RETHINKING JOHN RAWL'S CONCEPT OF JUSTICE AS FAIRNESS: IMPLICATION FOR NIGERIA'S POLITICAL STABILITY

Abstract

This paper recognizes the need to examine the political economy of Nigeria particularly the absence of justice in order to understand the root causes of its many ethnic, religious, political and economic problems which have fueled political instability in the country. Nigeria is an important country in Africa and the pressures weighing on her could fracture the state along already existing fault lines and destabilize Africa if the lack of justice in the administration of the country is not addressed. It is in the light of the above that this paper explores John Rawls radical conception of justice as fairness to address the issue at the heart of the country's lingering political instability. If for Rawls, justice is the first virtue of social institutions and the distribution of goods, the primary domain over which it operates, then the need to maintain a just state of affairs becomes imperative in order to stave off the impending doom in Nigeria. The paper makes the claim that the single most potent cause of political instability in Nigeria is the lack of justice which successive governments have perpetuated. This has manifested in the form of nepotism and clannishness, attachments to primitive sentiments such as religion and ethnicity, partial and compromised judicial authorities selling justice to the highest bidder, abuse of human rights, lack of tolerance, gender inequality and so on. The paper, therefore, in agreement with Rawls recommends among other things the adoption of a just constitution which satisfies the principles of justice and leads to just and effective legislation.