Government

Assignment
Year 12L

Question: The Pre-Independence constitutions are responsible for the

under-development of Nigeria. Do you agree? Explain your answer

The pre-Independence constitutions refer to those constitutions drafted by the

British colonialists between 1914 when Nigeria was first amalgamated till when
she became an independent nation in 1960. These constitutions are:
1.
2.
3.
4.

The
The
The
The

Clifford Constitution of 1922

Richard Constitution of 1946
McPherson Constitution of 1951
Lyttlton Constitution of 1954

These constitutions, despite their many disadvantages, should not be blamed as

being responsible for the under-development of Nigeria. Nigeria has been
independent since the 1st of October 1960 and has 55 years of political and
economic freedom. Nigerians should have had enough time to figure out these
problems and find solutions for fixing them but yet the country remains underdeveloped. So, who really is to blame for the problems of Nigerias problems
today?
Looking at that question, the Nigerian people should not just put the blame on
the colonialist for this countrys unfortunate under-development. These
constitutions were made in ways which would suit Nigerias geographical size as
well as her Political and Linguistic features. The 1954 Lyttlton Constitution (and
to some extent, The 1946 Richard Constitution and 1951 McPherson
Constitutions) introduced a federal system of government to Nigeria therefore
allowing Nigerian leaders to head their respective regions. There was true
federalism in the sense that it allowed these regions to have their own Judiciary,
Public Service and Marketing Boards. Since Independence, the Federal
Government of Nigeria seems to have reduced the powers of these states. This is
because Nigeria has suffered under many years of Military Rule. The
appointment of Governors was by the Federal government and not by the state
indigenes. This has led to poor practicing of the federal system as states are
entirely dependent on the federal government for things like revenue and social
facilities.
The Problem of Revenue allocation was properly solved by the 1954 Lyttlton
Constitution. According to this constitution, it specified that the revenue should
be allocated to the regions according to the export revenue that was generated
from the sale of those products (mostly agricultural) found and grown in those
regions. These were Cocoa for the West, Groundnut in the North and Palm oil in
the East. But with the Discovery of Crude oil in the East and the decline and
neglect of these products after independence, there has been difficulty in
allocating revenue to oil producing states. Many of these states have lack of
basic and social amenities such as electricity good roads, pipe borne (clean)
water.

Leadership problems and poor political education should not be attributed to the
colonial constitutions. All these constitutions allowed for Nigerians to participate
in the process of governing their country as well as introducing new governing
ideas and methods. The Clifford Constitution introduced elections into Nigeria via
Lagos and Calabar. The 1954 constitution allowed for Nigerian Premiers who
were heads of their respective regions and the 1951 McPherson constitution
involved consulting people from all areas of Nigeria (Towns, cities, provinces,
districts and villages) in its drafting making it a democratic constitution.
The creation of states under the colonial constitutions was well thought off.
States or regions were created based on economic sustainability and
Administrative convenience. This was probably the reason why only three regions
before independence. However after Independence, there were continuous
creation of states and they now amount to 36 states in Nigeria. Most of these
states are not economically stable enough to survive and depend heavily on the
federal government for the provision of revenue and social amenities. This poor
creation of states after independence has led to increase in administrative costs
of running these states as well as the nation.
Lastly the constitutions in colonial times were more democratic. People were
more involved in decision making in drafting the constitution. As mentioned
above, the 1951 constitution consulted people from all area of the country
(Towns, cities, provinces, districts and villages) and the 1953 and 54 conferences
were made up of representatives handpicked by the people from each region.
However after independence with the long military rule and the military
handpicking constitutional drafters and basically creating the constitutions of
1979, 1989 and 1999. None of these constitutions were truly democratic as
many Nigerians were not aware of its provisions.
Through these points, Nigerias underdevelopment should not be attributed to
the colonial constitutions but to the inability of Nigerian leaders to promote such
development in the country.