TITLE:
Democracy and Administration of Social Justice in Nigeria: A Critical Assessment of the Fourth Republic
AUTHORS:
Ayodele Aluko, Henry A. Aluko, Funke Ogunjimi
KEYWORDS:
Social Justice, Inequality, Democracy, Federal Character, Governance, Leadership, Ethnicity, Polity, State
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Political Science,
Vol.12 No.2,
March
29,
2022
ABSTRACT: This study examined democracy and administration of social justice in
Nigerian fourth republic. The aim of the study was to critically assess how
Nigeria’s democracy and administration of social justice has fared in bringing
about the much-craved people-oriented development in the fourth republic. The
study is documentary research which employed content analytical approach in
analysing secondary data; with “John Rawls Theory of Justice” employed as its
model of analysis. One of the most worrisome challenges of Nigeria’s relay-race
towards development has been the inability of Nigeria’s political system to adhere to social justice in
administration of public affairs. The study found that Nigeria’s democratized
fourth republic is infested with obscene social injustice and inequality in
power sharing, government decisions on citing of industries, infrastructural
development, with lopsidedness in the recruitment/appointment of public office
holders which has been exclusively Northern region skewed. The study reveals
that the “Federal Character Principle” etched into the 1999 Constitution to
address inherent cleavages of inequalities has been thrown overboard, as a
particular ethnic group has seized power at the peril of development of all
others. The implications of an abused democracy and social justice system are
not just deleterious to the citizens today, but more so for generations to come in terms of sustainable
development. The paper therefore calls on the Nigerian government to learn,
embrace and practice the intrinsic operational principles of an ideal democracy
that seeks to promote justice, equity, accountability, respect for fundamental
human rights, rule of law and other good governance values that would usher
Nigeria into a higher development trajectory.