JAMB Syllabus for Government
The JAMB Government syllabus is designed to guide candidates preparing for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). It covers the major areas of Government that candidates are expected to study before the examination.
If you are preparing to write Government in JAMB, you should use the official JAMB Syllabus for Government to guide your revision and make sure you cover all the topics listed.
Below is the complete JAMB Government syllabus, arranged according to the four parts of the syllabus, followed by the recommended textbooks.
JAMB Government Syllabus
PART I: Elements of Government
| S/N | Topics | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basic Concepts in Government | Power, Authority, Legitimacy, Sovereignty; Society, State, Nation, Nation-State; Political Processes: Political Socialization, Political Participation, Political Culture |
| 2 | Forms of Government | Monarchy, Aristocracy, Oligarchy, Autocracy, Republicanism, Democracy; definitions, features, merits and demerits |
| 3 | Arms of Government | Legislature: types, structure, functions, powers; Executive: types, functions, powers; Judiciary: functions, powers, components; relationships among the arms of government |
| 4 | Structures of Governance | Unitary: features, reasons for adoption, merits and demerits; Federal: features, reasons for adoption, merits and demerits; Confederal: features, reasons for adoption, merits and demerits |
| 5 | Systems of Governance | Presidential, Parliamentary and Monarchical systems |
| 6 | Political Ideologies | Communalism, Feudalism, Capitalism, Socialism, Communism, Totalitarianism, Fascism, Nazism |
| 7 | Constitution | Meaning, sources, functions, types: Written, Unwritten, Rigid and Flexible |
| 8 | Principles of Democratic Government | Ethics and Accountability in Public Office, Separation of Power, Checks and Balances, Individual and Collective Responsibility, Constitutionalism, Rule of Law, Representative Government |
| 9 | Processes of Legislation | Legislative Enactments: Acts, Edicts, Bye-laws, Delegated Legislation, Decrees |
| 10 | Citizenship | Meaning, types; citizenship rights; dual citizenship, renunciation and deprivation; duties and obligations of citizens; duties and obligations of the state |
| 11 | The Electoral Process | Suffrage: evolution and types; Election: types and ingredients of free and fair election; Electoral System: types, advantages and disadvantages; Electoral Commission: functions and problems |
| 12 | Political Parties and Party Systems | Political parties: definition, organisation and functions; Party systems: definition, organisation and functions |
| 13 | Pressure Groups | Definition, types, functions and modes of operation; differences between pressure groups and political parties |
| 14 | Public Opinion | Meaning, formation and measurement; functions and limitations |
| 15 | The Civil Service | Definition, characteristics, functions, structure, control and problems |
PART II: Political Development in Nigeria
| S/N | Topics | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pre-colonial Polities | Pre-jihad Hausa, Emirate, Tiv, Igbo and Yoruba; their structural organisation and functions of their various political institutions |
| 2 | Imperialist Penetration | British process of acquisition: trade, missionary activities, company rule, crown colony, protectorate; British colonial administrative policy: direct and indirect rule; French colonial administrative policy: assimilation and association; impact of British colonial rule: economic, political and socio-cultural; comparison of British and French colonial administration |
| 3 | Process of Decolonization | Nationalism: meaning and types; nationalist movements: emergence, goals and strategies; nationalist leaders including Herbert Macaulay, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello, Ladipo Solanke, Aminu Kano, J. S. Tarka and Tafawa Balewa; emergence of nationalist parties; influence of external factors |
| 4 | Constitutional Development in Nigeria | Hugh Clifford Constitution (1922); Arthur Richards Constitution (1946); John Macpherson Constitution (1951); Oliver Lyttleton Constitution (1954); Independence Constitution (1960); features, merits and demerits |
| 5 | Post-Independence Constitutions | 1963, 1979, 1989 and 1999 Constitutions; characteristics and shortcomings |
| 6 | Institutions of Government in Post-Independence Nigeria | Legislature: structures, functions and workings; Executive: structure, functions and workings; Judiciary: structure, functions and workings |
| 7 | Public Commissions Established by the 1979 and Subsequent Constitutions | Civil Service Commission, Public Complaints Commission, Electoral Commissions, National Boundary Commission and others; objectives, functions and problems |
| 8 | Political Parties and Party Politics in Post-Independence Nigeria | First Republic, Second Republic, Third Republic and Fourth Republic; evolution, membership spread, structure and other features |
| 9 | The Structure and Workings of Nigerian Federalism | Rationale for a federal system; tiers of government and their relationship; creation of states in 1963, 1967, 1976, 1987, 1991 and 1996; problems of Nigerian federalism including census, revenue allocation and conflicts; solutions such as the Federal Character principle |
| 10 | Public Corporations and Parastatals | Definition, types, purpose and functions; finance, control and problems; deregulation, privatisation and commercialisation: objectives, features, merits and demerits; comparison between public corporations and parastatals |
| 11 | Local Government | Local government administration before 1976; features of the 1976 and 1989 local government reforms: structure, functions, finance and inter-governmental relations; traditional rulers and local governments; problems of local government administration in Nigeria |
| 12 | The Military in Nigerian Politics | Factors that led to military intervention; structure of military regimes; impact of military rule: political and economic; creation of states; introduction of the unitary system; Unification Decree No. 34; Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP); processes of military disengagement |
PART III: Foreign Policy and Nigeria's Relationship with the International Community
| S/N | Topics | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foreign Policy | Definition, purpose, determining factors, formulation and implementation |
| 2 | Nigeria's Foreign Policy | Relations with major powers; relations with developing countries, including the Technical Aid Corps (TAC); Nigeria's Non-Alignment Policy |
| 3 | Nigeria's Relations with African Countries | Africa as the "centrepiece" of Nigeria's foreign policy; guiding principles, implementation and implications; NEPAD: origin, objectives and implications |
| 4 | Nigeria in International Organizations | United Nations; Commonwealth; Organization of African Unity; African Union; Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) |
PART IV: International Organizations
| S/N | Topics | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | International Organizations | ECOWAS; OAU and AU; Commonwealth; OPEC; UNO; African Petroleum Producers Association; origin, objectives, structure, functions, achievements, problems and prospects of these organisations |
JAMB Government Recommended Textbooks
The following textbooks are recommended for candidates preparing for Government in the UTME:
- Adigwe, F. (1985) – Essentials of Government for West Africa, Ibadan: University Press Plc.
- Anifowose, R. and Enemuo, F. C. (eds.) (1999) – Elements of Politics, Lagos: Malthouse Press Limited.
- Appadorai, A. (1978) – The Substance of Politics, London: Oxford University Press.
- Ball, A. R. (1983) – Modern Politics and Government, London: Macmillan.
- Ofoegbu, R. (1977) – Government for the Certificate Year, London: George Allen and Unwin.
- Olawale, J. B. (1987) – New Topics on Ordinary Level Government, Ilesha: Jola Publishing.
- Oyediran, O., Nwosu, H., Takaya, B., Anifowose, R., Femi, B., Godwill, O. and Adigun, A. (1990) – Government for Senior Secondary Schools, Books 1, 2 and 3, Ibadan: Longman.
- Oyeneye, I., Onyenwenu, M. and Olusunde, B. E. (2000) – Round-Up Government for Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination: A Complete Guide, Ibadan: Longman.
- Oyovbaire, S., Ogunna, A. E. C., Amucheazi, E. C., Coker, H. O. and Oshuntuyi, O. (2001) – Countdown to Senior Secondary Certificate Examination: Government, Ibadan: Evans.
Candidates preparing for JAMB Government should make sure they study with the syllabus and cover all the topics listed above. Using the syllabus will help you organise your revision and ensure that you do not leave out important areas while preparing for the examination.
Share this syllabus with other JAMB candidates who may find it useful, and check our page for the JAMB syllabus for other subjects.
