How can we attain justice in Nigeria?
“The universe is built upon justice. Justice keeps the world going round”
George Mason
The above terms are straightforward, yet very enigmatic to penetrate.
Man is born free. Freedom is a birthright of every Nigerian. Man should walk the streets at every material time without the fear of intimidation from every quarter. But the nation has witnessed incidents that threatened the very existence of peace, unity and freedom. Men cannot walk the streets at certain periods of the day for the fact that hoodlums could swindle your belongings, often injuring one in the process. But that has come to be as a result of selective judgement in Nigeria.
Equity and Justice in Nigeria
Justice is following the course of events the way you should and being the human being you are born to be. Every society has its definition of justice, but universally, justice is known and recognized devoid of special talent. People that live without justice are perpetually in a state of anarchy. But I see this nation drifting and we are falling headlong into the abysmal abyss of destruction.
Equity is the act of treating people, friends, foes, family, strangers, acquaintances and everyone in a similar way without sentiment and bias. It is when you suppress that rage and hatred you feel about someone else and treat him like you’re best of friends, especially if you have to serve him or her as a public servant. Equity is the eye you wear to gaze at people equally and fairly. You can hold your grudge against that person, but never allow the feelings to make you run crazy and think you, alone, are the best.
As a child growing up, I usually get a chill whenever I see a petty thief in this nation. The next thing you see is a group of people beating the sense out of that thief. To my amazement, our elders condemn most of the politicians as being very corrupt. But when an occasion brought those politicians close to our elders, I saw the elders wanting to associate with the politicians and the smile they were showered was a sign that all their corrupt acts were endorsed. None berate them as being thieves. And I say this is unequal treatment. Such acts are very much encouraging to the politicians that steal to continue with their acts.
Rising Above Injustice
We now have every intention of rising above injustice. We have resolved to put a stop to all acts of sycophancy. We have started a movement in our school wherein we train ourselves to shun any public office holder that gains excessive wealth through embezzlement. We have resolved to campaign for equity not through begging but through engaging in meaning and constructive criticism and campaign against hate. We have to fight against those suppressing freedom.
Our club in the school has began a class to class campaign, engaging students in meaningful discussion on ways to bring equity, justice and freedom in the nation. We have to earn our birthright, the freedom to move, live and be happy. We have to bring about change, for good. We want to restore Justice in Nigeria. I strongly believe, justice is all we need for freedom and justice to triumph for the overall ascendancy of a better Nigeria.
