The Message of Amos on Justice and Righteousness and its Relevance to Nigerian Society

Abstract

This paper examines the dilemma of the prophet Amos’ message in the Nigerian context amid oil wealth enjoyed by the few rich and political class and the life-threatening poverty of the masses courtesy of the bourgeois. In Amos’ day, the rich were accumulating more wealth and living large at the expense of the poor who were languishing in penury. The unfortunate situation matches the ugly trend in present-day Nigerian society. Amos cried out passionately against the increased gap between the wealthy and the poor. He preached the message of God to Israel when the economy of Israel was booming, while the rich were crushing the poor. The act of oppressing the poor, sojourners and the defenceless in the land was a serious crime before God. Amos, without delay, launched an attack against the privileged that had downtrodden the vulnerable. He pronounced God’s judgment over the nations cautioning that any nation that disobeyed God’s commands and condoned evil would inescapably face God’s wrath. The study adopts a narrative criticism to explore and analyse prophet Amos’ message to address similar anomalies in Nigeria. In its innovative recommendation, the study calls for restructuring as the only solution to salvage the ugly trend in Nigeria.