The Book of Amos and the Challenge of Moral Decadence Among Youth in Sagamu, Ogun State
Abstract
Moral decadence among youth remains one of the most pressing social and religious concerns facing contemporary Nigeria. This article argues that the eighth-century prophetic message of Amos offers a searching and still-usable lens on this crisis as it appears among youth in Sagamu, Ogun State. Drawing a deliberate parallel between the Israel that Amos confronted and the Sagamu of today, the article shows that the very conditions the prophet condemned, injustice, exploitation, empty religion, and the abandonment of the vulnerable, are recognizable in the lived experience of young people in this Nigerian town. The discussion sets out the historical and theological background of Amos's oracles; surveys the scholarship on both the prophet and on youth moral decline in Nigeria; and then reads the two bodies of material together through the lens of Prophetic Social Criticism. Sociological evidence on cultism, substance abuse, cybercrime, sexual exploitation, and violence in Sagamu is placed alongside Amos's condemnation of a society that prospered economically while its courts, markets, and shrines betrayed the poor. The study contends that restoring moral order in Sagamu, as in ancient Israel, cannot rest on individual reform alone; it requires structural change in the family, in religious life, in schooling, and in governance. It concludes that Amos, read carefully, still speaks: his call that justice roll down like a river remains a workable standard for measuring and repairing the moral condition of Sagamu's youth. On this basis, the paper closes with practical recommendations addressed to families, religious institutions, schools, governments, and young people themselves, as the institutions best placed to act.
Keywords
References
More Articles from RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND CULTURAL STUDIES
Author: Dalhatu Abubakar Zauro PhD, Dr. Shehu Adamu Argungu PhD, Lauwali Aliyu PhD, TSAKURE, Wasu ?abiu, da suke Na?asa Mazakuta., Gyara kayanka, ba zai zama sauke mu raba ba
Author: Lauwali Aliyu PhD, Shehu Adamu PhD, ?alhatu Abubakar Zauro PhD, Tsakure, . Gabatarwa
Author: Pius Adikpe Omadu, Samuel Terzungwe Anhange Ph.D, Aondoaver Ucho Ph.D, Aondongu Iulun
Author: Shehu Adamu PhD, ?alhatu Abubakar Zauro PhD, Lauwali Aliyu PhD, Tsakure, . Gabatarwa
Author: Ejiofor Emmanuel PhD, Odigbo Jude, PhD, Ike Cyraicus PhD, Ubogu Festus E. PhD, Uji, Ujah Oji