This article has already been published in Limelight Magazine (Holy Family Fathers and Brothers of the Youth Congregation HFFBY) 2022
Introduction
Most troubles in Nigeria are caused by unhealthy division of public positions, fund and goods and unhealthy judgements. Again, when treatments become sectional or regional, it gives birth to many questions and those questions, if not answered well will cause crises. Those questions only demand, “Justice”. Nigeria from the amalgamation has been suffering from different troubles but the present situation seems to be the worst situation Nigeria has ever seen because of the loud cry of injustice all over the country. Justice has been sacrificed on the altar of ethnicity, tribalism, religiosity, sycophancy, hypocrisy, insincerity and so on. The duty of this article is to what justice is, types and how it can help the present state of the country. Continue Reading..........
The Term Justice
Authors have different views about justice. Though they have different views on what justice is, they still have meeting points in their explanations of justice. Before giving their meeting points, Oxford Dictionary has these to say. It is the fair treatment of people. The quality of being fair or reasonable. The legal system used to punish people who have committed crimes. Now the three major meeting points of different authors that explained justice are: In all the definitions, we will come to know that justice is social norm. A directive for guiding men in their actions towards one another. Secondly, justice is approbative in the sense that judging an action to be just manifests approval of that action. And lastly, justice is obligatory in that judging a certain course of action to be just entails that a person in the like situation ought to do the same thing. Justice is majorly about the treatment of human beings and their properties.
Types of Justice
Commutative Justice: This type of justice is majorly seen in the commercial field. It says that exchange of goods and services should take place according to strict equality of values; unless one party voluntarily resigns full compensation. This shows that cheating in of any form in the commercial field is an offence against commutative justice.
Distributive Justice: It regulates the relations of a community with its members. This type of justice is saying that distribution of common goods should be equally divided. If a party decides to leave off a part, it is a different thing all together. Where there is no room for that, it should be divided equally. Any form of partiality in judgment and distribution of goods is against distributive justice.
Contributive Justice: This obliges the members of a community to comply with the demands of the common good. This type of justice talks about the just contribution of individuals to the community for the good of all. Anyone who goes against laws guiding and promoting the good of the community is against contributive justice.
Social Justice: The relationship between a worker and the employer is guided by social justice. The employers should not give works above the wages and also workers should work according to the wages that would be received. Again, it demands a proportionate and equitable distribution of the wealth of a nation among the different groups and regions of a society.
Justice in Nigeria Today
Looking into the situation of Nigeria today, one will clearly notice that there is no just distribution, contribution and judgment. In the political sector, one can vividly see that appointments are made from a particular side and group of persons and this is very opposite to being just. A part continues to rule and others continue to follow or being ruled. Power in Nigeria belongs to an ethnic group and not for all. In the educational sector, the same challenge is seen. Some parts of the country continue to get admissions with very low grades while other parts must reach a reasonable cut off mark. In the economic sector, the part that produces the natural resources that give the country fund are left to suffer and the money gotten will be shared by few and the remaining used to develop a place that did not offer anything. Few individuals have thousands of security personnel protecting them while the poor masses are being killed on daily basis. Even when people want to react to the inhuman situation of the country, they will be killed and nothing will be done about it. Every field in Nigeria is suffering in one way or the other from this horrible situation of lawlessness and injustice. Nigeria now affirms the title of the book written by Chinua Achebe, There was a Country. All the agitations from different ethnic groups are caused by injustice and this has strip off peace in Nigeria.
Justice, a Hope for a Better Nigeria
Having seen what justice is and its different types, we can confidently say, justice is the only remedy to Nigeria problem. This justice should be maintained by all especially those in the authority. The major problem we have as regards injustice comes from our leaders. Just as Chinua Achebe said in his book, The Trouble with Nigeria, “The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise up to their responsibility, to the challenge of personal example, which is the hallmark of true leadership.” If our leaders should apply all the types of justice in ruling us in this country, our case will certainly be different.
Conclusion
The situation of Nigeria is only favourable to only few who claim to be representing us in the government but they are killing us and enriching themselves. The death of justice in the country ranging from the federal level, down to different wards is caused by our so called leaders who impoverish the poor and enrich their private pockets. Injustice that is being melted on some parts of the country is the cause of the agitations, hatred, some deaths, insecurity etc we suffer in the country today. Justice is the only answer to the situation. Without justice, there cannot be a peaceful Nigeria. The only option for peace in this troubled Nigeria is “justice”.
Bibliography
Achebe, Chinua. The Trouble with Nigeria. Enugu: Fourth Dimension, 1999.
Karl, Peschke. Christian Ethics. Bangalore: Theological Publications, 2020.
Ndiokwere, Nathaniel. Only in Nigeria, Elsewhere in America. Owerri: Springfield, 2013.
Otto, Bird. The Idea of Justice. New York: Praeger, 1967.
Udakpo, Matthew. Corruption in Nigerian Culture. Enugu: Snaap, 1994.
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