COMPARISM OF NIG. CONSTITUTIONS

COMPARISM OF THE PRE AND POST-INDEPENDENCE CONSTITUTION OF NIGERIA
Comparism of the Pre-colonial Constitution with the Post independence constitution of Nigeria, with Characteristic and finding answer to why government of the centre has become so powerful vis –a –vis other tiers of government.

In answering the above question, one may need to know briefly what is a constitution and the entity called Nigeria. A constitution is a body of rules, which regulate the conduct of people and government or organization and its members. But for Nigeria, it is a political entity that is a product of the British colonial rule in this part of West Africa in 1861. The country is made up of people with different ethnic, religions and cultural background before the interruption of their individual social processes. They were autonomous and freed societies or groups with their own peculiar and relative administrative system which were not codified in writing but served the desired purpose of administration.

Until the amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914 by Lord Lugard, established the Nigerian Council the country was administered separately as Northern and Southern protectorate and the Lagos Colony. Under this new arrangement the country was now brought under a central administrative system under the leadership of Lord Lugard as the Governor-General, representing the King of England with the necessary delegated powers to administrate.

The constitutions development of Nigeria  was an evolutionary process of different constitutions before and after the independence. The pre-independence constitutions of Nigeria were body of rules impose on the people by the British government. This, there were agitations by Nigeria elites, opposing the different constitution and style of administration.

NIGERIA PRE-INDEPENENCE CONSTITUTIONS

The Clifford Constitution of 1922: The pre-independence constitution was faced with several review and adjustment for the purpose of administrative convenience. The first pre-independence constitution in Nigerian was the Clifford constitution of 1922. This constitution introduce the elective principle by the town council composed of forty-six members, twenty seven of whom including the governor ere official members of the remaining nineteen in official members fifteen were nominated by the Governor while only four were elected. And three of the elected seats were allocated to Lagos and one to Calabar. In total, there were ten Africans in council and four of them were elected.

Apart from the Legislative council, as advisory body was also established to be known as the executive council with membership of twelve people under Article 4 of the Royal Instruction of 19922. The council had no African as a member until the appointment of two African in the council in 1943.

The constitution supported the division of the Northern and Southern provinces of the protectorate. The legislative council had competence to legislate only on expenditure of money in the Northern provinces. While it was the prerogative of the Governor to legislate for their territory by proclamation.
The Lieutenant Governors of the Northern and southern province were member of the legislative council by virtue of being members of the executive council

Under this constitution, though the legislative was given the power to legislate matters of peace, order and good governance for the colony and southern province of Nigeria, the Executive council wielded by advising the Governor on policies. The unofficial and elected Africans were subject to re-nomination, the member of the Executive council.

The Richard constitution 1946: Prior to the Richard constitution of 1946, there were series of political and economic agitating by Nigerian, propelled by the Nationalist activities propagated by the Nigerian youth Movement particularly by elites who were alienated from participation in their own affair and government by the colonial government. Therefore, there were press pro