Constitutional Development II – SS2 Government Lesson Note (Second Term)

Constitutional development in Nigeria is the series of changes in the country’s constitution under British rule. This note covers Richard’s Constitution of 1946, the Macpherson Constitution of 1951, the 1953 constitutional conference and the 1954 Lagos conference. Together they moved Nigeria towards federalism and greater self-government.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. State the aims and main features of Richard’s Constitution of 1946.
2. Give the merits and demerits of Richard’s Constitution.
3. Describe the main features of the Macpherson Constitution of 1951.
4. Give the merits and demerits of the Macpherson Constitution.
5. List the agreements reached at the 1953 and 1954 constitutional conferences.

What was Richard’s Constitution of 1946?

During the Second World War (1939-45), Sir Bourdillon was governor of Nigeria. When he retired in 1944, he had almost concluded a constitution in which he proposed regionalism. His successor, Sir Arthur Richard, used his proposals to draft his own constitution.

Richard presented it to the Legislative Council of Nigeria on March 6, 1946. It became a constitution on August 2, 1946 and came into force on January 1, 1947. The new constitution was meant for the unity of Nigeria and encouraged greater participation of Nigerians in their affairs.

Aims and objectives of Richard’s Constitution

1. To create a regional council for the three regions of north, west and east, that is, regionalism.
2. To promote the unity of Nigeria.
3. To allow greater participation of Nigerians in their affairs.
4. To introduce the legislative council to accommodate every section of the Nigerian people.
5. To divide the country into three administrative units: north, east and west.
6. To create constitutional and political links between the native authorities and the legislative council.

Features of Richard’s Constitution

1. The Executive Council: The central executive council had Richard as its president and was dominated by Europeans.
2. The Legislative Council: The Governor was the president and the council was based in Lagos. It allowed a wider representation of Nigerian interests. It had 44 members, made up of 28 non-official members (the majority) and 16 official members (the minority). The composition was:
   • The North had 9 non-official members.
   • The West had 6 non-official members.
   • 4 non-official members were nominated to represent commercial banking and mining.
   • 4 non-official members were elected directly from Lagos and Calabar.
   • 16 official members, 13 of whom were ex-officio and 3 nominated.
3. Voting qualification: The right to vote was restricted to male adults who had lived in the area for 12 months and had a gross income of £50 per annum.
4. House of Assembly or Regional House of Assembly: Assembly members were to be elected by the native authorities, while the regional assembly members were to elect members of the Central Legislative Council (through electoral colleges).
5. The elective principle: The constitution still retained the elective principle with a limited franchise of 3 representatives from Lagos and 1 from Calabar.
6. Legislature: It brought the North and South together under one legislature.
7. Dual membership: Members of the Central Legislative Council were also members of the Regional Council.
8. Nigerians were in the minority in the Central Executive Council.
9. Regionalism: Regions were created out of the former three provinces: Eastern, Western and Northern.

Merits of Richard’s Constitution

1. The constitution brought the North and South together, and this laid the foundation for national unity.
2. Nigerians formed the majority in the legislature, though in an unofficial capacity. They were in the majority for the first time.
3. The constitution introduced a bi-cameral legislature in the North, and so introduced bi-cameralism in Nigeria.
4. Regionalism was introduced in Nigeria, and this was a good achievement of Richard’s Constitution.
5. The constitution laid the foundation for federalism and a federal constitution in the Nigerian political structure.
6. The North and South were integrated for the first time since 1923 for registration and unity purposes.

Demerits of Richard’s Constitution

1. The executive council was still dominated by Europeans, just as in Clifford’s Constitution.
2. The constitution divided the country into three unequal parts by making the northern region larger than the western and eastern regions put together.
3. The three regions, created along the lines of the three major ethnic groups, fanned the flames of tribalism and sectionalism in Nigeria.
4. The £50 income requirement and the restriction to male adults disenfranchised many Nigerians.
5. The constitution introduced regionalism into Nigerian politics, and it has been a problem till today.
6. By giving veto power to the governor, the constitution made a mockery of the non-official majority of Nigerians in the legislative council.
7. The constitution limited the franchise to Lagos and Calabar, while other bigger towns were disenfranchised.
8. Nationalists rejected the constitution because Nigerians were not consulted during the drafting.
9. The constitution gave the government power over the legislative and executive councils, thereby making it autocratic.
10. The nationalists referred to the traditional chiefs who were unofficial members as puppets of the colonial government, because the constitution reinforced the system of indirect rule.

What was the Macpherson Constitution of 1951?

The weaknesses of Richard’s Constitution, the weakness of the imperial powers caused by anti-colonial activities, and the de-mystification of white superiority led to the introduction of a new constitution. Sir John Macpherson became Governor of Nigeria in 1948. He reviewed the 1946 Constitution to avoid the mistakes of Richard’s Constitution. Constitutional conferences held in many parts of the country led to the Macpherson Constitution of 1951.

Features of the Macpherson Constitution

1. The central legislative council: It was renamed the House of Representatives. The president was the Governor and it had 6 ex-official members. 136 representative members came through the regional houses and 6 special members were nominated by the Governor. The North sent 68 members, while the West and East sent 34 each, making up the 136 representatives.
2. The Central Executive Council: This was known as the Council of Ministers. The Governor was the president and there were 6 official members and 12 ministers, 4 from each region. The ministers were in charge of government departments and were appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the regional legislature.
3. The regional legislature: The Northern and Western regions each had a bi-cameral House of Assembly and Chiefs. The Eastern region had only the power to make laws on certain issues like local matters, native courts, health, etc.
4. Regional Executive Council: Each region had an executive council. The Lieutenant Governor was the president and it had 5 official members and 9 ministers. They advised the Governor, but he could accept or reject their advice.
5. The colony of Lagos was part of the Western region.
6. The three provinces were renamed Western, Eastern and Northern regions.
7. The three chief commissioners, one for each province, were renamed Lieutenant Governors.

Merits of the Macpherson Constitution

1. Nigerians took part in the making of the constitution through constitutional conferences.
2. A new central law-making body called the House of Representatives was introduced.
3. The regions were given more powers and made autonomous.
4. The constitution played a great role in the realisation of self-government.
5. The motion for self-government was moved in the House of Representatives and discussed at the 1953 London constitutional conference.
6. The constitution allowed for an increase in elected majorities in both the central and regional legislatures.
7. The constitution encouraged the true spirit of federalism by dividing powers between the central government and the regions and granting a measure of autonomy to the regions.

Demerits of the Macpherson Constitution

1. The constitution did not make provision for the post of prime minister and premier.
2. The constitution did not grant real ministerial responsibility to ministers. They only acted as spokesmen of their ministries in the legislature.
3. The constitution vested too many powers in the Governor.
4. The powers given to the regions to make laws were limited, as their laws had to be approved before they could operate.
5. No single party had a majority in the House of Representatives, so the Council of Ministers was not sure of its policies.
6. The constitution failed to grant political independence to Nigeria, as the nationalists demanded.

What was agreed at the constitutional conference of 1953?

The need for a new constitution arose from the defects of the Macpherson Constitution, which led to its breakdown. The Secretary of State for the Colonies, Oliver Lyttelton, confirmed the change when he announced on May 21, 1953, on the floor of the British House of Commons, that Her Majesty had decided that the Nigerian Constitution would have to be redrawn to provide for greater autonomy.

The conference sat between July 30 and August 22, 1953, and reached the following agreements:

1. A federal system of government should be established.
2. The regional Lieutenant Governors should be called Governors, while the Governor of Nigeria should be called Governor-General.
3. Legislative power should be shared between the federal, state and the federating units.
4. Lagos should be separated from the Western region and made a neutral federal territory.
5. A conference to be held in Lagos in 1954 should ratify a separate regional administration in the Cameroons if the people of the territory expressed their desire through a referendum.
6. Her Majesty’s government would grant self-government in 1956 to those regions which desired it.

What was agreed at the Lagos constitutional conference of 1954?

On January 19, 1954, the Constitutional Conference met again in Lagos to discuss some issues that were not dealt with at the previous conference. The following agreements were reached:

1. Financial resources were to be allocated to the federal and regional governments based on the principle of derivation.
2. The conference recommended that autonomy should be granted to the Southern Cameroons.
3. The judiciary should be regionalised.
4. The police force should be regionalised.
5. Southern Cameroons should remain part of Nigeria’s federation as a quasi-federal territory, but it should have a legislature of its own.

Evaluation

1. State four aims of Richard’s Constitution of 1946.
2. Give four demerits of Richard’s Constitution.
3. Describe the make-up of the House of Representatives under the Macpherson Constitution.
4. List four agreements reached at the 1953 constitutional conference.
5. What was agreed about the judiciary and the police force at the 1954 Lagos conference?

Assignment

1. Give five merits of the Macpherson Constitution of 1951.
2. Explain two reasons why the nationalists rejected Richard’s Constitution.