EFFECT OF VITAMINS C AND E INTAKE ON BLOOD ... - EuroJournals

European Journal of Social Sciences - Volume 2, Number 1 (2006)
of a people is above all an essential part of its general history" and that taxes do not only help to create
the state, but also help to form it. Schumpeter's argument appears relevant to Nigeria's political history
where fiscal finance forms a dominant part. Nobert EIias (1996:345-6) focuses on the state’s monopoly
of violence and explains the inter-relationship between the use of physical violence and taxation. He
comments,
The society of what we call the modern age is characterized, above all in the West, by a certain level of monopolization. Free use of
military weapons is denied the individual and reserved to a central authority of whatever kind, and likewise the taxation of the property
or income of individuals is concentrated in the hands of a central social authority. The financial means thus flowing into this central
authority maintain its monopoly of military force, while this in turn maintains the monopoly of taxation.
Many African States, including Nigeria, have abused this monopoly of violence and taxation. In
Nigeria, the military has used its weapons not only to harass, but to extort money from innocent and
defenceless citizens. In December 1968, "a combined team of police and army opened fire on (tax)
agitators" in Western State. At the end of the demonstrations, "it was estimated that more than fifty
people had been killed in different parts of the state with several more wounded." (Drum, 1969). This
type of state violence has replayed itself times without number in the country.
State monopoly can be viewed from another angle. The federal government enjoys some certain
monopoly of taxing powers as contained in the constitution. 3 It also enjoys monopoly over the armed
forces (the army, the air force and navy), the police and other para-military bodies.Human (1995:20)
provides explanation for the State’s monopoly of violence:
States justify the violence they use to this end by saying that they cannot do the good that they do for their societies if they are not given
the right of ultimate recourse to violence against those who impede, resist or impair their efforts. To forestall a situation where, in every
case, individuals or groups of people resist their actions, states have to employ violent means; states establish their control over society
by demanding a monopoly over the means of violence. ... Hence the force used by the state is sometimes referred to as 'legitimate'.
Violence used by any one else in society is seen as 'illegitimate.'
Human’s argument appears reasonable and logical provided it is not turned to oppression of citizens.
Some scholars have dealt with specific aspects of public finance in Nigeria. Adedeji (1969) reviews
Nigeria’s fiscal policy from 1946 to 1969; Mbanefoh and Anyanwu (1990) deal with the constitutional
role of revenue mobilization and allocation among the various tiers of government; and Adesola (1989)
examines the machinery for collection and disbursement of public funds in Nigeria with a prescription
for the aborted Third Republic. A great deal of work has also been devoted to tax administration in
Nigeria. They include (Adesola, 1986; Okele, 1986; Omopariola and Nassar, 1986; Oyelere and
Oyewole, 1986; Oribabor, 1986). Others have limited their scope to local government finance. In this
category, are Adedeji and Rowland (1971) and Bello-Imam (1989). The intellectual and theoretical
discourse has shown that the subject of taxation and fiscal policy has received substantial attention;
although not from governance perspective, which is the focus of this paper.
Nigerian governance: historical and geographical profile
Nigerian governance environment can best be understood within its political, historical and
geographical profile. The amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorates and the Lagos
Colony gave birth to Nigeria from a motley of nationalities and ethnic groups on January 1, 1914 . In
1954, the country adopted a federal system and attained Independence on October 1960 with
Westminster Parliamentary system of government. The federal system has transmuted from a twotiered
federal structure, comprising three unequal regions to a three-tiered federal system of 36 states,
one federal capital territory (FCT) and 774 local governments. Nigeria is 924,000 square kilometres
with two distinct climatic zones - the tropical south and the hot, dry north. Three main cultural groups
3See item 39 of the Exclusive Legislative List of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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