SOCIAL GROUPS:EXAMPLES OF SECONDARY

SOCIAL GROUPS

EXAMPLES OF SECONDARY SOCIAL GROUPS

• Political parties: a political party is a group of people bound together with the major aim of seeking and gaining political power. They have members drawn from different communities, ethnic groups, professions, religions and genders. Some examples of them are Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labor Party (LP), action congress of Nigeria (ACN) etc. through their manifestoes, they influence the political behavior of citizen. They educate citizens through their programs, campaigns and rallies etc.

• Pressure groups: a pressure group is any group of people with common interests in a political system and with the purpose of influencing the policies of government to suit its own interests. Pressure groups are sometimes regarded as selfish interests groups because their main objective is to affect the political system and government programs in favor of their members. They do not aspire to rule and are not concerned about interests that are different from their own. Some of them are listed below

• Occupational/professional pressure groups e.g. (NMA) Nigerian Medical Association, (NUT) Nigerian Union of Teachers etc.

• Trade unions: Nigerian Labor Congress, (TUC) Trade Union Congress

• Religious groups: Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (SCIA) etc.

• Educational pressure groups: Academic staff union of Universities (ASUU), and National Association of Nigeria Students (NANSU) etc.

• Economic Pressure Groups: Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

• It should be noted that some pressure groups may be formed for the purpose of achieving a definite objective and the moment this is achieved, the group ceases to exist.

• Voluntary Organization: these are groups joined willingly by members with the sole aim of rendering humanitarian d=service to the society without the expectation of any monetary reward but free of charge. Such organizations include Man O’ War Cadets Club, Red Cross and Red Crescent societies of Nigeria, National council of Women Societies etc.

FUNCTIONS OF SECONDARY SOCIAL GROUPS

• a. They help to maintain law and order in the society e.g. Boys Scout, Man O’ War Cadet Club, etc. and provide security services such as traffic control on our roads.

• b. They foster unity in different socio-cultural ethnic groups with different religions inductions and political ideologies.

• c. They encourage peace and friendship which could eventually lead to inter-tribal and inter-religious marriages especially among the unmarried youths.

• d. They encourage division of labor which leads to interdependence, cooperation and specialization among members

• e. They help individuals to learn new roles as members change roles from time to time to higher posts which present new functions or challenges to the individuals.

• f. They prepare members for higher leadership roles in the larger society.

ASSIGNMENT FOR WEEK 3

• Mention 5 functions of political parties

• Give three examples of pressure groups and state how pressure groups achieve their objectives

• List the importance of voluntary organizations