JOHN RAWLS’ CONCEPT OF JUSTICE AND RESTRUCTURING OF NIGERIAN FEDERALISM: A PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

Justice according to John Rawls’ most celebrated contemporary theoretical construct, ‘justice as fairness’ conceives a society in which free individuals holding equal basic rights and privileges unanimously cooperate to achieve an egalitarian socio-political, ethical, and economic system to favour every human person globally, especially, Nigeria as a country. It is with no atom of doubt that Rawls political theory of justice in co-relation and in addendum with other political thinkers’ ideas have really aided to a great extent in the restructuring and reshaping of the thoughts of the founders of numerous socio-political constitutions in the world today which Nigeria obviously tries to be part of, but yet to assimilate and consciously accommodate properly the rudiments and tenets embedded therein, and this is so evidential following the kind of attention such constitutions gives to certain concepts inherent in it such as, justice, equity, fairness, freedom, liberty, and equality for all etc. Hence, it becomes very pertinent in this work to employ the philosophical method of analysis in order to philosophically analyze and honestly with holistic view examine and apply Rawls’ theory of justice to Nigeria’s political leadership situation from 1999 till date, by judiciously employing the basic principles and tenets of Rawls theory of justice as fairness as a remedy to Nigeria’s socio-political and economic predicaments and total leadership failures, which have kept the country down for many years now, in order to use it to proffer a better solution, for the country’s peaceful and harmonious co-existence and socio-political and economic development and progress which is truly hinged on equity, justice, equality, and fairness with proper and adequate restructuring and sincere federalism for better future for all and sundry in Nigeria.