Speaker of the Nigeria House of Representatives, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives: A comparative study

The purpose of this study therefore is to attempt to focus attention on the Speakership as it evolved and grew from earliest colonial times in the United States, and also how this office has been growing in Nigeria. The study will be commenced first by presenting a precise, concise and properly detailed treatise on the evolution of that office in England, mentioning medieval developments wherever necessary. Incidental treatment will be given to the Speakers of legislative bodies of British Commonwealth nations. The next phase of our study will deal with the United States political setting and evolution of the U.S. House of Representatives with its colonial background. Mention will definitely be made of a few U.S. Speakers and their respective contributions noted. The object here will be to present an American parallel to the parent process of Great Britain. Immediately following the American setting will be Nigeria's constitutional story, her birth as a potential nation and present status. The legislative branch of the government will be treated from the beginnings of the Legislative Council through various constitutional changes to the present. The constitutional story while not very important is absolutely necessary since the Speakership is almost an inseparable part of the legislature. The next chapter will be concentrated on the Nigeria Colonial Governor, who as we shall see was the first Speaker of its kind in Nigeria. The American Speakership will then follow and will of course receive similar detailed treatment. In the course of the above treatise, comparisons, contrasts and parallels of every kind will be drawn and areas of deviations noted. The last chapter will embody the conclusions of this writer, a look into the future and possible suggestions made regarding how the office could be improved. Special attention in this chapter will be given to the American Speaker in the light of the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 which puts the Speaker next in line to the United States Vice-President in order of succession to the Presidency.