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BILL:     A bill is a proposed law which is under or waiting for consideration by the legislature or parliament before it can become a law. A bill cannot become a law unless it is passed by the legislature or parliament and assented by the president. Types of Bill     According to Ugwuanyi (2008:6) there are three types of bill namely public bill, private members bill and money bill. 1. Public Bill: Like its name implies, it is a bill that will affect everybody (that is the whole public) if passed into law. It contains an issue of public interest. Examples of public bill are that of security, currency, diplomacy etc. 2. Private Members Bill: This type of bill is usually introduced by the members of the parliament which may be for the interest of the parliamentarians or that of his or her constituency. 3. Money Bill: This is a crucial type of bill that deals on how government generates, appropriates and spends money in the country. It sho...

BERLIN WALL OR IRON CURTAIN      This was a wall that demarcated Western and Eastern Germany during the cold war. It can also be used loosely as a “barrier”. The wall was erected in 1961 by Eastern Germany (which was socialist region) to prevent migration of people from the region to Western Germany (which was a capitalist region). Eastern Germany detested any form of relationship with the western Germany which they (Eastern Germany) described as anti-communism. They argued that Western capitalists principles negate the original concept of humanism which was based on the philosophy of from each according to his abilities and to each according to his needs.  Perhaps, it should be noted that Berlin wall fell in 1989 following the high rate of poverty in the Eastern Germany that led to the large influx or migration from the region to the western Germany. The fall of the wall paved a way for the unification of Eastern and Western Germany in 199...

BICAMERAL ISM       Bicameralism is one of the types of legislature which has two chambers or branches namely; the Upper House and the Lower House. For instance in Nigeria, United States etc., there are House of Senate (Upper House) and House of Representatives (Lower House) which are jointly called National Assembly in Nigeria and Congress in the United States respectively. The two chambers are presided by Senate President and a Speaker respectively. In the United Kingdom, there are House of Commons (Lower House) and the House of Lords (Upper House) which are referred to as Parliament. Reasons Some Countries Practice Bicameral Legislature.      According to Roskin et al (1988:293-294) “the reason for two chambers is clear in federal systems. The upper house represents the component parts of the federal system and the lower house represents districts based on population.” More so, the other reason for bicameralism ...

Post-Behavioural Period     This is relatively the same as behavioural school only that post-behaviouralist brought state into political system or arena. In other words, the attentions of political scientists shifted from institutionalism or structuralism of political system to other political phenomena like revolution, democracy, political party, dictatorship, communism, state etc. Roskin et al [1988: 18] rightly opined that behaviouralism came under heavy attack ''… by many young political scientists, some of them influenced by the radicalism of anti-Vietnam war movement, complained that the behavioural approach was static, conservative, loaded with its practitioners’ values, and irrelevant to the urgent tasks at hand.” The quest for more pragmatic approach to the study of political science is what led to the emergency of post-behavioural school of thought.     Also note that Post-behavioural revolution which started in 1967 and end...

BEHAVIOURAL REVOLUTION      This is the hallmark of scientific origin of political science which started in the 1920s in Europe and North America.  According to Gerardo L. Munck, “the first turning point in the evolution of US political science can be conveniently dated to the 1921 publication of a manifesto for new science of politics, which implied a departure from the history embraced by many founders of political science in the US, by the University of Chicago professor, Charles Merriam (1874 – 1953).’’ This publication led to the convention of National Conferences on Science of Politics which was an important event to the discipline (political science). According to Munck, it was also followed by the formation of Social Science Research Council (SSRC), the world’s first national organization of all social sciences. What this connotes is that new crop of scholars in political science and new methods of political an...

BEHAVIO URAL REVOLUTION      This is the hallmark of scientific origin of political science which started in the 1920s in Europe and North America.  According to Gerardo L. Munck, “the first turning point in the evolution of US political science can be conveniently dated to the 1921 publication of a manifesto for new science of politics, which implied a departure from the history embraced by many founders of political science in the US, by the University of Chicago professor, Charles Merriam (1874 – 1953).’’ This publication led to the convention of National Conferences on Science of Politics which was an important event to the discipline (political science). According to Munck, it was also followed by the formation of Social Science Research Council (SSRC), the world’s first national organization of all social sciences. What this connotes is that new crop of scholars in political science and new methods of political a...

BATTERY     Battery is an unlawful use of any physical force on another person including beating or offensive touching without the person’s consent. Israel (2009:66) defined battery as “to slap somebody on his face, or to hit somebody with any object on his body, or to strike somebody with any object.” He goes on to argue that “Kissing anyone unknowingly is battery.”      But, what did the law say about battery? According to the Criminal Code Act Chapter 77 the Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1990, Section 338 defined battery as thus: 1. Unlawful wounds on another or; 2. Unlawful, and with an intent to injure or annoy any person, cause any poisonous or other noxious thing to be administered to or taken by, any person. Such a person is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for three years.     Note that battery is different from assault. Battery invol...

BANDWAGONING      Bandwagoning is a concept in international relations cum international politics used to describe a situation in which a weak state aligns with a strong or dominant one in order to gain political, economic and social security. It is the direct opposite of balance of power. This policy of bandwagoning is mostly used by Third World countries to achieve their aims.    Hence, every country in Africa wants to be friendly with the western countries for economic, political, social, security and even for moral reasons.  (See Balance of Power).

BALANCE OF POWER      The oldest and most commonly held theory is that peace results when several states, improving their national power and forming alliances, balance one another (Roskin et al 1988). Power is the capacity or ability to achieve one’s objective with or without the consent of another. It is the centre of politics because one with political power can do everything both lawful and unlawful.      Unfortunately, this power is unbalanced both locally and internationally. Onuoha in his book entitled Beyond Diplomacy: Contemporary Issues in International Relations, (2009) analyses the concept of balance of power systematically. He argues that the international system is characterized with anarchy and competition. That, “the concept of balance of power assumes that through shifting alliances and countervailing, pressures, no one power or combination of powers will be allowed to grow so strong as to threaten the sec...

BALFOUR DECLARATION     This was a term used to describe the British government’s approval of the establishment of Jewish home in Palestine in 1917. We have to recall the “Jewish holocaust” and other related acts of inhuman treatment and alienation they have suffered especially in Germany and Italy during the reign of Adolf Hitler (1933-1945) and Benito Mussolini respectively. The letter of Balfour Beclaration was issued in November 1917 by the United Kingdom’s (UK) Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to the leader of Jewish Zionism movement (JZM), Walter Rothschild.      Hence, some analysts have argued that the reason for the declaration was merely for political reason not for moral or humanitarian purpose.  They contend that the British government did it to gain support in World War I, in which they considered the important Palestine strategic location on the land and sea routes to India and other Asian countries....

BALKANIZATION      Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics, Second Edition defines balkanization as “the division of a state into smaller territorial units.” Moreover, balkanization is one of the political cum geographical concepts used to refer to political fragmentation of united territory into different units with the sole aim of causing disunity among them.

Meaning of Authority by Andrew Oforma Eze. Email: ezeandrew50@gmail.com      The term authority is often used interchangeably with power by some average learners, scholars and practitioners. However their meanings differ significantly. Authority is legal or constitutional right to issue a command or to carry out an action, while power can be used legally and illegally with or without the consent of the other party.      According to Nwankwo (1992:13) authority is “the right to exercise political power.” Moreover, Ugwuanyi (2008:3) contends that power is transformed into authority by means of legitimacy.”  Ezeani (2006:32) is of the opinion that “the defining characteristic of authority is that, it is based on legitimacy.” Therefore, this means that anybody or institution that issues command without legal or legitimate right to do so  is only exercising naked power which may constitute a threat to the legi...

AUTHORITARIANISM    This is a system of government in which there is only one supreme ruler who controls all aspects of the lives of the citizens. The ruler is supreme at the expense of the laws and people. The supreme leader always claims monopoly of knowledge over other persons. Under this system of administration oppositions, human rights, justice, are barely pronounced, fairness, equity are denied or bought and sold to the highest bidders.      The following were examples of notable authoritarian leaders: Mohammed Shah of Iran, Sani Abacha of Nigeria, Adolf Hitler of Germany, Benito Mussolini of Italy, Mobutu  Sese Seko of Zaire (DR Congo), Idi Amin of Uganda and so forth, are called authoritarian leaders.  (See, Totalitarianism)

AUTONOMY     Autonomy is a state of being independent without any undue interference. Politically, it means relative freedom from political, economic and social exploitation by a central authority or external authority. In Nigeria, the question of local government autonomy has remained a controversial issue since 1976 local government reform up to date.

APARTHEID POLICY       Apartheid literally means the state of ‘‘being apart or separate.’’ Therefore, apartheid policy is a policy that promotes racial segregation or discrimination which was used in South Africa by the white to segregate against the black. The policy officially started in 1948 and ended in 1994.      Under this system, blacks were relatively denied their fundamental human rights like, right to life, education, freedom of expression, liberty, fair hearing, association etc., by the minority white (Afrikaners). The leader of Africa National Congress (ANC) Nelson Mandela who was the champion of the anti-apartheid policy was imprisoned for 27 years due to his resistance activism and incessant patriotic calls for repeal and abrogation of the segregation (apartheid) policy and the need for equity, and Fairness in the state.      Mandela was released from prison in 199...

ANTI-CAPITALISM      Anti- Capitalism is a social cum political movement that is based on socialist ideology and ideas that are opposed to the principles of capitalism. Anti-capitalist movement was born out of the desire to correct inhuman treatment, exploitation and unjust nature of capitalist society which thrive on the exploitation of the working class.     Some of the exponents of the anti-capitalism movement who were also the communist advocates include: Karl Marx, Frederick Engles, Vladimir Lenin, Moa Tse Tung, Fidel Castrol etc. (See Capitalism, Socialism and Marxism)

ANTI-BALLISTIC MISSILE TREATY (ABMT)     The Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty was a mutual agreement between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) for the limitation of nuclear weapons of both countries in 1972 during the period of cold war. (See Cold War).

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ASSAULT      An assault means “to create or put fear in the life of somebody, either with your hand or an object, or it could be stick or wood or an iron or knife or cutlass or pointing gun to someone.’’ (Israel, 2009:63). According to Heywood (2007:275), “an assault is an act that create on a person’s mind a reasonable fear that he is about to suffer physical injury or some bodily harm.”       According to the Criminal Code Act Chapter 77 the Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1990 Section 253, “an assault is unlawful, and constitutes an offence unless it is authorized or justified or excused by law.” Also the punishment for assault is explicitly stated in the aforementioned Criminal Code, Section 351, as thus: “any person who unlawfully assaults another is guilty of a misdemeanor, and is liable for imprisonment for one year.” Section 352 added that: ...

AUTARCHY:     Autarchy is the quality of being self-sufficient. It is used to describe a situation in which a country is completely independent from others economically, politically and the like. Another name for autarchy is “closed economic system”.      Contemporarily, this type of economic cum political system is no longer relevant in international affairs. This is because at this age of globalization, no nation can be self-sufficient enough to need no relationship with other countries. The policy of autarchy was more pronounced in the 17th and 18th centuries during the era of mercantilism. (See mercantilism).

ASSAULT      An assault means “to create or put fear in the life of somebody, either with your hand or an object, or it could be stick or wood or an iron or knife or cutlass or pointing gun to someone.’’ (Israel, 2009:63). According to Heywood (2007:275), “an assault is an act that create on a person’s mind a reasonable fear that he is about to suffer physical injury or some bodily harm.”       According to the Criminal Code Act Chapter 77 the Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1990 Section 253, “an assault is unlawful, and constitutes an offence unless it is authorized or justified or excused by law.” Also the punishment for assault is explicitly stated in the aforementioned Criminal Code, Section 351, as thus: “any person who unlawfully assaults another is guilty of a misdemeanor, and is liable for imprisonment for one year.” Section 352 added that: ...

ARISTOCRACY      Aristocracy is a system of government under the few privileged citizens who rule for the interest of all.  It is a government of nobility, a privileged and good form of government according to Aristotle. According to Appadorai (1968:134), “it is government by the best citizens.”  In other words, under this regime, power belongs to the nobles. Unlike democracy that is based on the principle of equality of all, aristocracy espouses qualitative not quantitative governance.      Aristotle was one of the advocates of aristocracy when he did a systematic comparative analysis of the constitution of the city-states of Athens in which he classified the forms of rule or regime and those who ruled. On the part of forms of rule or government, he noted that some were good while others were bad. On the side of those who rule, he identifies one-person rule, two-person rule, and many-person rule. Based on the re...

ANTHROPOCENTRISM      Anthropocentrism means the supremacy of human beings. It is the basic concept of the social sciences or behavioural science which explains that the centrality of the social sciences is man, his behaviour and his society. Various disciplines of social sciences like political science, economics, sociology, public administration, Geography etc., exist for the sake of studying, analyzing and predicting the nature of man and his behaviour in his environment (society). For instance political science studies how state power is acquired, consolidated and used by man to actualize personal/public interest for the sake of humanity in general. 

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (ADR):       Alternative Dispute Resolution is an extra- judicial method of settlement of dispute(s) between two or more parties outside court of law. In other words, it is a different method or procedure through which dispute or conflict can be settled without formal court litigation or adjudication. It is a means of solving dispute outside court of law.       Alternative dispute resolution has been useful in resolving disputes peacefully without any formalistic accusations and counter accusations that usually characterize court processes. Due to incessant court adjournment, logistics and injustice in Nigeria legal system, many activists and analysts have advocated for the wider use of extra-judicial method in settling disputes.  This is because as it is often said that justice delayed is justice denied. Types of Alternative Dispute Resolution There are different approaches throug...

AMICUS CURIAE:      Oxford concise Dictionary of Politics defines amicus curiae as “a friend of the courts , who may give evidence in court cases, acting either as a disinterested adviser or in order to represent the views of the people or bodies, although not directly involved in the particular case …”       Besides, it can also be defined as a person who is not a party to a case, who offers information about the case but not officially solicited by any of the parties to assist a court. The term metamorphosed from Roman law to English, from English Law to common law, from common law to international law.

AFRICAN PEER REVIEW MECHANISM (APRM):       African Peer Review Mechanism is a voluntary memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by member states of African Union as an instrument of self-monitoring mechanism. The aim is to ensure that all member states of African Union will toe the same path to promote the tenets of democracy which include: rule of law, equity, and fairness in the area of political, economical and social development of African countries.   Origin of APRM.       APRM is the offspring of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), summit which was held in July 2001, in Lusaka, Zambia. The summit adopted the notion for the revival of African behavioural mechanism in the area of political, social and economic development of African states.       It was in March, 2003 that the AU Heads of State and Government under the aegis of NEPAD held a meeting in Abuja, Nigeri...

AFRICAN PEER REVIEW MECHANISM (APRM):       African Peer Review Mechanism is a voluntary memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by member states of African Union as an instrument of self-monitoring mechanism. The aim is to ensure that all member states of African Union will toe the same path to promote the tenets of democracy which include: rule of law, equity, and fairness in the area of political, economical and social development of African countries.   Origin of APRM.       APRM is the offspring of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), summit which was held in July 2001, in Lusaka, Zambia. The summit adopted the notion for the revival of African behavioural mechanism in the area of political, social and economic development of African states.       It was in March, 2003 that the AU Heads of State and Government under the aegis of NEPAD held a meeting in Abuja, Nigeri...

AFFIDAVIT :      An affidavit is a written statement of facts voluntarily made by an affiant under an Oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law (thefreedictionary.com). In other words, it is a written statement made on an oath which is used as evidence in a court.       Furthermore, an affidavit is a voluntary action made by an affiant without any cross examination of the affiant. It is a technical document in the sense that, it contains the address of the affiant, the date that the statement was made, affiant signature and other personal information of an affiant. Note: An affiant is a person who makes and signs an affidavit.

AFFIDAVIT :      An affidavit is a written statement of facts voluntarily made by an affiant under an Oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law (thefreedictionary.com). In other words, it is a written statement made on an oath which is used as evidence in a court.       Furthermore, an affidavit is a voluntary action made by an affiant without any cross examination of the affiant. It is a technical document in the sense that, it contains the address of the affiant, the date that the statement was made, affiant signature and other personal information of an affiant. Note: An affiant is a person who makes and signs an affidavit.

ADVOCACY :       According to Onuoha (2009:79) advocacy is “sensitization, speaking up or drawing decision makers’ attention to an important issue, cause or policy.” Advocacy can also be defined as actions by an individual or a group to influence the decisions of public-policy makers over a particular social, political and economic problem in society.       Hence, advocacy is a vital tool through which individuals, groups and organizations can achieve their aims and that of society in general. It is important to note that through the action of an advocate, the status quo can be changed or a hidden act can be exposed. An advocate is a person who gets involved in or carries out advocacy activities. Instruments of Advocate      An advocate can use the following methods to achieve his or her aims. These include mass media, protest, litigation, mass mobilization, social networking with other pressure ...

Adjournment: Legally speaking, adjournment means to shift or postpone the proceeding of a legislative business or hearing of a case by a court for a later time or date. The primary objective of the motion for adjournment which is usually moved or administered by a member of the House or Court is to draw the attention of the House or Court to a recent matter of urgent public importance. A Court can also adjourn a suit or a case for different reasons such as logistics/technical reasons, procedural irregularities, unavailability of counsel, lack of evidence etc.

Adjournment: Legally speaking, adjournment means to shift or postpone the proceeding of a legislative business or hearing of a case by a court for a later time or date. The primary objective of the motion for adjournment which is usually moved or administered by a member of the House or Court is to draw the attention of the House or Court to a recent matter of urgent public importance. A Court can also adjourn a suit or a case for different reasons such as logistics/technical reasons, procedural irregularities, unavailability of counsel, lack of evidence etc.

Background to the Study: Background to the study is the first subdivision under introduction. As its name connotes, it summarizes the problems of the study. In other words, it introduces the problem and states why the problem deserves research. It is like a foundation of a building because it summarizes the major issues in research. The solely aim of background to the study is to give a clue to the readers on what the research entails. It should not be voluminous (economy of expression should also be applied).

Attributes of Good Leadership:      The world is broadly divided into two classes of people - leaders and followers. The questions are: what can make one to be described as a good leader? What makes a good leader?      Leadership, when viewed from a distance looks so simple and uncomplicated. There is no doubt that leadership is neither an act of merriment nor a tea party. It is a complicated and tactical task placed by the people on few individuals. Those who usually constitute the leadership of any government or society are less than one percent of the population while the rest are the supervisors. There is no doubt that an act of leadership is demanding, answering, accounting, challenging and stressfu       A handful of persons are being supervised by millions of people, both the informed and uninformed who easily forget the good deeds of government immediately they are out of their sight. Some do not see a...

="on"> Background to the Study: Background to the study is the first subdivision under introduction. As its name connotes, it summarizes the problems of the study. In other words, it introduces the problem and states why the problem deserves research. It is like a foundation of a building because it summarizes the major issues in research. The solely aim of background to the study is to give a clue to the readers on what the research entails. It should not be voluminous (economy of expression should also be applied). >

Abstract : An abstract is a brief summary of the contents of a work. A well prepared abstract can be the most important single paragraph (APA, 2010). As noted in the sixth edition of APA Manual, a good abstract should be:  Accurate  No evaluative  Coherent and readable  Concise  Should describe the problem under investigation  Study method  Basic findings  The conclusion           Furthermore, an abstract looks like introduction but its structure differs from the latter. According Ezeh (2011:16), an abstract is a brief summary of a research report and it often used to help the reader to quickly ascertain the purpose of the study. He contends further that it focuses on the following:  The statement of the problem >  Research questions and hypotheses addressed ...