Government StudiesHistory Classroom

Characteristics And Functions Of Government

Tafawa Balewa and Princess Alexandra - Characteristics And Functions Of Government
Nigerian Leaders and Princess Alexandra

Below are the major characteristics and functions of government in a state.

Characteristics of Government

1. Constitution – This is a major characteristic of a government. The government make a set of agreed rules which guides it in the administration of the state.

2. Periodic Change – A government is meant to change after a specific period of time. No government is permanent, particularly a democratic or elective government which changes through periodic election.

3. Legitimacy – A government must enjoy the support of the people.

4. Revenue – The government make revenue in different ways to enhance its administration

5. Political Power – The government must possess political power which is a tool of rooting orderliness in a state.

6. Universality of Government’s reach – The jurisdiction of the government must reach or extend to everyone within the state.

7. Public Institutions– The institutions comprising the government of a political society differ from the other institutions within the society.

Functions Of Government

The government of a state owe allegiance to the state itself and its citizens as well. If a government fails to do its functions in a state, the citizens can request for the replacement of such government in as much Democracy is in practice. Below are the duties or functions of government in a state.

1. Law Making
2. Military defence of the country
3. Provision of employment
4. Maintenance of law and order
5. Promotion of economic growth and development
6. Maintaining good relations with other sovereign states or countries (foreign diplomacy)
7. Protection of civil liberties
8. Protection of lives and properties
9. Administration of justice
10. Formulation and implementation of policies
11. Provision of social-welfare services

12. Military defence of the country
13. Provision of employment
14. Maintenance of law and order
15. Promotion of economic growth and development
16. Maintaining good relations with other sovereign states or countries (foreign diplomacy)
17. Protection of civil liberties
18. Protection of lives and properties
19. Administration of justice
20. Formulation and implementation of policies
21. Provision of social-welfare services

Reference:

  • C. C. Dibie; Essential Government for Senior Secondary Schools; 3rd edition; Lagos; Tonad Publishers; 2008

Kindly drop a comment below if you find this post about the characteristics and functions of government helpful or if you have a question.

Cite this article as: Teslim Omipidan. (February 13, 2019). Characteristics And Functions Of Government. OldNaija. Retrieved from https://oldnaija.com/2019/02/13/characteristics-and-functions-of-government/

21 Comments

  1. I am highly greetfull for all this I have been leading from it but I still need the main answer to this
    Revenue

  2. Okay.
    The government of a state need money to ehance its functions in the state which basically include provision of social amenities, protecting its citizens and paying worker’s salaries. The government then has to create ways of making revenue from its jurisdiction and these ways include taxation, tourism, exportation and so on. I hope I have answered your question, Mr. Samuel Obinna. Thank you for your visit. Kindly do check back.

  3. We have three arms of government, in Nigeria I was expecting you tell us how they perform, their duties

  4. I’m 100l students please help me with this question. in a comprehensive manner justify the existence of government in any society

  5. I am very grateful to all this ,but i still need more explanation on the characteristic and function of government

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