Full History Constitutional Development in Nigeria

Nigeria is a creation of the Constitution. Nigeria became
internationally recognised independent nation, in 1960, after a
period of colonialism under the British government which
spanned about a century beginning with the formal annexation
of Lagos in 1861. Nigeria’s constitutional development history
can be divided into two epochs or generations: the colonial or
pre-independence epoch –which covers 6 constitutional
instruments (1914, 1922, 1946, 1951, 1954 and 1960) and the
post-independence constitutional epochs (encompassing 3
instruments - 1963, 1979 and 1999). While each successive pre-
independence constitutional instrument was enacted through an
order-in-council of the British monarch, their post-
independence counterparts were enacted in two ways: an Act of
parliament (1963 Constitution) and military decree (1979 and
1999).
The one ‘Nigeria’ story began in 1914 with the Frederick Lugard
Constitution. The 1914 Constitution amalgamated the Colony and
Protectorate of Southern Nigeria with the Protectorate of Northern
Nigeria under the colonial authority of the British Monarch. The
emergent entity was administered under the authority of the
British monarch through her appointed agent: a Governor-
General. Lord Frederick Lugard was the 1st Governor-General of
amalgamated Nigeria. The 1914 Constitution created a Legislative
Council of the Colony which was however restricted to making
laws for the Colony of Lagos alone, whilst the Governor General
made laws for the rest of the country.
Eight years later, the 1914 Constitution was replaced by the 1922
Sir Clifford Constitution. Notably, the latter Constitution
established a 46 member Legislative Council which was given
law making responsibilities for the Colony of Lagos and the
southern provinces. The Council had 27 members including the
Governor, the Lieutenant-Governors, other elected and
nominated members including three representing Lagos as the
administrative and commercial capital and one representing




Calabar as a big commercial centre. Notably, the 1922
Constitution introduced, for the first time in any British African
territory, the elective principle with Lagos and Calabar being
granted the franchise to elect their representatives to the
Legislative Council.
1946 saw the adoption of the Arthur Richard Constitution which
defined Nigeria, for the first time, in terms of regions - thus
dividing the still colonised country into three main regions: the
Northern, Western and Eastern regions. This constitution came
into effect after the Second World War – an event which had a
significant effect on constitutional reforms relating to the
governance of colonial Nigeria, and indeed Africa as a whole, as
returning African heroes of the war who were conscripted to fight
on the side of the British returned with a deeper understanding
of national freedom and international sovereignty. In addition,
the charter of the United Nations which was adopted after the
war made strong reference to the freedom of colonised peoples
under the principle of respect for self-determination.
The chain of events culminated in the formation of the National
Council for Nigeria and Cameroons, which later became the
National council of Nigerian Citizens, (N.C.N.C), an organization
which engaged in the active mobilization of the indigenous
peoples of Nigeria to harness the global tide in favour of self-
determination and political independence from the shackles of
colonialism. The 1946 Constitution was thus a compromise
instrument on the part of the British colonialist designed to
establish a constitutional framework in which all sections of
Nigeria could be represented on the Legislative Council and
which guarantees an unofficial majority both in the House of
Assembly and in the legislative council for indigenous Nigerians.
Five years later, the 1946 Richards Constitution was again
ditched in favour of the 1951 Sir John Macpherson Constitution.
Whereas its successor suffered from the charge of being an
imposition of the British colonialists without any input from the
indigenous people of Nigeria, the 1951 Macpherson Constitution
came into being after an unprecedented process of consultation
with the peoples of Nigeria. According to Dikemgba “no other
constitution so widely reached out to the people than the
Macpherson constitution of 1951”. Instructively, meetings and
consultations leading down to its making were held at 5 levels –
Village, District, Divisional, Provincial and Regional levels –
before the national conference. The regional conferences were
held at Ibadan, Enugu and Kaduna, respectively and produced a
general consensus in favour of a federal system of government
with a few differences as to its format. The emergent
Constitution represented a major advancement on the old
constitutional order by introducing African elected majorities in
the Central Legislature and in the Regional Houses of Assembly;
endowing the legislative houses with independent legislative
power in many area of state activity; and establishing a federal
system for Nigeria for the first time.
Nonetheless, within three years of its operation, it soon became
clear that the expansion of the political space and regional
identities fostered by the 1951 Constitution were not backed up
by the requisite institutional framework or insightful national
leadership for the management of inherent and other tensions or
conflict, at the national and regional levels, which followed its
enactment. In the wake of reports of violent eruptions in the
northern city of Kano which pitched northerners against
southerners leading to massive loss of lives and property, the
then British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Oliver Lyttleton
stepped in by inviting the leaders of various political parties in
Nigeria to attend a conference in London, in 1953. The outcome
of that conference and another cycle of conference and
consultations which followed was the 1954 Lyttleton
Constitution.
The 1954 Constitution, among others, made regional
governments independent of the central government in respect
of subjects and legislative powers allocated to them. It also
established a unicameral legislature for the federal government
and each of the 3 regional governments. In addition, Lagos was
taken out of the control of any regional government and made
the Federal Capital Territory; regional public services were
established for each of the 3 regions; the judiciary was
reorganised so as to establish regional judiciaries while
autonomy was granted to the Southern Cameroons which was up
till that time part of a larger Nigeria and Northern Cameroons.
Specifically, for the first time, Ministers were given specific
portfolios. Thus, the Lyttleton Constitution could best be
described as the transition instrument towards Nigeria’s
independence in 1960 under a federal structure with
democratically elected federal and regional legislature.
In 1960, Nigeria was granted political independence as a
sovereign state under the 1960 Constitution which provided for a
parliamentary system of government, 3 regions (Northern,
Eastern and Western Regions), a bicameral legislative framework
at the federal (Senate and House of Representatives) and
regional levels (House of Assembly and House of Chiefs) with
the legislative powers of government delineated into three
categories or lists - exclusive, concurrent and residual. The
parliamentary system designed under the 1960 constitution
recognized the British monarch as the Head of State with powers
to appoint a resident agent- the Governor-General- to exercise
executive powers on her behalf while a Prime Minister elected by
the federal parliament acted as the Head of the federal Executive
Council. The Constitution also took steps to define ‘Nigerian
citizenship’ while outlining constitutionally protected rights for
citizens and persons in Nigeria.
However, by designating the Governor-General as a
representative and agent of the British Queen or Monarch –
instead of the People of the independent and sovereign state of
Nigeria, the effect was to render Nigeria a dominion territory – a
status which contradicted the very nature and basis of the
independence claimed in 1960. In addition, the 1960 Constitution
denied Nigeria an effective dominion over its judicial powers as
it gave final appellate authority over Nigeria to the Privy Council
established by the British Queen instead of the Federal Supreme
Court and its judges. Those fundamental derogations from
Nigeria’s sovereignty and other observed challenges in
implementing the Independence Constitution led to the
enactment of the 1963 Constitution.
Thus, the key features of the 1963 Constitution included the
establishment of Nigeria’s 1st republic under a parliamentary
system of government by replacing the Governor-General
appointed by the British monarch with a President elected
directly by members of the Nigerian federal legislature. In
addition, in place of the Privy Council, the Federal Supreme
Court became designated as the final appellate judicial authority
over any person or matter in Nigeria while steps were taken to
strengthen the independence of the judiciary even further.
In 1966, that Constitution was, however, set aside by a violent
military coup d’etat which supplanted the 1st Republic with
military dictatorship which was to last for about 13 years –
including the civil war period (1966-1969), under 4 military
Heads of State, ending only in 1979 when the General Olusegun


General Olusegun Obasanjo military administration ushered in the 2nd Republic with the promulgation of a new Constitution. The 1979 Constitution set up Nigeria under a presidential system of government with a federal government, 19 state governments, a federal capital territory, 3 arms and 3 levels of government. Like the 1963 Constitution, the life-span of the 1979 constitution was abruptly terminated on 31st December, 1983 when the civilian administration of President Shehu Shagari and Vice President Alex Ekwueme was toppled and replaced by the military dictatorship of Generals Muhammed Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon. That regime seeded 3 other extra-constitutional regimes – the General Ibrahim Babangida military dictatorship (1985-1993), Mr. Ernest Shonekan interim civilian-led regime, General Sani Abacha military dictatorship (1993-1998) and General Abdulsalami Abubakar military administration which successfully ushered in the 3rd Republic on the 27th of May, 1999 with the introduction of the 1999 Constitution. Source Lawnigeria.com