MEANING OF GOVERNMENT AND ARMS OF GOVERNMENT

Government is a machinery set up by the state to control it’s affair, by state here we mean both the government and the people inhabiting a particular geographical territory. Government take care of the affair of the state and see to the day to day running of activities, as the first and foremost responsivity of government, it must protect the life and property of every citizen in a country, also government is the institution that controls and make laws as to human conducts in the society.

Without further Ado, we should look at government in a diverse meanings. it can be seen as an institution of the state, as a process of governing, or as an academic field of study. if we should look at it from the stance of an institution of the state, it may be said to be as the machinery that has been set of by the same state, manage it’s affairs and administer it’s functions and duties.

Meanwhile Government as a process of governing, government is a body vested with power to maintain peace and security as well as the power to make and enforce laws on the people of a country. Also, as an  academic field of study, government is the study of political institutions, ideas, values and doctrines about politics. It is a subject in social sciences. this is that you do things relating to government at different stages in higher institution, it’s imputed in Sociology, Political science, Geography, Statistic etc. all subject/courses mentioned at a point has an element of government.

In other context we could define government to be a process or an act of governing through which rules and regulations are made, interpreted, implemented and enforced. Through these, the activities of the people in society are regulated.

ARMS OF GOVERNMENT

Arms of government will be better explained in the modern context where it has been compartmentalized to just three sects which is the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. The ideology of these separation is the ideology of Baron d’ Montesquieu who believe that power should not reside in the hand of only one department, power residing in one person alone bring about abuse. In word of lord acting he opined that “power corrupt and absolute power corrupt absolutely” and as to this we’d for the purpose of this post talk about the three arms of government which are Executive, Legislature and Judiciary

THE THREE ARMS OF GOVERNMENT

1. EXECUTVE
2. LEGISLATURE 
3. JUDICIARY

EXECUTIVE : This is the arm of Government that sees to the implementation of Government policies and also execute whatever Laws that must have been made by the legislature, the executive also goes further to assent bills that has been made by the legislature before it finally becomes Law. Think of Bill to be a proposed law waiting for the assent of the executive, bill is like trying to say let’s have this particular thing that will regulate conduct in the society but such thing can’t become law  unless the executive has said ‘YES’ we do comply with what you’ve drafted. The executive is a powerful tool of the government and it include the police men, the armed force of any country, the President himself, the vice president, ministers and all cabinet members, although the president is seen to be the head of them all, having said all this I supposed it is then pertinent to discuss the functions of the executive, although there are lot of functions executive carries out in the society but inter alia (among other things) we’d be discussing just 5

FUNCTIONS OF EXECUTIVE

1. Implementation of policies
2. Act as defense for the nation against external aggression
3. See to day to day running of the administrative business
4. Assentation of Bills (Proposed Law)
5. Acting as check on the other arms (although it’s a common feature to all arms)

LEGISLATURE  : The Legislature are those one who make laws for the society, a fast signaling stance to remember this is when one can link the two L’s, ‘Laws’ and ‘Legislature‘, this scope thus really help student understand what it is as to legislature. The primary duty of the legislature is to make laws, although there are lot of other functions that the legislature does carries out, it doesn’t at any point still vitiate their primary duty. Oversight function is one potent tool in the hand of the legislature and it is does to oversee governmental action as to how their are progress or if what has been said or why money has been issued is still in tact. The legislature is a very powerful arm of government as the absense of it brings man to ‘state of nature‘ where Thomas Hobbes  supposed life to be Brutish, Nasty, Solitary, even short’. Legislature differs from country to country by virtue of the name being called, for Instance, it’s called  Congress in The United state, it is called Parliament in the United kingdom, and in Nigeria National Assembly. The legislature proposes such bill we mentioned above and by this there are processes such bill has to pass through these are :

• First Reading
• Second Reading
• Committee Stage
• Report Stage
• Third Reading
• and finally the Assent (which is done by the Legislature)

FUNCTIONS OF THE LEGISLATURE

1. Law making (the primary duty of any legislature is to make law and order for such society)
2. Oversight Function
3. Approval of proposition made by the executive of State of Emergency (Happens during war or chaos or Pandemic where everyone is asked to either stay indoor or save their life by whatever means)
4. Approval of Budget ( This are public office Budget probably has been estimated by a minister or President)
5. Approval of people to public office ( most ministers in the country are selected by the president but became a full fledge minister upon the approval of the National assembly)

JUDICIARY : More details on this will be discussed fully in the next post, the judiciary is that arm of government that sees to settlement of dispute and Adjudicate Laws. The functions and other relevant had be discussed in the next post.

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