One of the following is a characteristic of a unitary system

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks which feature is typical of a unitary system of government.

Step 2: Explain the concept A unitary system is one in which all governmental power is concentrated in a central government. Any regional or local governments exist only because the central government created them and can change or abolish them. Examples include the United Kingdom (historically), France, and Ghana.

Unitary systems usually work best where:

• The population is small or fairly uniform in language, culture, and religion (a homogeneous society).
• There is little need to share power between different ethnic or regional groups.

By contrast, federal systems (like Nigeria) are usually adopted in large, diverse, heterogeneous societies. Federalism lets different groups keep some autonomy.

Step 3: Evaluate the options

• A. Heterogeneous society: This is a typical reason for choosing federalism, not a unitary system. ✗
• B. Homogeneous society: Shared culture and language make a single central authority workable. ✓
• C. Communal society: This describes the communal social and economic organization of early societies (communalism), not a feature of government structure. ✗
• D. Feudal society: This is an arrangement based on land ownership and lord-vassal relationships, not a unitary system. ✗

Step 4: Answer The correct option is B. Homogeneous society.

💡 Exam tip: Remember the pairing: Unitary = Uniform (homogeneous) and Federal = Fusion of diverse groups (heterogeneous). If you see "diverse" or "heterogeneous," think federal. If you see "homogeneous" or "small and uniform," think unitary.