigeria.
3. Procedure for amending the constitution and altering regional boundaries were also to be entrenched in the constitution.
The Collapse of the Macpherson Constitution
Along the line some things got wrong with the constitution. Lets emphasize on it.
*****COLLAPSE OR BREAKDOWN OF MACPHERSON’S CONSTITUTION*****
In spite of all the consultations made and the introduction of unofficial majority by the constitution, it still collapsed in 1953. Some of the causes of its collapse were; the exclusion of Nnamdi Azikiwe from the House of Representatives, the crisis in the Eastern House of Assembly, 1956 motion for self-government and the Kano Riot of 1953.
1. The Exclusion of Nnamdi Azikiwe from The House of Representative: three major political parties; NCNC, Action Group and the NPC contested election into the western region house of assembly. Nnamdi Azikiwe won his seat in Lagos, but the Action Group excluded him from the House of Representatives and that made the NCNC representatives in the house threatened to boycott the house.
2. Crisis in The Eastern House of Assembly: the eastern region crisis was as a result of the internal crisis in the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroun (NCNC) caused by
(i) the inability of the party members in the West to elect Zik( Nnamdi Azikiwe) to the central legislature.
(ii) the party members did not agree on the continual support of Macpherson`s constitution. Debate on whether to continue its support led to divisions in the Eastern House of Assembly and its eventual dissolution 6th May, 1953.
3. The 1956 Motion for Self-Government: on 1st April 1953, chief Anthony Enahoro, a member of Action Group political party from western region asked that the House of Representatives accept `as a primary political objective the attainment of self-government for Nigeria in 1956`.Northern leaders in the legislature objected to the motion and the council of ministers became divided. Sir Ahmadu Bello suggested that the motion be changed to read that the House of Representatives accept `as a primary objective the attainment of self-government for Nigeria as soon as practicable`. This led to the resignation of the Action Group members of the council of ministers. Consequently, the House went on recess to enable the legislators liaise with their constituents on the question of independence in 1956. The northern legislators were attacked in Lagos because of their stand on Enahoro`s motion.
4. The Kano Riot of 1953: the NCNC and the Action Group parliamentarians decided to send a delegation to the north to educate them on the need for self- government in 1956. The purpose of the delegation was to make sure that the view of the NPC leaders on independence actually represented northern opinion. An attempt to address a rally in Kano on May, 1953 resulted in the Kano Riot of 1953 in retaliation for what the northern delegates suffered in Lagos. After the riot, the northerners threatened to secede and came with an eight-point Programme designed to severe relationship with the south. On 21st May, 1953, the secretary of State for the colonies, Oliver
Lyttleton announced in the House of Commons in London that a new constitution would be worked out for Nigeria.
Ibadan Conference and the Macpherson Constitution
In the descending order Hugh Clifford was the first colonial governor of Nigeria and the name of his law is the Clifford Constitution. Check out my last article to view that later. The next colonial governor after him was Arthur Richard but I could not gather enough data on him which I will do later. Lets look at Sir John Macpherson whose constitution name was the Macpherson Constitution. The Ibadan Conference was a conference held to remedy the Nigerian citizens and give them a hand in the administration and affairs of the country. Back then Nigeria citizens had no control of the affairs of the state so different conferences were held in order to resolve some problems happening in the country. Lets look into the topic.
*****IBADAN CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE (1950)*****
Sir John Macpherson became colonial Governor of Nigeria in 1948 and initiated moves towards constitutional changes due to the complaints against the Richards constitution. The draft of Macpherson was therefore debated at the village, district, provincial and regional level, then later on at a General conference held in Ibadan in January 1950.
*****Recommendations of the Conference*****
The conference recommended the following, that;
1. Lagos should be carved out of western region constituted into a federal territory.
2. There should be equal representation of the north and south in the central legislature.
3. In case of conflict in the concurrent list, that the regional laws should supersede.
4. The center shall have veto power over regional bills.
5. Nigeria be divided into three regions with regional autonomy.
6. The constitution should allow the creation of a larger legislative council with increased legislative powers.
7. Nigerians to be given ministerial appointment to enable them participate in decision making.
8. A central legislature known as House of Representatives and a central Executive called Council of Ministers to be established.
9. A Public Service Commission should be established to take care of recruitment, promotion and disciplining public servants.
10. After the conference, a new constitution came in 1951.
*****MACPHERSON CONSTITUTION OF 1951*****
Sir John Macpherson who replaced Arthur Richards took time to seek public opinion before drawing up a new constitution. Thus the constitution was debated at the village, province and regional levels to ensure that the people were carried along.
*****Major Provisions/Features of the Constitution*****
The constitution made the following provisions;
1. Central Legislative council: the central legislative council was renamed the House of Representatives, which was composed of the Governor, 6 ex officio members,136 members of the House elected through the Regional Houses and 6 special nominees of the Governor. Among the 136 representative members, the North sent 68 members while the East and West sent 34 each.
2. The Central Executive Council: the council was later known as Council of Ministers. Made up of the Governor who presided over it. 6 ex officio members and 12 ministers with 4 ministers from each of the three regions. The ministers were appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the regional legislators.
3. Regional Executive Council: The North and West regional legislatures were Bi-Cameral-House of Assembly and House of Chiefs while the Eastern region had a unicameral, the House of Assembly.
4. Public Service Commission- a Public Service Commission was established to take charge of the appointment, discipline, promotion and dismissal of public officers.
5. Powers of Regional Legislature: regional legislature could only legislate on certain prescribed matters such as; agriculture, education, local government, etc.
*****Merits/Importance of Macpherson Constitution*****
1. The constitutional proposal was debated at various levels of the Country thereby seeking people`s opinion and that was an improvement over the Richards constitution.
2. It recognized the diversity of the country and improved on regional devolution of powers.
3. The constitution created the office of the Speaker to preside over the legislature.
4. Bi-cameral legislature was extended to the West as it was in the North.
5. It increased the legislative powers of the region and the centre.
6. Nigerians were appointed ministers.
7. It introduced a revenue allocation formula based on the principles of Derivation, Needs and National Interest
*****Demerits/Weaknesses of Macpherson Constitution*****
1. Nigerian ministers were made responsible only for one or more matters instead of the whole departments. They had no executive control over their ministries. (This shows lack of confidence in the ability of Nigerian politicians)
2. Election of legislators were through indirect electoral system (Electoral College) which did not allow for truly free and fair elections.
3. The constitution had contradiction in the sense that the North and West had bi-cameral legislature while the center and the East had unicameral.
4. There was no provision for the post of a Prime Minister at the center and regional Premiers.
5. The executive presided over by the governor at the center was powerless and fell short of a cabinet form.
6. The Governor still retained veto power-could select some officials into the legislature.
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Please I want you to understand what I mean by the merits and the demerits of a particular constitutions. Different constitutions have their objectives but when they cannot meet up with those objectives then they have failed it. Those objectives they failed to bring into action are called Demerits or weaknesses. Then does objectives that were achieved are the Merits of that particular constitution.
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Constitutional Development in Nigeria and The Nigerian Council
In my Government lessons in Nigeria I was though about the various constitutions that were developed in Nigeria. There were different colonial master that ruled Nigeria and they all ruled with different laws and constitutions. It all started off with the first colonial master by the name Hugh Clifford whose constitution was named the Clifford Constitution. Let us treat here and now.
*****NIGERIAN COUNCIL OF 1914*****
*****Composition of the Nigerian Council of 1914*****
The Council was composed of the following; 36 members, the majority of whom were European or White officials who represented various interests, 2 Emirs from the north, the Alaafin of Oyo, Secretaries of the two provinces and 2 members each from Lagos, Calabbar and Benin-Warri area. The Council was an Advisory body to the colonial government.
*****Weaknesses of the Nigerian Council*****
The Council had the following weaknesses;
1. The Council was merely an advisory body.
2. The Council had no legislative powers.
3. Nigerians were unofficial members.
*****CLIFFORD CONSTITUTION OF 1922*****
When Sir Hugh Clifford took over from Fredrick Lugard, he considered the Nigerian Council inadequate for the administration of Nigeria and introduced a new constitution which was the first formal constitution for the country.
*****Features/Significance of the Constitution*****
1. Introduction of the first elective principle in Nigeria and in West Africa. (later in Gold Coast in 1925 and Sierra Leone in 1924)
2. A Legislative Council was set up with 46 members-27 official and 19 unofficial members.
3. There was an Executive Council composed of mainly white officials.
4. The legislative council legislated only for the southern province.
5. Laws for the north were made by Governor`s proclamations.
6. There were no Africans in the executive council.
7. It divided the north and south into provinces.
*****DEMERITS OF CLIFFORD CONSTITUTION*****
1. The exclusion of the north from the administration of Nigeria was seen as a reflection of the British principle of divide and rule.
2. By allowing only male adults with an income level of £100 pounds per annum to vote disenfranchised many Nigerians.
3. The governor retained veto power over executive and legislative councils.
4. It excluded Nigerians from the executive council.
5. The constitution vested much power on the governor including legislating for the northern Nigeria.
6. The majority of Nigerian un-official members nominated into the legislative council were illiterates.
7. The constitution excluded Nigerians from the executive council.
8. The constitution did not extend elective principle to the executive council.
Conflict and Conflict Resolution
Today I am going to talk much on conflict its types and how it can be resolves. This topic is not new to anyone here or is there a novice to this topic? Conflict is simply when there is no peace in a country or it can even be present in anyone's individual and social life. Conflict is also a state in which there is no unity but anarchy and doom. So there are many definitions of this term but I would like to look into a simple one. Let me get back to my topic.
*****Definition of Conflict:*****
Conflict is the disagreement among groups or individuals characterized by antagonism and hostility. Conflict is usually fueled by the opposition of one party to another in an attempt to achieve an objective different from that of the other party.
*****Types of Conflict:*****
Conflicts can be classified into the following four types;
1. ****Inter-personal Conflict****: interpersonal conflict refers to a conflict between two individuals. This occurs when people are different from one another. We have varied personalities or individual differences which result to incompatible opinions and choices.
2. ****Intra-Personal Conflict:**** intrapersonal conflict occurs within an individual, it takes place in the person’s mind. It is a type of conflict that is that is psychological, it involves an individual’s thought, values, principles and emotions. It happens when you find it difficult to decipher your inner struggles, thus, it can lead to depression.
3. ****Intra-Group Conflict:**** is a type of conflict that happens among individuals within a team. The incompatibilities and misunderstandings among those individuals lead to intra-group conflict. It may lead to tension among the members of the group.
4. ****Inter-Group Conflict:**** inter-group conflict takes place when a misunderstanding arises among different teams within an organization. E.g. the sales department of an organization can come in conflict with the customer support department, due to the varied of the sets of goals of the departments.
*****Causes or Sources of Conflict*****
1 ****Economic Conflict/ Factor****: this is brought about by the availability of limited resources which results in the group or individuals involved coming into conflict to attain the of the limited resources. Thus, bringing forth hostile behaviors among those involved.
2 ****Value Conflict or Factor****: is concerned with the varied preferences and ideologies people have as their principles. Here, separate parties have sets of beliefs they profess violently.
3 ****Power Conflict /Factor****: occurs when the parties involved intends to maximize the influence it has in the social setting. Such situation can arise among individuals, groups or even countries. In other sources or causes of conflict, power is also evident because every conflict involves the exerting of influence over another.
*****CONFLICT RESOLUTION*****
Conflict resolution is finding a peaceful solution to individuals and groups that are in conflict. Conflict resolution or management require the application of different conflict management styles such as: Accommodating, Avoiding, Collaborating, Competing and Compromising.
*****Conflict Management Styles (How to Deal with Conflict)*****
1. ****Accommodating****: accommodating means having to deal with the conflict with an element of sacrifice and selflessness. It involves the mediator setting aside his own concerns in order to maintain peace in the conflict situation.
2. ****Avoiding****: in this approach, there is a withdrawal from the conflict. The problem is being dealt with through a passive attitude. The individuals end up ignoring the problem so that the parties involved in it will feel that you are neglecting the problem. However, this may not be applicable in all conflict situations.
3. ****Collaborating****: collaborating aims at finding a solution to the conflict through cooperating with other parties involved. In this style, effort is exerted in digging into the issue to identify the needs of the individuals concerned without removing their respective interests from the picture.
4. ****Competing****: competition here involves authoritative behaviors. Here, the aggressive individual aims to instill pressure on the parties to achieve a goal. Care is taken to deal with the conflict with an open mind.
5. ****Compromising****: compromising is coming up with a resolution that would be acceptable to the parties involved to the end that one party is willing to sacrifice his or their own set of goals as long as the others will do the same. It is a mutual give-and –take scenario.
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So today we have seen the the meaning, types and causes of conflict and also the way it can be resolved. Conflict is just like a natural phenomenon. It must be present wherever you go but the important thing is not causing the conflict or adding to it. The most important thing is trying your best to resolve the matter. LEARN FROM THIS ARTICLE.
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Bye.
Importance of Inter-Communal Relationship
1) It promotes Development: when good relationship exists among the various groups that made up a given society, it paves way for better understanding, infrastructural development such as durable road network, portable water supply, result oriented educational institutions, etc.
2) Security of Life and Property: this is guaranteed when there is good inter-communal relationship among the people. The legislature makes laws, the executive implements while the Judiciary interprets, all for the good governance of the people.
3) Stimulates Human Development: healthy inter-communal relationship stimulates human development. graduate from various educational institutions will feature in the world market with employable skills which will result in food security and technological development.
4) It Springs up Business Activities: good inter-communal relationship creates room for Contact Change. Contact change is the transformation that takes place as a result interaction with external groups. It can start with exchange of ideas, information, goods and services and grow into the establishment of small, medium or large scale industries.
5) It Promotes Stimulus and Satisfaction: good inter-communal relationship stimulates individual members to bring out the best in themselves. Satisfaction at the other end goes on to reinforce repetition of actions that are rewarding, this will sustain growth and development in the society.
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Now we have seen what comes out or what are the results of Inter-communal relationship. When this is achieved why can't peace and unity be enclosed in that country.
Relationship between a Man and a Woman
I have moved into the next phase of my topic Inter-personal relationship. The next chapter now is all about marriage and all to consider before entering into the a relationship. Let me Begin.
Man in this context refers to adult male human being, a young man capable of performing functions in social, cultural, economic and political spheres of life. While woman refers to an adult female human being who is mature enough to perform the social, cultural, political, economic and domestic functions.
Inter-relationship between a man and a woman start with courtship which results to marriage. Marriage is a social institution that gives a man and a woman right to live together as husband and wife and bear children.
*****Factors to Be Considered Before Entering into Marriage*****
1) Character: there is need for a couple to know and each other very well understand each other’s strength and weaknesses before getting into marriage.
2) Physical Fitness: this factor is important but should not be considered much above love, trust, tolerance and understanding.
3) Age and Mental Fitness: the couple should be of age to face the challenges of marriage. However, age differences should not be a barrier to any marriage.
4) Genetic Consideration: medical tests help to determine whether the intending couple are compatible or not. E.g. blood group, genotype, HIV etc.
5) Finance: both partners should have some reliable means of livelihood. They should be equipped to face and resolve their financial needs in marriage.
*****Purpose of Marriage*****
1) Marriage offers respect and dignity to both the man and woman. Married men and women are respected in the society
2) Society is maintained and sustained through procreation.
3) It brings different families together which promotes the growth of extended family relationship.
4) Marriage encourages the inheritance and sustenance of family lineage.
5) It provides the couple with companionship and emotional stability.
*****Relationship Between Individuals and Government*****.
There are certain responsibilities called duties and obligations required of a citizen living in any country in order to ensure harmonious relationship between the government and the people. Those DUTIES and OBLIGATIONS are;
1) Obedience to Law: citizens must obey all laws, rules and regulations made by the government of the state or country.
2) Respect for Constituted Authority: citizens must respect the Head of State and all those in constituted authority.
3) Loyalty to the Leaders: citizens must demonstrate their loyalty to their community leadership as well as the government. This is done by being good listeners and followers.
4) Payment of Tax: Individuals should pay their taxes and rates, license fees, business premises, etc. to enable the government provide amenities for the people.
5) Voting During Elections: citizens should participate in politics by voting for the candidates of their choice under a free and fair atmosphere. This makes for smooth governance as democracy begins with unrestricted franchise.
6) Willingness to Defend the Country: able-bodies citizens should be ready at all times to be enlisted in Armed Forces to join in fighting for the defense of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of his country.
7) Readiness to Serve the Nation: all graduates must participate in the compulsory National Youth Service organized by the NYSC in order to contribute to the national integration, unity and economy of the country.
8) Respect for National Symbols: individual citizens must show respect for the national symbols such as; the National Flag, National Anthem, the National Pledge, National Coat of Arm, the Nigerian Currency, etc. these symbols are unifying factors for Nigeria.
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I am meant to have released this article a few days before this but due to some reasons I failed to do so. Please forgive me for that. Here is the article just right at your screen if you clicked it.
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Inter-Communal Relationship and Skills used in resolving Inter-Communal Conflicts
First, Communal relationship is the in which two people, groups or countries behave towards each other or deal with one another.
Then Intercommunal Relationship is the interaction which exists between individuals, groups, organizations, etc. that share social interests, goals, aspirations and feelings in a given area or place. There are various levels of inter-communal relationship and they are; rural, urban, national and international levels.
1) Rural Level- at the rural level, there are socio-cultural, economic and political interactions within and outside rural communities in some of the following ways;
(a) inter-communal trading activities.
(b) Marriage.
(c) Disputes over farmlands.
(d) Clashes which may result in death of many people.
(e) Cultural festivals.
(f) Co-operation in the provision of social amenities.
(g) Struggle for power and community leadership.
2) Urban Level-
(a) Supply of agricultural products such as yam, cocoyam, cassava, rice, beans, vegetable, plantain, palm oil, etc. to urban areas.
(b) Supply of cheap labour from rural areas to urban areas.
(c) Urban areas develop modern building plans which are copied by the rural people.
(d) Urban areas return finished products like beverages, electronics, automobiles, textiles, etc. to the rural area.
3) National Level- at the national level, inter-communal relationships exist among various subdivisions of the country. E.g.
(a) Trading activities across the state boundaries take place in products like; palm oil, groundnut, vegetable, rice, beans, yam, etc.
(b) Marriage Relationship take place across different ethnic groups, this promotes understanding, national integration and unity in diversity.
(c) National Sports Festivals and carnivals bring different ethnic groups and states to a common environment devoid of politics. Participation cuts across ethnic groups based on relevant skills.
4) Inter-relationship Between Nations and International Communities- Different nations make up the world community, so as rural and urban communities need one another for survival so do countries of the world need one another.
Independent nations of the world are all in a relationship known as interdependence of nations which was borne out of the fact that no nation is self-sufficient.
Nations have what another nation do not have and need what the nation has while the other nation needs what the nation in question has. This brought about the need for exchange of human and material resources among countries of the world.
*****Some examples of International relationships are as follows;*****
(a) the United Nations Organization (U.N.O)
(b) Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
(c) African Union (AU)
(d) the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
*****SKILLS FOR RESOLVING INTER-COMMUNAL CONFLICTS*****
In order to bring the society to normalcy, the following skills are applied: Dialogue, Mediation, Conciliation, Grassroots community based activities, Good Governance and Communication.
1) ****Dialogue****: dialogue is a formal discussion between two groups or countries, especially when they are trying to solve a problem and a dispute. Dialogue can be in the form of Negotiation and Collaboration. Negotiation is a structured process of dialogue between conflicting parties about issues in which their opinions differ. While Collaboration is a process in which parties to a conflict work together on their own to resolve to resolve problems through constructive dialogue, projects like sharing of community schools and health centers, bridges, markets, etc. collaboration helps to build trust, confidence and mutual respect and it can take Inter-personal, Group, Community National, Regional and International levels.
2) ****Mediation****: mediation refers to any process for resolving disputes, quarrels, problems or misunderstanding in which another person helps them negotiate a settlement.
*****Types of Mediators*****
(a) ****Social Network Mediators****- social network mediators are individuals or groups who share common values or interests in relationship with the disputing persons.
(b) ****Authoritative Mediators****- these are persons who control resources or means which the parties in conflict value so much. They occupy positions of relative importance and power with disputing parties within the organization.
(c) ****Independent Mediators****- these are neutral individuals, groups or organizations that have no vested interest on any of the issues in conflict. They are experts and professionals in conflict resolution.
3) ****Conciliation****: conciliation is a third party activity which covers intermediary efforts aimed at persuading the parties to a conflict to work towards a peaceful solution. It involves persuasion.
4) ****Good Governance****: this implies running of the affairs of government in a positive and progressive manner that the citizens will benefit from. Inter- communal relationship is best maintained when there is even development and widespread of infrastructural needs of the masses.
5) ****Grassroots Community Based Activities****: festivals like the new yam festival among the Igbos, argungu fishing festival among the hausa/fulanis all of Nigeria, etc. helps to strengthen peace and unity among the people,# thereby promoting positive inter-communal relationship.
6) ****Communication****: mutual exchange and sharing of information can help to remove doubt or suspicion and contribute to the process of confidence building. Poor or absence of communication can lead to misinterpretation of the needs and feelings of one another and provoke negative feelings and ill will.
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As you all writers can see even to my sight this is a Nigerian-based article. The "argungu fishing festival" and "Hausa/fulani" are all Nigerian terms.
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The Duties of Government to the People
In response to the incident that has been happening in Nigeria it will be important to know why the government was given power. Different political parties organize campaigns or manifestos saying that they will do all sorts of good things. Some say they will improve the country's infrastructure, they will promote economic development but none ever really know the best services to give your citizens. There are simply little important duties the government can provide before moving to other irrelevant things. Lets look at those duties the government are to offer to the people.
*****DUTIES OF GOVERNMENT TOWARDS THE CITIZENS*****
As the citizens perform their duties and obligations which we have discussed earlier, the government on its on part carry out the following duties in maintain a mutual and cordial relationship with the citizens.
1) Law-Making: the government through the legislature makes laws to regulate conduct of her citizens in the country.
2) Maintenance of Law and Order: it is the responsibility of government to maintain peace, law and order through the establishment of the police and the judiciary.
3) Protection of Life and Property: life and property of citizens are to be protected by the law enforcement agents and the law courts.
4) Policy Formulation: it is the duty of the government to formulate policies, programmes for the good governance of the citizens.
5) Defence: the government through a well-equipped Armed Forces defends the citizens against any external aggression.
6) Provision of Social Services: it is the responsibility of the government to provide functional social amenities such as schools, hospitals, electricity, drinkable water, good roads, etc.
7) Maintenance of Diplomatic Relations: it is the duty of the government to maintain cordial relations with other countries, establish embassies and cater for the interest of her citizens both at home and in diaspora(Abroad).
8) Responsibility: the government should conduct a free, fair and credible election to ensure smooth transition from civil rule to civil rule. it creates conducive atmosphere for partisan politics.
*****SKILLS THAT PROMOTE INTER-PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP*****
The following are skills that promote interpersonal relationship in the society:
1) Honesty.
2) Tolerance.
3) Kindness.
4) Caring.
5) Patience.
****Honesty**** is the attribute of being truthful, sincere and straightforward in one’s dealings with people. An honest person is a principled person who cannot be influenced or bought over on issues.
****Tolerance**** is the ability or willingness of someone or a group to accept other peoples’ opinion, ideas or behavior even when one may not agree with such opinion. It is being accommodating towards other people’s shortcomings or excesses.
****Kindness**** is the quality of treating people with considerations and it promotes interpersonal relationship. A kind person is humane and does not hesitate to help those in need.
****Caring**** is the quality of being helpful and kind to others. A caring person renders unsolicited help to others, e.g. helping the sick, the old, physically challenged as well people in various kinds of help or support.
****Patience**** is the ability to stay calm and accept a delay or something irritating without complaining. Interpersonal relationship requires patience.
Interpersonal Relationship
*****Meaning:*****
Interpersonal relationship is the interaction that exists between persons in a social setting or in an organization or institution. It could also be said to be mutual or cordial relationship that exists between people despite differences in race, age, tribe, religious or political affiliation.
*****Forms of Interpersonal Relationships*****
1) Co-operation: this has to do with the ability to work together towards a shared aim or goal. It is the willingness to work together with people to achieve those things we cannot achieve as individuals.
2) Competition: a social situation in which individuals and groups compete with each other or among one another for something that not everyone can have. It can bring joy and promote love.
3) Conflict: this is a state of quarrel or confusion. Conflict does not permit atmosphere of progress, unity, co-operation and love in any society.
4) Coercion: this is the act of making someone do something against his will which involves the use of force or threats. Sometimes, some of our law enforcement agents are guilty of this.
5) Exchange: exchange involves the act of giving something to somebody in return for good or services rendered. It can also apply in commercial sense where people exchange money for goods or goods for goods. Exchange makes trade and businesses to be smooth and meaningful.
*****Types of interpersonal Relationships*****
1) Relationship Among Peers: remember that peers refer to playmates usually of age brackets either within one’s immediate community or inter-community or school community. Peers spend time together in the classroom, play ball together, etc. peers can influence their mates positively and negatively.
*****Positive Peer Influence*******:**
here are some of the positive influence of peer grouping:
a) Quick speech development and understanding of language.
b) Development of team spirit.
c) Social development and integration.
d) Good followership qualities are developed.
e) Getting to know how to receive information.
f) Social development and integration.
*****Disruptive or Negative Influence of Peer Grouping*****
a) Negative influence of telling lies.
b) Pilfering or stealing.
c) Engaging in drug use and abuse.
d) Smoking of dangerous substances.
e) Sexual immorality.
f) Examination malpractice.
Factors Working Against Road Safety Activities In Nigeria
If you notice I have been emphasizing more on trafficking. This is because there are many cases surrounding this topic globally. Now I would not say it is an African-based article but European and Asia. Actually most of this cases happen more there than over here in Africa. Lets get back to the topic.
There are many factors hindering the efforts of our government through its numerous agencies in making our roads safe and in reducing road traffic accidents. Some of them are:
1) Bribery: some Road Marshals and FRSC officials take bribe from traffic offenders and motorists who contravened traffic laws. Here, both giver and the receiver are wrong.
2) Funding: government spends more funds attending to major health challenges such as HIV/AIDS, COVID-19 pandemic, etc. than in sponsoring road safety projects, traffic management and maintenance.
3) Illiteracy: some motorists are not educated as to have knowledge of traffic regulations or interpret road signs. They therefore drive recklessly and carelessly which can cause accidents.
4) Poor Maintenance Culture: many motorists do not pay attention to faults and servicing of their vehicles, in some cases as a result of poor economic situation or low per capita income.
5) Driving Schools: many of the driving schools we have in Nigeria are neither registered with the ministry of education nor registered properly regulated and monitored by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), for this reason so many inexperienced and poorly trained drivers are on the high way.
6) Inadequate Communication and Operational Facilities; such as ambulances, safety kits and other rescue equipment, all slow down the effective performance of road safety.
7) Inadequate Personnel or Manpower: there are not enough FRSC officers to man the vast road and increasing number of vehicles on the Nigerian roads.
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Bribery is a factor that is killing the Nigerian citizens in fact this is what gingered the protests and all that has been happening. I pray all this will be eradicated soon enough. Police officials stop cars or public transport buses just to collect a small amount of money from road users.
Traffic Offences
Traffic offences are that offences that infringe on traffic regulations. There are traffic offences that attract between 6 months to 5-years imprisonment depending on the particular one committed by the road user.
*****Some of the offences are;*****
1) Reckless and dangerous driving
2) Negligent or dangerous driving.
3) Drunk driving.
4) Motor traffic homicide- killing someone through negligent driving (manslaughter under criminal penal code)
5) Over-speeding.
6) Dangerous overtaking.
7) Failure to obey road signs.
8) Driving without driver’s license, etc.
*****Roles of individual in maintain*****
1) People should consider other road users who equally have the right of way.
2) Individuals should walk on pedestrian pathway or pavement where available.
3) Individuals should wear reflective garments while walking in the night.
4) They should not play along the road.
5) Should do traffic drills before crossing the road.
6) Should make use of seat belt as a driver and as passengers for their safety.
*****Roles of Government in maintaining Traffic Regulations*****
1) Government must carry out regular maintenance of roads.
2) Traffic officers should always patrol the roads to ensure that road users obey traffic rules.
3) Driver’s licenses should be inspected on regular basis to determine the suitability of its holders.
4) Traffic regulators should avoid corrupt practices in discharging their duties.
*****Agencies That Enforce Traffic Laws:*****
**THE FEDERAL ROAD SAFETY CORPS (FRSC)**
The FRSC was established as a paramilitary outfit through the Road Traffic Act CAP 141 of 1990 with the aim of ensuring the safe use of highways in Nigeria.
*****Functions of the FRSC in Nigeria*****
1) To enforce and revise traffic laws and regulations.
2) To reduce accidents on or highways.
3) Carrying out research on causes road accident and ways of preventing accidents.
4) To determine and enforce speed limit for different vehicles.
5) Educate the public on the proper use of roads and safety measures.
6) Ensure proper registration of vehicles and issuance of driver’s license.
7) To ensure that the highways are free from obstructions.
**THE VEHICLE INSPECTION OFICER (VIO)**
The VIO maintains traffic regulations by ensuring that vehicles are road worthy through regular inspection.
THE POLICE- help to enforce traffic regulations by arresting any person who contravenes traffic laws. They also control traffic and rescue accident victims.
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