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SubjectFree lesson

The Constitution II

ClassNotes Team 3 MIN READUPDATED 5 JUL 2026

Civic Education JSS 3 First Term

WEEK 2

The Constitution II

Performance Objectives

Student should be able to:

1. Explain in details the various colonial Nigerian constitution

2. State the roles of citizens in constitutional development

Content

1. Colonial Nigerian Constitution

- Clifford constitution 1922

- Richard Constitution 1946

- Macpherson Constitution 1951

- Lyttelton Constitution 1954

2. The role of citizens in constitutional development.

Clifford Constitution of 1922

Clifford made a recommendation of granting of elective representation, when setting up the legislative council. This was granted by the new Secretary of state (Winston Churchill) for the colonies. Nigeria then became the first country to adopt this principle.

Richard Constitution of 1946

During the outbreak of the second world war (1939-1945) the Governor of Nigeria was Sir Bourdillon, who was in office between 1939 and 1944. In 1939, the northern and southern protectorates were made provinces. Northern Nigeria remained a province and Southern Nigeria was broken into two, Eastern and Western province. At the time of Bourdillon's retirement in 1944, he had almost concluded the new constitution, where he proposed regionalism. However, Sir Richard's constitution of 1946 replaced Clifford Constitution of 1922. The new constitution was published and tailored specifically to promote the unity of Nigeria and enhance greater participation of Nigerians in their own affairs, etc.

Macpherson Constitution of 1951

Sir John Macpherson, became the new Governor of Nigeria after Richard, and he made adequate arrangement not to repeat the mistake that led to the opposition and criticism that greeted Richard's constitution. So, in March 1949, a selected committee of the legislative council was set up to examine problems that may likely face the introduction of a new constitution. Macpherson Constitution was assumed to be homemade. As part of Macpherson's effort to come up with a durable and acceptable constitution, an all Nigerian Constitution Conference was held in 1950 in Ibadan. The Conference met in January 1950 and was chaired by Sir Gerald Howe, the Attorney-General.

 

Lyttleton Constitution of 1954

The product of the Lyttleton Constitution was as a result of the Macpherson Constitution which was revised through constitutional conferences of 1953 and 1954 Lagos.

The roles of Citizens in Constitutional Development

The citizens perform the following roles in the development of the constitution

Voting a representative

The citizens must be willing and ready to select a representative through voting during the election process. In Nigeria, a person who is 18 years and above is eligible to vote during election.

Contesting to represent people

A citizen can offer to represent his/her constituency either as a legislator or as a member of the constitution drafting committee

Initiation of memorandum

A citizen can perform through memorandum. A memorandum usually contains ideas related to the problems of the people and suggested solutions to them, it is usually in a booklet form.