The Value and the Indispensability of Justice in the Quest for Development in Africa

Authors : Felix OLATUNJI

Pages : 229-244

Doi:10.20981/kuufefd.31225

View : 20 | Download : 16

Publication Date : 2015-04-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The discourse about justice in any society is unquestioned, and interpreting this in the context of other influences and isolating the significance of justice towards development is challenging. Justice has been accepted as one of the fundamentals of democracy whether in its old form from the Athenian city-states to the new waves in its representative form. Examining justice as being sacred to human society is important in the sacredness of human dignity. But the problem today is the way the ‘leaders’ of new modern-day democracies tend to look at the discourse and praxis of justice because transparency, common good and truth among others, which are the hall-marks of justice, have been eroded especially in countries below the Mediterranean. The tenets of justice have been replaced with manipulation, relativism, negotiations, inequality, usurpation of power, compromises among others. The thrust of this paper will be to thematise the discourse of justice and its significance as a sacred issue in the governance of human societies towards enduring development. If the dignity of man is sacred in itself, so also the discourse of justice cannot be under-valued. Hence, the sacredness of the nature of social justice will be examined, and argued for in the quest for survival and sustenance of Africa. The paper will therefore, project that justice is a necessity in human society and without it; there will be no peace and development. In order to achieve our objective, this paper will employ descriptive-analytic method towards examining the significant roles justice, if enthroned, will engender towards development in Africa. It is, therefore, expected that this paper will initiate a platform in the discussion of justice for the attainment of authentic development in Africa.
Keywords : Justice, Social Justice, Development, Authentic Development, African Society