NIGERIA’S SOCIAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: A MAJOR IMPEDIMENT TO NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Nigeria is a state founded on the principles of democracy and social justice. Even the Nigerian Constitution, as amended, reinforces the legal basis for social justice in Nigeria. Social justice has been defined as the mechanism which assigns rights and duties in the institutions of society, which enables people to receive the basic benefits and burdens of cooperation. The paper aimed to show that social justice makes possible the enjoyment of greater wellbeing for all, than would have been possible, if everyone were to depend on their individual efforts. The problem, however, remains that Nigeria, as a nation-state has remained a struggle; a scenario that has made every effort at achieving national development a futility while the citizens wallow in abject poverty and hardship. Adopting the method of content analysis and drawing from textual sources, the paper concludes that today, Nigeria is still bugged down by several problems including economic mismanagement, human rights abuse and violations, corruption, insecurity, poor infrastructural development, poverty and above all general underdevelopment. The paper recommends among other things that it is high time the government considered a radical restructuring of the Nigerian political space re-examining the power structure, control and allocation of resources.