Abstract

The incessant and alarming cases of senseless killings, massive political malfeasance, herder-farmer clashes, cultism, banditry, terrorism, assassinations, nepotism, kidnapping, brain drain, rising cost of living, industrial action, unemployment, and poverty constitute the evident features of bad governance in Nigeria. Thus, the central task before scholars and other relevant stakeholders is how to overcome these challenges and attain sustainable socio-political development in which the benefits of society are accessible to everyone. From the classical period of philosophy, where the focus was on humanity and the development of society, this study identified justice as a pivotal value that is indispensable for the realization of good governance and the resolution of Nigeria’s socio-political challenges. Justice, as a vital tool for achieving good governance, is a sine qua non for citizens’ fulfillment, happiness, transparency, accountability, and societal stability. The paper argued that the virtues of integrity, the rule of law, accountability, and transparency, which are the cornerstones of a civilized democracy, can only be attained in Nigeria if justice is firmly entrenched in governance. It is against this backdrop that the study examined the place of justice as a virtue for achieving good governance in Nigeria.

Keywords: Justice, Stability, Nepotism, Virtue, Value, Good Governance

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21215246

Authors:

Ogugua, Jeremiah Chukwu
Department Of Educational Foundations
Federal College Of Education
(Technical) Omoku, Rivers State
Phone Number: 08036727081

(PhD)
Department Of General Studies
Isaac Jasper Boro College Of Education, Sagbama Bayelsa State
Email: itelimorrison@gmail.com
Phone Number: 0803774-2087

Emeronye, Maryann Kelechi
C/O: Department Of Philosophy,
University Of Portharcourt
Email:maryann2002@yahoo.com

Copyright © [2026] The Author(s). Published by the Journal of People and Worldviews (JPW). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited.