The Constitution Meaning & Types

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Welcome to class! 

In today’s class, we will be talking about the constitution meaning and types. Enjoy the class!

The Constitution Meaning and Types

A constitution is a set of fundamental principles and laws that governs a country or an organization. It can also be defined as a written/unwritten law that governs a nation (established laws or custom). A constitution is an act or process of setting something up or establishing something by the government.

The Nigerian constitution is the supreme law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Every law made by the Nigerian lawmaker must be in line with the constitution. The constitution does not only contain rules and regulations, but it also contains punishment that should be given to any defaulter of such law. Nigeria has a written set of rules and regulations, governing the people (citizens) and the nation at large.

Who is a citizen?

A Citizen is a person who has the legal right to live and work in a particular country.

Types of the colonial Nigerian constitution

The constitution of Nigeria is the supreme law guiding the country. However, Nigeria has a series of constitutions, the current one is May 29, 1999 constitution being used to date.

The different constitutions are:

1. Colonial-era constitution (1914 – 1960) (Nigeria’s first constitution).
2. Constitutional independence (1960) (Nigeria’s first constitution as an independent nation)
3. 1963 constitution (first republic)
4. 1979 constitution (second republic).
5. 1993 constitution (third republic).
6. 1999 constitution (fourth republic).

However, the colonial constitutions in Nigeria include:

1. Colonial-era constitution enacted in 1913 and came into effect in 1914.
2. Clifford’s constitution of 1922.
3. Richard’s constitution of 1946.
4. MacPherson’s constitution of 1951.
5. Lyttleton’s constitution of 1954.
6. Constitutional independence of 1969.

 

In our next class, we will be talking more about Constitution II: The Colonial Constitution.  We hope you enjoyed the class.

Should you have any further question, feel free to ask in the comment section below and trust us to respond as soon as possible.

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