Observation

 

The question was not popular. The weakness of this question is attributed to the fact that candidates were mistaking the concept of political parties to mean civil societies. In some other instances, candidates were writing more about civil servants rather than discussing about civil societies. They failed to realize that civil servants are also closely related to public servants and they were taking civil societies to mean political office holders and the politicians at large. The candidates were expected to provide the following answers to the question:

a. Definition of civil society

Civil society is a non-governmental organization formed for the purposes of promoting and protecting the interest of generality of the people as well as mobilizing them for participation in the governance and development of the society. 

b. Impediments to the effectiveness of civil societies in Nigeria

1. Civil societies are vulnerable to political manipulations.
2. Corruption on the part of membership.
3. Divided loyalty/interest on the part of members.
4. Misinforming the public or engagement in propaganda.
5. Their activities are often antagonistic to government hence; they do not get the needed attention from the government.
6. They are often rigid in their views of public interest.
7. Internal wrangling/personality clashes of the leadership.
8. Inadequate funding.
9. Overdependence on external sources for funding and operational support.