COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS

The Commonwealth was traditionally made up of Britain and her former colonies but today there are members of the commonwealth, like Rwanda and Mozambique, who were not former colonies of Britain. In its current form the Commonwealth can be described as an association of independent countries who have freely come together to cooperate among each other for the benefit of their citizens.


COUNTRIES THAT BELONG TO THE COMMONWEALTH

Ghana, Nigeria, India, South Africa, Jamaica, Uganda, United Kingdom, Pakistan, Tanzania, Kenya, Cananda, Malaysia, Australia,  Sierra Leone, Singapore, Namibia, Zambia, Swaziland, Botswana, Malawi

 
FEATURES OF THE COMMONWEALTH

>Queen as Head of Commonwealth:
One of the main features of the Commonwealth of Nations is that the Queen of England was made the head of the organization and still remains so. When the British colonies attained independence, many of them retained the Queen of England as their Heads of State until they attained republican status.

>Biennial Summit:
Another major feature of the Commonwealth is the summit that is held by the organization every two years to discuss matters of importance to member states. These summits are attended by Heads of Government of member countries. 

>Common Official Language:
One of the features of the commonwealth is that the members speak a common language. All the members, in exception of Rwanda and Mozambique, use English as their official language. India, on the other hand later adopted Hindi to replace the English language. 

>Common Systems of Government:
Another feature of the Commonwealth is their adoption of a common system of government. After the attainment of independence, the member states that were former colonies of Britain all adopted the parliamentary or the Cabinet system of government that the British, their former colonial master were practicing.

>Common Educational Systems:
Another feature is that the member states of Commonwealth of Nations have similar educational systems. The educational system of each member state was modeled on the educational system of the British. 

>Common Legal System:
The members of the Commonwealth also adopted the British legal systems. If one went to a court in any member country of the Commonwealth, the procedures are not different from the procedures adopted by any other member of the Commonwealth, maybe only in those member states that were not originally colonies of Britain.

>Exchange of High Commissioners:
One other significant feature of the Commonwealth is that when member states exchange ambassadors as is done between any other two sovereign countries, the appointees are not designated as ambassadors. In the Commonwealth, they are referred to as High Commissioners. The functions they perform as High Commissioners are not however, substantially different from those performed by ambassadors.


BENEFITS DERIVED FROM THE COMMONWEALTH BY MEMBER COUNTRIES

Employment opportunity
Many qualified citizens of member countries have found employment with the Commonwealth of Nations after scaling through the required qualification processes.  This has put food on their tables and some of the monies earned have been repatriated to their countries of origin.

Promotes education 
Some member states have consistently offered scholarships to citizens of other member states to pursue courses in higher learning. Some of these countries include Canada, Britain, Australia and now India. Citizens of member countries have benefited greatly from these gestures. This has helped citizens of the Commonwealth to horn their skills in various fields of study.

Promotion of Democracy
The Commonwealth of Nations has been consistent in sending election observer teams to member states to monitor elections. This, among other things, is to ensure free and fair elections thereby promoting democracy in member countries. The Commonwealth also gives financial support to the Electoral Commissions of member countries to conduct credible elections.


Military Assistance
The wealthy member states of the Commonwealth sometimes provide military hardware to the less developed member states to boost the equipment level of the armies of those countries. They also help in the training and re-training of officers and men from other member states. Officers of member states have attended some of the best military training institutions in Britain and Canada.

Assistance to war-torn member countries 
Member state of the Commonwealth of Nations also benefits from assistance given in reconstruction after a war has ravaged the state. After the civil war in Sierra Leone, for example, most of their infrastructures were destroyed. The Commonwealth has been assisting Sierra Leone to rebuild her damaged infrastructure.

Benefits from sports
The Commonwealth, for example, has instituted a sporting event called the Commonwealth Games where athletes and performers in other sporting disciplines have proven their worth in field and track events. Many sportsmen and women of member countries have benefited by using the commonwealth Games as a springboard to the world stage of games and athletics. This has helped to improve upon the health status of participants.

Others include the following:
a. Exchange of rich culture
b. Technical aid


ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE COMMONWEALTH

Commonwealth Scholarships
The Commonwealth has helped in the educational development of students from member states. For example, every year, scholarships are awarded to students from member countries to go and study in renowned universities in some developed member nations like Britain itself, Canada and Australia. More recently, scholarships are awarded by the Indian government for students from other member states to pursue further studies in diverse fields of endevour.

 
Cooperation
One of the achievements of the Commonwealth of Nations is the way it has promoted cooperation among the various professionals within the Commonwealth. The lawyers have cooperated at the level of the Commonwealth Bar Association and the academia have cooperated at the level of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. Other professionals have continued to cooperate within various Commonwealth associations.

Provision of employment
The Commonwealth Secretariat and other specialized agencies of it, like the Commonwealth Telecommunication Organization, etc. have over the years been a source of employment to the citizens of the Commonwealth, as long as they are properly qualified to do the job. 

Military training
The Commonwealth has provided military training to officers from the various member states in the finest officers training institutes in Britain and Canada. Ghanaian officers, for example, have been trained in Sandhurst, in England.  

Promotes the growth of democracy
Whenever member states are conducting their periodic elections, the Commonwealth usually sends observers to those countries to observe the conduct of the polls. For such elections to be credible before the comity of nations, the observer teams must have confirmed that the election was largely free and fair.

Promotion of sports
The Commonwealth has achieved a lot in the fields of sports and games. The Commonwealth, for example, has instituted a major sporting event called the Commonwealth Games where athletes and sportsmen and women in other sporting disciplines have performed creditably. Many sportsmen and women have used the commonwealth Games as a springboard to the world stage of games and athletics.