Abstract
The connection between law and society in every nation is complex and always evolving intricately and almost perpetually as societies advance to idealized forms of government. In the context of development, the function of law that stands out most clearly is its deployment as a conscious instrument of social engineering, i.e. affecting the behaviour of individuals and groups toward planned social, economic and legal ends. This is because it is ultimately to the law that governments are most likely to resort in the creation of institutions needed for development. Emerging trends point to good governance as a conduit towards accelerated development in economic, political and social sectors of any nation. It is however doubtful if the South Eastern part of Nigeria has employed the law towards achieving good governance in Nigeria. It is against this background that this paper seeks to examine the role of the law in promoting good governance in South East Nigeria. To achieve this, this work employed the doctrinal method of study, adopting the analytical as well as the interpretative approaches in analysing the resource materials collected for this study which include statues, books, journal, articles as well as internet publications. It was found, among other things, that regrettably, governance in the South East and indeed Nigeria has over the years been consistently characterised by little or no adherence to the basic tenets of good governance and rule of law. The result is the continued emergence of strong personalities both within and outside the government who live above the law; rather than strong institutions that can maintain good governance and rule of law.This work therefore recommends that the key tenets of rule of law should vigorously be pursued by both the government and the people so as to achieve the legacy of good governance and an enduring democracy.