Government Lesson Note for First Term SS1
SCHEME OF WORK
Week One and Two: Meaning and scope of the subject matter
Week Three: The state
Week Four: Basic concepts of Government: Power and Authority
Week Five: Legitimacy and Sovereignty
Week Six: Democracy
Week Seven: Political Culture and Political Socialization
Week Eight: Communalism, Socialism, and Capitalism
Week Nine: Communalism, Feudalism, Fascism, Totalitarianism, Oligarchy
Week Ten: Unitary System of Government
Week Eleven: Federal System of Government
Week Twelve: Revision
Week Thirteen: Examination
Lesson Note on Government SS1 First Term
Below are the 2022 complete Government lesson notes for SS1 First Term
Week One and Two Topic: Meaning and Scope of the subject
Introduction
Government is machinery established by the state to organize, formulate and implement
policies in society. Government has three main institutions that assist it to carry out its
responsibilities. These institutions are called arms, organs, or branches of government.
These are the executive, legislature, and judiciary. The legislature makes the law, the
executive implements the law and the judiciary interprets the law. To learn more, click here.
Week Three Topic: The State and its features
Introduction:
A state may be defined as a politically organized body of people inhabiting a defined
geographical entity with an organized legitimate government. A state is free from external
control and possesses the power to secure obedience from the citizens. U.S.A, Nigeria,
Ghana, etc. are examples of states.
A state exists where there are territories, people, a government, and sovereignty, while a
nation may be seen as a body of people who feel to be naturally linked together by the same
language and culture. To learn more, click here.
Week Four: Basic Concepts of Government
Introduction:
Power is the ability to enforce decisions or command others to take a course of action
irrespective of their wish to do so. It is the ability to command others to behave in a certain
way.
For example, a political leader may have the ability to control the action of others by
promising those who support him wealth or honours and he may threaten to deny such
rewards to those that oppose him. Sanction is often applied for non-compliance. To learn
more, click here.
SS1 First Term Government Lesson Note
Week Five: Legitimacy and Sovereignty
Introduction:
Legitimacy is the acceptability of government and political systems by the people. They are
regarded as lawful. A government is legitimate if it has come into office through a recognized
and accepted procedure such as free and fair elections.
Factors that affect the legitimacy
i. In a society where there are common values accepted by large members, the government
and political system based on such values will be legitimate.
ii. In a state where there is a long period of political contact, legitimacy is enhanced. To
learn more, click here.
Week Six: Democracy
Introduction:
Democracy can be defined as a government of the people, by the people and for the people in
ordinary terms. Democracy is a system of government in which all the people of a state or
nation are involved in making decisions about its affairs, typically by voting to elect
representatives to a parliament or similar assembly.
Features of Democracy
(i) Elected representative: In democracy representatives elected by the people make laws
and frame policies of the government. To learn more, click here.
Week Seven: Communism, Socialism and Capitalism
Introduction:
Communism may be defined as a political and economic system in which the community
through common ownership, collectively controls all the means of production of goods
and services, exchange and distribution.
Karl Marx (1818-1883) writes that; communism will be achieved if the state serves as an
instrument of coercion and repression cease to exist. The slogan of communism is from “each
according to his ability and to each according to his needs”. To learn more, click here.
Week Eight: Communalism, Socialism, and Capitalism
Introduction:
Communism may be defined as a political and economic system in which the community
through common ownership, collectively controls all the means of production of goods
and services, exchange and distribution.
Karl Marx (1818-1883) writes that; communism will be achieved if the state serves as an
instrument of coercion and repression cease to exist. The slogan of communism is from “each
according to his ability and to each according to his needs”.
Characteristics of Communism
1. The state applies the use of force to achieve goals.
2. Most communist states are one-party state.
3. economic planning is highly centralized.
To read more, click here
Week Nine: Communalism, Feudalism, Fascism, and Totalitarianism
Introduction:
Communalism is the first, most primitive, and the simplest mode of production where the
land and what is produced on the land belong to all the members of the community and are
equitably distributed or shared.
Features of Communalism
1. What is produced belongs to the community.
2. The society is classless
3. Production is at a subsistence level
4. The means of exchange is by barter
5. Absence of commodification of labour
Feudalism can be defined as the identification of landed property with sovereignty over a
parcel of land which becomes a private hereditary possession and an asset to the family. To
learn more, click here.
Week Ten: Types and Characteristics of Government
Introduction:
A unitary system of government, or unitary state, is a sovereign state governed as a single
entity. The central government is supreme, and the administrative divisions exercise only
powers that the central government has delegated to them.
Features of the unitary System of Government
1. A Single Central All-powerful Government:
In a unitary state, all the powers are vested with one single central government whose
authority is supreme over all the parts of the state. It alone legislates for the entire state. Local
Governments can make rules under powers specifically delegated to them by the central
government. To learn more, click here.
Week Twelve: Revision
This week, we would be doing a revision of all that we learned during the term.
Week Thirteen: Examination
Afterwards, we would write an examination, which would test our knowledge of what has
been taught so far.