JUSTICE IN JOHN RAWLS VIS-À-VIS NIGERIAN DEMOCRACY

JUSTICE IN JOHN RAWLS VIS-À-VIS NIGERIAN DEMOCRACY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE…………………………………………………….i

CERTIFICATION………………………………………………ii

DEDICATION……………………………………….………….iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT………………………………………..iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………….v

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Statement of Problem………………………………………3

• Purpose of the Study………………………………….……5

• Scope of the Study………………………………………….6

• Methodology……………………………………………….7

• Literature Review …………………………………………8

CHAPTER TWO

CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS

2.1     General notion of justice………………………………….11

2.2     Justice in John Rawls……………………………………….14

• The Background of John Rawls ……………………………14

• Justice as Fairness………………………………………..…16

2.2.3  The two Principles of Justice……………………………….18

2.2.4  Fair Equality of Opportunity and Pure Procedural Justice…21

2.2.5  Civil Disobedience………………………………………….23

CHAPTER THREE

NIGERIAN DEMOCRACY

• The concept of democracy …………………………………25

• Democracy in Nigeria …………………………………….30

3.2.1  Major Features and Flaws of Nigerian Democracy………..34

• Nigerian Leadership style………………………………….37

• Fundamental Human Rights……………………………….39

• Share of Resources…………………………………………43

CHAPTER FOUR

NIGERIAN DEMOCRACY VIS-À-VIS RAWLS’ CONCEPT OF JUSTICE

4.1          Fairness……………………………………………………45

4.2     Individual’s Rights………………………………………..47

• Equitable distribution of Resources………………………52

CHAPTER FIVE

CRITICAL EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION

• Critical Evaluation..………………………………….…..54

• Conclusion………………………………………………..58

BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………60

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Man, says Aristotle, is by nature a political animal.  This implies that man is naturally inclined to live in a political society. Joseph Omoregbe aptly captures this idea when he says that no one can rightly claim to be independent of the society, because no man is an island. To buttress these points, Aristotle maintained that:  “he who is unable to live in a society or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god.”[1]

This is to say that man is a social being by nature. Thus, man identifies and associates with his fellow man and the society in which he lives. More so, man as a member of the human society has been endowed with some fundamental human rights.  Hence, it is the duty of justice to get their rights protected and ensure a peaceful co-existence of man in the society he lives.

Justice is something essential to a society, for right is both the basis of the political association and the criterion for deciding what is just. This is because where justice fails to reign, man will face the difficulties in life; he cannot again attain the goal of life.  The rich gets richer while the poor gets poorer, power becomes might; and there will be a survival of the fittest.  These above facts however, are evident in the case of Nigeria.  Our polity is devoid of justice, and as a result, we are living in a corrupt and unjust society.  Those at the corridors of power have completely lost the sense of justice in piloting the affairs of the public. They pursue their selfish interest and make conflicting claims on public resources, which most often lead to economic hardship and violation of human rights.  This situation therefore, calls for an urgent and lasting solution which could definitely assist in the restoration of justice into Nigerian democratic government.

As it could be noticed right from the ancient era, philosophers and social theorists equally uphold this view that justice is a virtue, which is pertinent or dialectically related to moral conduct. And in line with this thought, Rawls had to say this,

Justice denies that the loss of freedom for some is made right by a greater good shared by others.  It does not allow that the sacrifices imposed on a few are outweighed by the larger sum of advantages enjoyed by many.

JUSTICE IN JOHN RAWLS VIS-À-VIS NIGERIAN DEMOCRACY