Justice and equity in every society should be an inherent right and not just a mere privilege.
The dispensation and access to justice should be enjoyed by everyone regardless of their status, gender, religion and ethnic background. Justice is a concept which holds that all persons should have equal opportunities whether the person is from a privilege group or unprivileged group hence, it is noteworthy to opine that Justice is an indispensable right and necessity the less privileged enjoy to make life easy for him or her even in a complex and civilized society.
The less privileged person in the society is said to be a person who does not have access to basic rights such as education, source of livelihood, health care and lots more. Oftentimes, this set of people find it difficult to eat three square meal in a day and such condition have made them most vulnerable and susceptible to all kinds of social and societal hardship which calls for the need of this justice and equity among the less privileged in the society.
Section 14(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended 2011 provides that “The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a state based on the principle of democracy and social justice, while section 14(2) (b) state that “the security and the welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. From the forgoing provision of the Constitution, it will be right to adduce that social justice and the welfare of the citizens (the less privileged inclusive) is a veritable instrument used in harnessing justice and fairness to all without recourse to individual level of vulnerability.
Availability of Justice to all citizens in Nigeria as envisaged in the Constitution is a pointer that justice is prominent and it forms part of human existence. Millions of people all over the world today with specific reference to Nigeria are prone to all forms of societal inequalities where justice and equity should be a yardstick for happy living.
This misfortune calls for urgent attention from all stakeholders concerned such as the government in all level, civil societies, corporate organizations and individuals to provide life transformative incentives and social amenities such as quality education (most especially for vulnerable young ones), good road networks, food security, affordable health care and many more in order to cushion the hardship that most of the less privileged in the society are faced with.
The Judiciary also has a prominent role to play in facilitating justice in the society especially for the less privileged. The Court as they say is the final hope of the masses which gives voice to the voiceless through it impartial adjudications. Hence, there should be a synergy between the bar and the bench in promoting pro-bono services to the less privileged group in the society who’s right is infringed upon owing to their unprivileged state and this goal can only be achieved through access and speedy dispensation of Justice so as to mitigate the hardship already faced by the less privilege groups in the society.
In conclusion, availability of Justice to the less privileged in the society is a collective responsibility of all privileged individuals. Its potency and necessity have been rightly envisaged in the Constitution by the draftsmen, thus its dispensation and practice becomes inevitable. Any society that lacks justice and equity is an inchoate society and such could pose a threat to having a tranquillized society free from anarchy.
Justice should never be dispensed with preference but rather dispensed in equilibrium so that the expectations of even the least person in the society can be met. Justice for one; justice for all.
