2012 - WAEC Government Past Questions and Answers - page 2

The formulation of the rule of law is founded by A.V. Dicey over 100 years ago. It is therefore not surprising that his theory is used as a reference in the rule of law of many countries around the world nowadays.

Serfdom is the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism. It was a condition of debt bondage.

Checks and balances, principle of government under which separate branches are empowered to prevent actions by other branches and are induced to share power. Checks and balances are applied primarily in constitutional governments.

Communist is defined as a political and economic system in which the community through the common ownership, collectively controls all the means of production of goods and services, exchange and distribution. Rule of law means everyone is equal before the law and should be treated with no exceptions. A communist system is a system run on the basis of communism. Without going into details, communism means everyone gets everything they need and everyone has an equal say in everything.

A constitution is an aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity, and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.

The Constitution is important because it protects individual freedom, and its fundamental principles govern the United States. The Constitution places the government's power in the hands of the citizens. It limits the power of the government and establishes a system of checks and balances.

A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a new idea with prescriptive notions for carrying out changes the author believes should be made. It is usually issued by political parties during elections to sell their candidature to the general public. 

Rigid Constitution is a constitution which stands above the other laws of the country, while flexible constitutions do not. A. V. Dicey defines a rigid constitution as one under which certain laws, called constitutional laws or fundamental laws "cannot be changed in the same manner as ordinary laws." A rigid constitution set forth "specific legal/constitutional obstacles to be overcome" before it may be amended, such as special approval of the people by referendum, a supermajority or special majority in the legislature, or both. In contrast, a flexible constitution is one in which the legislature may amended the constitution's content and principles through use of the ordinary legislative process. For example, the Constitution of Nigeria is rigid, while the British Constitution and the Israeli Constitution are flexible. Nigeria practices the federal system of government.

A parliamentary system is a system of democratic governance of a state where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the confidence of the legislature, typically a parliament, and is also held accountable to that parliament. In a parliamentary system, the head of state is usually a person distinct from the head of government. This is in contrast to a presidential system, where the head of state often is also the head of government and, most importantly, the executive does not derive its democratic legitimacy from the legislature.

secede means to withdraw formally from membership of a federal union, an alliance, or a political or religious organization. if the union or alliance becomes unfavourable in future, a member can pull out of it.

A confederation is a union of sovereign states, united for purposes of common action often in relation to other states. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issues, such as defense, foreign relations, internal trade or currency, with the general government being required to provide support for all its members. if the union or alliance becomes unfavourable in future, a member can pull out of it.

while A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). The partially self governing states/province do not have sovereignty and as such, are tied to the federation.