Prophet Ezekiel on Individual Responsibility: Implications for Nation Building in Nigeria

Abstract

The idea of imposing blame on others for the problems of the present day Nigeria is a question of great concern as it was to prophet Ezekiel during the exile. A critical observation has shown that many people do not like to be associated with failures and blames. This retards the growth of a nation. Nation building consists in all activities which bring positive improvement in a society. Thus, individual responsibility is an indispensable part of the activities which bring development in a nation. The theme of ‘individual responsibility’ in Ezekiel is to be found in three passages of the book (Ezek. 14:12-23; 18:1-32 and 33:10-20). In Ezekiel’s time, Israelites tried to shy away from their individual responsibility when things went wrong. They believed that it was primarily because of the sins of their ancestors that they were suffering in exile. Ezekiel advocated individual responsibility to avoid fatalism. This paper therefore studied the concept of individual responsibility in the book of Ezekiel and its implications for contemporary Nigerians who believe that Nigeria has been vandalized by the past generations especially the past political leaders. The paper concluded that if the concept of individual responsibility as preached by prophet Ezekiel is properly applied and internalized by contemporary Nigerians, there will be positive improvement in life and standard of the nation.