JAMB Government flashcards
JAMB Government · Build recall with a focused review session.
31 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Concord
- Agreement between subject and verb: singular subjects take singular verbs, plural subjects take plural verbs. Collective nouns take singular verbs when acting as a single unit.
- Subjunctive mood
- Verb form used after wish, if only, as if, and verbs of demand or suggestion. All persons take were, as in if I were you.
- Dangling modifier
- An introductory phrase that fails to modify the subject of the main clause. In walking home, the rain began, the rain cannot walk, so the modifier dangles.
- Comma splice
- Joining two independent clauses with only a comma. Correct it with a semicolon, a full stop, or a coordinating conjunction such as and or but.
- Semicolon
- Punctuation mark that joins two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction, or separates items in a list that already contain commas.
- Adjective after sense verbs
- Verbs like look, feel, taste, smell and sound take adjectives, not adverbs. The soup tastes good, not tastes well, because it describes the soup.
- Reported speech tense shift
- After a past reporting verb, present tenses shift to past and past to past perfect. Universal truths keep the present tense, as in he said the sun rises.
- Between versus among
- Between is used for two persons or things, among for three or more. Between can also show a relationship involving several parties taken individually.
- Separation of powers
- Doctrine attributed to Montesquieu dividing government into legislature, executive and judiciary, each checking the others so no single body holds absolute power.
- Federalism
- System where a written constitution divides powers between a central government and regional units. Residual powers go to the states in Nigeria.
- Unitary system
- Government where one central authority holds undivided sovereignty and delegates revocable powers to local units, which it may abolish or restructure.
- Clifford Constitution 1922
- Nigerian constitution that introduced the elective principle, allowing a few Africans to be elected to the Legislative Council for the first time.
- Rule of law
- Dicey's principle that all persons are equal before the law, no one is punished except for a proven breach, and courts protect rights against arbitrary power.
- First-past-the-post
- Electoral system where the candidate with the most votes in a constituency wins, even without a majority. It tends to favour large parties.
- Proportional representation
- Electoral system allocating legislative seats in proportion to each party's share of votes, helping smaller parties gain representation compared with first-past-the-post.
- Pressure group
- Organised association such as a trade union or professional body that seeks to influence government policy in favour of its members without contesting elections for power.
- Military rule
- Government by armed forces that suspend the constitution, rule by decree, dissolve legislatures and concentrate power in a ruling council.
- Price elasticity of demand
- Percentage change in quantity demanded divided by percentage change in price. Values above one are elastic, below one inelastic, equal to one unitary.
- Equilibrium price
- Price at which quantity demanded equals quantity supplied. A price above it creates a surplus; a price below it creates a shortage.
- Opportunity cost
- Value of the next best alternative forgone when a choice is made. It is measured by the sacrificed option, not by the money actually spent.
- GDP versus GNP
- GDP is output produced within a country's borders; GNP adds net factor income from abroad to GDP, so it reflects income earned by nationals.
- Inflation
- Sustained rise in the general price level, commonly measured by the consumer price index. It reduces the purchasing power of money over time.
- Functions of money
- Money serves as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value and a standard for deferred payments in an economy.
- Open market operations
- Central bank buying or selling of government securities to control money supply. Selling securities absorbs cash and reduces the money supply.
- Factors of production
- Land earns rent, labour earns wages, capital earns interest and the entrepreneur earns profit. These four resources combine to produce goods and services.
- ECOWAS
- Economic Community of West African States, founded in 1975 in Lagos with headquarters in Abuja, promoting regional trade and economic integration.
- OPEC
- Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, founded in 1960 in Baghdad. Nigeria joined in 1971 and is a leading African oil producer.
- Nigerian independence
- Nigeria gained independence from Britain on 1 October 1960 and became a republic in 1963, with Nnamdi Azikiwe as first ceremonial president.
- African Union
- Continental organisation launched in 2002 to replace the Organisation of African Unity, promoting unity, peace and development among African states.
- Commonwealth
- Voluntary association of former British territories. The British monarch heads it, but membership does not require recognising the monarch as head of state.
- Niger-Benue confluence
- Point at Lokoja in Kogi State where the Niger and Benue rivers meet. Nigeria has 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.