The Legislative Process in Nigeria

Using the Court in this manner is a double edged sword, for all kinds of radicals now use the Court to legislate their views into law, rather than have the people’s representatives do the law making. Thus, judicial activist judges in either the right or left use the Bench to make laws, rather than construe the constitution strictly. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe versus Wade made abortion legal even though a majority of Americans oppose abortion on demand; the courts are on the curve of making homosexuality legal.)
If the conference committee reconciles the differences in the Bill, it goes to the President to sign it. If he signs it, it becomes the law; if he refuses to sign it, veto it, it dies. If it is vetoed, Congress can revote on it and if two thirds vote for it, it overrides the President’s veto. No party has two-thirds majority in Congress so it is near impossible to override the president’s veto.
The above is pretty much how laws are made in America, be it at the national, state or local level. At the state level, the state legislature follows the same procedures and when a Bill is passed goes to the governor for his signature or veto. Governor Arnold Schwasenegger just vetoed a California Bill that would have made homosexuality legal in that state. At the county and city levels, the same process is followed. The County council is the legislative body and the County Executive is the executive arm of government. At the city level, the city council is the legislative body and the mayor is the executive. The same process is followed in making laws at the local level as at the state and central levels.
As we pointed out in our lecture on interest groups, laws in America are made by a confluence of parties including the President, Congressional committees (particularly the chairperson), top bureaucrats and interest groups. Some argue that in fact interest groups rule America. Socialist scholars tend to argue that America is ruled by elite of powerful interest groups. There is some merit to their views but as I pointed out before, it seems that America is a pluralistic democracy and many groups affect law and public policy.
What is self evident is that the rich and powerful have more access to influencing Congress than the poor. African Americans, who are generally poor, have little or no influence on legislation. (In Louisiana, the average black makes less than $1000 a month, an amount not even good enough to for renting a good apartment.) Blacks are poor and do not affect public policy. Until last year, there was not even one black man in the Senate. Barrack Osama, whose father is from Kenya, was elected Senator from Illinois.
It is simply self-evident that whites rule America and that blacks are marginalized. But this is real politics and one is not being sentimental about reality. It is for blacks to get their acts together and figure out a way to play an effective role in the governing of America. Consider that at present all Western Europeans can come to America without visas. But Africans are required to have visas, which they seldom obtain, to come to America. The result is that America preserves its European majority. Why not encourage more Africans to come to America and that way reduce the domination of whites over blacks? Politics is war by other means, so Africans must fight their war to make themselves given the same opportunities, as others are given. In war as in politics people do not get what they want without struggling for it.