Responsibilities of Constituted Authority

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Constituted authority II

Meaning constituted authority

Authority means the right to give orders and make the people obey such orders. It is the right to command and enforce obedience.

Constituted authority, therefore, is duly established leadership recognised by the society or the people.in our school, the headmaster or head teacher and other teachers and, by extension, the school prefects and class captains/monitors, form a good example of constituted authority.

In our traditional society, the traditional rulers, and e.g. Oba, Emir, Obi, form constituted authority. In the larger society, we have the local government, state government and the federal government as the constituted authorities.

Constituted authority has responsibilities towards her followers or citizens. In the same way, the citizens have duties to perform too.

Responsibilities of constituted authority

The responsibilities of constituted authority refer to those things or duties written in the Constitution which constituted authority should do to make life better for the citizens in a country.

Some of these responsibilities are:

1. Maintenance of law and order: It is the responsibility of constituted authority to ensure that people obey the rules and regulations, to achieve peace in society. If there is a breakdown of law and order, the lives of the citizens will be in danger. The government maintains law and order through the security forces e.g. the police.
2. Provision of social amenities: The government provides social amenities for the benefit of the people. Examples of these are education, hospitals, electricity, pipe-borne water, telephone services, post offices, roads, and markets.
3. Safeguarding lives and property: It is the responsibility of constituted authority to make sure that lives and property of the people are protected. The government safeguards the lives and property of the people through the armed forces. In Nigeria, the army, the police, and naval forces perform this function. Everybody should be protected in society, whether young, old, or disabled.
4. Protection of political rights: Constituted authority must ensure that the political rights of the people are protected. The right to vote and be voted for, which is called franchise, is in the Constitution. It is the duty of constituted authority to see that the right to vote and be voted for, and other rights are not denied any citizen in the country. Apart from political rights, the government must ensure that rights like freedom of speech, freedom of movement, right to private life, freedom of thought, freedom of conscience and freedom of religion are enjoyed by all citizens. To enjoy these, the government should make it easy and possible for the citizens to use the court of law when these rights are denied of them.
5. Provision of employment opportunities: It is the responsibility of constituted authority to provide jobs for the citizens in our country. When people are gainfully employed, they are happy, and their economic wellbeing is enhanced. The quality of life of the people will also be better.
6. Protection of material resources in the country: Constituted authority has the duty of protecting material resources such as crude oil, gold, tin, and iron ore, which form sources of income to the government. It ensures that individual citizens or groups do not use the resources for themselves without the knowledge of the government, because they belong to the country.
7. It raises and spends public money on behalf of the people: Constituted authority decides the taxes, rates, and levies to be paid by the citizens. It equally decides what to do with the money realised from such payments, i.e. whether to construct roads, build hospitals, etc.
8. Promotion of economic development of the country: The government has the responsibility to promote the economic development of the country. It makes sure that industries are established to produce local goods for consumption and export to other countries. When this is done, the economy of the country will be buoyant, and the country will be self-reliant.
9. Protection of the country: The government has the responsibility to protect the borders of Nigeria from external attack. The government prevents external aggression through the armed forces. This enables the people to live without fear.

 

 

Quiz

Answer the following question:

1. Write short notes on the following: authority, constituted authority.
2. What are the responsibilities of constituted authority to the citizens in Nigeria?

 

 

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