CONSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL INJUSTICE: THE BANE OF POLITICAL CONFLICT IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Social Injustice, inequality, and imbalance constitutional structure are the banes of conflict in society. A contention that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer appears to be a regression in social justice. It is fundamental for all human beings to benefit from a safe and pleasant environment; this entails the fair distribution among social groups. These circumstances are sufficient reason for public action and real danger of social breakdown. This is why the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria 1999 advocated the principle of state social order based on the ideals of freedom, equality and justice. In furtherance of this social order, an act to establish the Federal Character Commission with responsibility to promote, monitor and enforce compliance with the principles of the proportional sharing of all bureaucratic, economic, media and political posts at all levels of government was done in 1996.The paper therefore examines the social justice and social structure: the bane of political conflict in Nigeria. The Social Contract and social justice theories were used as the Theoretical framework. The study adopted a survey research design method which was exploratory in nature. Structured in-depth and key informant interview sessions were conducted with two hundred respondents. Data collected through the interviews were analyzed using frequency tabulation, and percentage. The sample for the study was randomly selected from the population of the study. In conclusion, social justice should be a set of ideas, values and social practices to ensure that all persons and groups enjoy economic security, can participate effectively in democratic decision-making, exercise mutual respect and caring for one another and live their lives in ways that protect and sustain the natural environment for future generations.