ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book offers considered ideas, explanations, and rationalizations for a new outlook on law and justice in a postcolony. It focuses on the shared responsibility of building and sustaining a more effective and efficient law, justice, and social control system. The book identifies the various roles of official and unofficial persons, groups, and institutions in a postcolony in the quest for renewed law and justice. It emphasizes reduced criminalization and increased role of civil response for suitable offenses. The average Nigerian regards a government policy, program, or other effort as belonging to "them" rather than "us". The sense of common ownership, which is a prerequisite for the success of a public enterprise, is markedly absent or diminished. This extends to situations where the citizens are employed, for pay, to achieve a public purpose.
