A Guest Speaker at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) Monthly Lecture Series, Professor Samuel Zalanga, has stated that a nation can survive unbelief but cannot survive injustice. He made the remark on Wednesday 7 August 2019 at the 7th Nigerian Army Resource Centre Lecture Series, with the theme “APPROACHES TO JUSTICE AND HUMAN SECURITY IN NIGERIA: CHALLENGES AND IMPLICATIONS”, held at Hall A of the NARC, Abuja.
The Guest speaker, who is a Professor of Sociology, Department of Political Science, Bethel University, Minnesota, United States of America, said that in the theory of justice and fairness, equal liberty to everyone and social justice are non-negotiable, adding that liberty cannot be compromised. He also said that economic advantage must have a value chain for the less privileged in the society.
He then urged the government to enthrone equality of opportunity to all citizens and ensure an overall vision of a fair society with institutional justice system, “the rules of justice must regulate the accident of birth”, he said.
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In his further analysis using the Libertarian theory of justice, he emphasized that the government has no business in moral legislation of citizens’ lives; in as much as what a person sees as moral to him does not encroach on other people’s dignity.
According to him, in Libertarian society, justice is seen and believed in an angle of a willing buyer and a willing seller whereby in as much as there is no coercion in the process of buying and selling even if it is immoral. Furthermore, he said that in a society where the rate of poverty, unemployment and inequality is high, there is going to be a security problem. He also enjoined the Government to adopt the core values of development which are sustenance, self-esteem, human being with dignity and freedom from servitude.
In Conclusion, he charted the need to re-examine our morality and ethics. He reiterated that one of the problems in Nigeria is the way people in authority exercise power, stressing that there must be a moral compass in the exercise of power.
He equally outlined the pathways to national well-being directly connected to human security. He said that movement of good and ideas, ability to interact with people, mobility and infrastructures are important but youth development, job creation and job development can only be achieved through economic empowerment.
In his contribution during the interactive session, Honourable Senator Ben-Murray Bruce posited that Nigerian military is one of the best, most intelligent and smart fighting forces in the world.
Speaking while declaring the lecture series closed, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt Gen Tukur Yusufu Buratai, commended the Guest Speaker for an eloquent and judicious presentation, full of in-depth knowledge. He also appreciated other invited guests for their presence and contributions. He further reminded that the concept of human security must be placed at a strategic position, thereby putting passive citizens as core overhauling of justice.
