Organs of government

Traps in Organs of government

• Attributes the idea or event to the wrong person
  Pair each thinker with one book and one key idea (Montesquieu – Spirit of the Laws – separation of powers; Hobbes – Leviathan – absolute sovereign; Locke – limited government).
• Reverses the principle or its effect
  Ask what problem the principle is meant to solve; the right answer serves that purpose, the reversal defeats it.
• Confuses separation of powers and checks and balances
  Separation of powers (Montesquieu): legislature makes, executive implements, judiciary interprets laws. Checks and balances: each organ limits the others (veto, impeachment, judicial review).
• Assigns the function to the wrong body
  Make a table: body → main function → membership. Match the function in the stem to the body, not the topic area.
• Picks a closely related concept
  Learn related terms as contrasting pairs with one-line definitions, then identify which one the stem describes.
• Confuses legislative structures
  Unicameral = one chamber (Ghana); bicameral = two (Nigeria: Senate + House of Reps). Speaker presides; whips enforce party discipline; quorum is the minimum number to transact business.
• Confuses parliamentary and presidential systems
  Parliamentary: executive drawn from and responsible to legislature (fusion), separate head of state and head of government. Presidential: separate executive, fixed term, president is both heads.
• Confuses federal and unitary systems
  Federal: powers divided CONSTITUTIONALLY between centre and units (Nigeria, USA). Unitary: power concentrated at the centre, which may delegate (Ghana, UK).
• Over-generalises a feature
  Political systems vary; options with all/always/never are usually wrong unless the definition itself is absolute.
• Confuses executive roles
  Collective responsibility: the cabinet stands or falls together. Individual responsibility: a minister answers for their department. Ceremonial head of state vs executive head of government.
• Misunderstands judicial independence
  Independence is secured by security of tenure, salaries charged on the consolidated fund, appointment through a judicial service commission, and immunity for judicial acts.
• Describes a different system of government
  Learn each classification as a table with one defining feature per type (parliamentary: fused executive and legislature; confederation: units keep sovereignty) and match the stem to that feature.
• Confuses electoral systems and bodies
  Franchise = right to vote. First-past-the-post: highest votes wins a constituency. Proportional representation: seats in proportion to votes.
• Military rule misconceptions
  Military regimes suspend the constitution and rule by decrees/edicts; the ruling council (e.g. Supreme Military Council) combines executive and legislative powers.
• Chooses a true but irrelevant statement
  Test each option against the exact term in the stem, not against whether it is true.
• Gives only one part of the concept
  Recall the full definition and check the option covers it, not just one component.
• Confuses legal remedies and writs
  Habeas corpus: produce a detained person before the court. Mandamus: compel a public officer to perform a duty. Certiorari: quash a decision of a lower court or tribunal. Injunction: restrain a person from doing something. Prohibition: stop a lower court exceeding its jurisdiction.
• Confuses international organisations
  ECOWAS: 1975, Lagos treaty, HQ Abuja. OAU: 1963 Addis Ababa → AU 2002. UN: 1945, HQ New York. Commonwealth: former British territories.
• Misunderstands features of civil service
  Civil service: permanence, neutrality, anonymity, impartiality, recruitment on merit.
• Confuses pre-colonial political systems
  Hausa-Fulani: centralised emirates under the Emir with Sharia. Old Oyo: Alaafin checked by Oyomesi, Ogboni. Igbo: acephalous/segmentary, council of elders, age grades. Ashanti: Asantehene with the Golden Stool, confederacy.
• Picks the wrong country or place
  Learn the place with its distinguishing fact (OPEC HQ: Vienna; founded in Baghdad). Read whether the stem asks where something began or where it is now.