CROWTHER JOURNAL OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES

The rich class and political leaders in the Nigerian context could be likened to the rich fool in Lukan periscope. The pursuit of material possessions with obsession has become a quandary in Nigerian Society. The study labels the rich class and politicians as Rich Fools because their greed supersedes that of the Rich fool in Jesus’ parable. The former stole from government coffers while the latter got his wealth genuinely from farm produce. This study evaluates the parable of the Rich fool in Luke 12:13-21 within the framework of materialism bedeviling Nigeria. Methods of grammatical analysis, synchronic and diachronic exegesis were employed to bring out the meaning of the text and be able to apply it in the Nigerian milieu. The paper found out that Jesus’ teaching in the parable despises covetousness that leads to indiscriminate accumulation of possessions; negligence to appreciate God as the source of blessings and miserliness to subscribe to almsgiving. The lesson drawn from the study cautioned Nigerians about the menace of hunting for materialism without an eschatological slant, for selfish drives at the detriment of humanity. This renders Nigerians in abject poverty. Revolutionary movements are recommended to seize the rich, recover their stolen wealth, and pass death sentences on them. Also, addiction to materialism is discouraged to evade impending judgments.

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