WAEC Civic Education 2016 past questions

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 23 October 2026

Ten questions from the 2016 WAEC Civic Education paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 41 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

WAEC Civic Education 2016 questions and answers

1. 1.The most important place for building good values is the
   1. A
      home
      Correct
   2. B
      school
   3. C
      peer group
   4. D
      religious organization
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   Answer: A

   In Civic Education, the home (family) is recognized as the most important agent of socialization and the first and strongest place where good values — honesty, respect, discipline, hard work, obedience — are built in a child. It is within the family that a child first learns right from wrong, long before any other institution has contact with them, and the values instilled there shape how the child responds to every other institution later in life.

2. 2.Youth empowerment promotes?
   1. A
      Rural-urban migration of young people
   2. B
      Dependency of the youth on government welfare
   3. C
      Self-reliance among the youth
      Correct
   4. D
      Political apathy among the youth
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   Answer: C

   Youth empowerment means equipping young people with skills, knowledge, resources and opportunities (such as vocational training, access to credit, and entrepreneurship support) so they can create their own means of livelihood instead of waiting to be given one.

3. 3.Oh motherland, you were a precious country, a beacon of hope and aspiration as well as toga of pride of your citizens at independence. However, today you are bedeviled with evil, engulfed in darkness and to say the obvious, at the edge of total moral collaspe. Corruption, fraud, deception and dishonesty are prevalent; drug peddlers are having a field day . In schools and colleges , radicalism, prostitution, cultism, examination malpractice among the other social vices are order of the day. Based on the monologue, the best approach to curb decadence in the motherland is by
   1. A
      relying on security agencies alone to arrest and punish offenders
   2. B
      re-orientating citizens towards positive moral and civic values
      Correct
   3. C
      waiting for foreign aid and intervention to reform the society
   4. D
      banning schools and colleges from admitting young people
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   Answer: B

   The monologue describes a nation that has fallen from its ideals at independence into corruption, fraud, drug peddling, cultism and examination malpractice among the youth. This is a description of a moral and value crisis, not merely a crime or security problem.

4. 4.The effect of human trafficking on the victim is?
   1. A
      Loss of foreign exchange earnings for the nation
   2. B
      Reduction in the country's workforce
   3. C
      A damaged international image for the country
   4. D
      Trauma and psychological problems
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   Human trafficking harms both the victim directly and the nation indirectly. The question asks specifically about the effect on the victim, not on the country.

   Since the question is about the victim personally, the trauma and psychological harm is the correct answer.

5. 5.Which of the following is not a means of reducing the incidence of HIV/AIDS in our society
   1. A
      Being faithful to one sexual partner
   2. B
      Sharing of sharp objects such as needles, blades and syringes
      Correct
   3. C
      Screening of blood before transfusion
   4. D
      Abstinence from premarital and extramarital sex
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   Answer: B

   Sharing of sharp objects such as needles, blades and syringes is NOT a means of reducing HIV/AIDS — it is in fact one of the major ways the virus spreads, since HIV passes easily through contact with infected blood on unsterilised sharp instruments. This is the correct answer to "which is NOT a means of reducing the incidence of HIV/AIDS".

6. 6.Which of the following instruments is not used by a civil society group
   1. A
      Use of force
      Correct
   2. B
      Lobbying
   3. C
      Dialogue
   4. D
      Public demonstration
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   Answer: A

   Use of force is the instrument NOT used by a civil society group.

   Civil society groups (trade unions, NGOs, professional associations, pressure groups, etc.) are voluntary, non-governmental bodies. To pursue their aims and influence government or public opinion, they rely on peaceful and lawful instruments such as:

   Lobbying – meeting and persuading lawmakers or officials to support a cause;
   Public demonstration – organising rallies or protest marches to draw attention to an issue;
   Dialogue – engaging government or other stakeholders in discussion and negotiation.

7. 7.The administrative class in the public service is to?
   1. A
      perform routine and manipulative duties such as cleaning and messenger work
   2. B
      formulate policies and advise the government on their implementation
      Correct
   3. C
      keep records, files and correspondence of the ministry
   4. D
      implement and enforce the decisions taken by the administrative class
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   Answer: B

   The public service (civil service) is organised into classes, graded by the nature of work: administrative, professional, executive, clerical and sub-clerical/manipulative.

   Since the question asks what the administrative class itself is there to do, the correct answer is that it formulates policy and advises government on implementation — not that it carries out the manual, clerical or enforcement work done by the classes beneath it.

8. 8.The process of enabling someone to perform an action which adds value to his/her life is known as
   1. A
      Empowerment
      Correct
   2. B
      Motivation
   3. C
      Enlightenment
   4. D
      Orientation
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   Answer: A

   Empowerment is correct. Empowerment is the process of giving a person the skills, resources, tools or authority needed to carry out an action that improves or adds value to their own life — for example, a government skills-acquisition scheme that equips a youth with a trade and start-up capital so they can earn a living.

9. 9.Lack of interest in politics by citizens in the country is referred to as
   1. A
      Political illiteracy
   2. B
      Disenfranchisement
   3. C
      Political alienation
   4. D
      Political apathy
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   Political apathy is the term used in civic education for a lack of interest in politics and public affairs by citizens. An apathetic citizen does not care to vote, join political parties, attend town hall meetings, or follow government policies, even though nothing stops them from doing so.

10. 10.Dr. Fajir was the minister of works and urban development in the Ganiba Republic. As such, he was entrusted with the public fund so that his ministry could construct new roads and rehabilitate the existing ones. Unfortunately, mr Fajir embezzled the money entrusted in his care and siphoned some to his foreign accounts. This led to the deplorable condition of roads in the republic. The crime commission arrested and prosecuted him accordingly. Consequently, he was given the opportunity to be defended by a lawyer of his choice in a court of law. However, he forfeited all his ill gotten wealths to the republic. According to the above story, the open trial of Dr fajir and his representation by lawyer of his choice in a court of competent jurisdiction is an indication of
    1. A
       Presumption of innocence
    2. B
       Judicial independence
    3. C
       Rule of law
    4. D
       Fair hearing
       Correct
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    Answer: D

    Fair hearing is correct. Look at exactly what the passage says happened to Dr Fajir after his arrest: his trial was open (held in public), he was allowed a lawyer of his own choice to defend him, and he was tried in a court of competent jurisdiction. These three features are the textbook ingredients of the right to fair hearing as guaranteed in Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria: a public trial, legal representation of one's own choosing, and adjudication by a properly constituted and competent court within a reasonable time.

The questions come from past JAMB, WAEC and NECO papers. We use software to help write the answer options and explanations, and every answer is checked twice before it goes on the site. How we check

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