JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND
AFRICAN CULTURE
(JORAC)
VOLUME 1 NUMBER 1 JANUARY 2005
A CRITICAL VIEW OF THE INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIAN
LEADERSHIP IN NIGERIA TODAY
P.O. ABIOJE, Ph.D.
Abstract
Christians pervade Nigeria to a large extent, at
community, societal and governmental levels.
Whatever influence they may bring to bear on
fellow Nigerians can be conditioned, somehow, by
what they learn from those who minister to them,
spiritually and psychologically as pastors. Hence,
the focus here on Christian leadership in the
Nigerian context. The principal concern of this
paper is how Christianity has been able to live side
by side with prevalent poverty, due to favouritism,
exploitation, embezzlement of public funds and all
sorts of crimes that bedevil Nigeria. By conjecture,
in the absence of census, one can put the Christian
population in Nigeria at about forty percent. Among
the Christians are many highly educated and
influential
persons,
socio-politically
and
economically. The findings of this study include the
fact that many Christian leaders impart negative
influence because they themselves are not morally
above water, when compared with many other
Nigerians who are greedy, dubious, avaricious or, at
times, criminal in disposition and action. A
programme
of
self-examination
and
conscientization
is,
therefore,
the
basic
recommendation of this paper.
Introduction
Nigeria is a third world country that is said to be home to approximately one
hundred and twenty million persons. It is reputed to be the largest
concentration of the black race. There is no doubt that Nigeria is a
nation that is flowing with milk and honey, for fertile lands, petroleum,
gold, coal, marble and other mineral and human resources. Yet, it is
also a land where a few persons are fabulously rich, while the
overwhelming majority wallow in abject poverty. Laziness and
senseless spending can be the causes of poverty, but the principal bane
of the poor in Nigeria are favouritism, inequality of opportunities. dearth of
the spirit of sharing, exploitation, misappropriation and
embezzlement of public funds. Those, above all make the rich to get
richer, while the poor get poorer. It largely has to do with leadership
problem.
In Nigeria, Christianity is one of the three most popular religions, along
with Islam and African Religion (Afrel). The purpose of this research is
to determine the influence of Christian leadership in Nigeria, and to
suggest ways by which the Christian impact may be more positively felt
in the Nigerian society.
Christians pervade Nigeria to a large extent, at community and societal or
governmental levels. Whatever influence they may bring to bear on
fellow Nigerians can be conditioned, somehow, by what they learn
from those who minister to them, spiritually and psychologically as
pastors. Hence, the focus here on Christian leadership in the Nigerian
context. The individual leader can also influence some non-Christians
around him or her. Basically, the argument is that, given the right type of
leadership, Christianity can engender progressive attitudes,
dispositions and virtues that are necessary for transforming Nigeria
into an egalitarian and Godly society, where propriety, justice, honesty
and fraternity reign.
As a matter of fact, it would appear that many Nigerians are looking
up to religion to help form the moral character and rectitude of
Nigerians. President Olusegun Obasanjo once said mat no institution is
better placed than religious organisations, such as churches and
other religious bodies, to help mould the character and attitude of
Nigerians. (Olufemi 15) Adams Oshiomole, the president of the
Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), would also solicit the support of
religious groups, in the struggle against anti-people policies and
decisions by the government, (cfr. The Punch, Thursday, June 26,
2003:2).
One should note that there arc diverse churches and a variety of
Christian denominations in Nigeria, ll would appear, however, that
good and bad leaders have no boundaries. They are found here am;
there. Obviously, one cannot touch on every Christian leader in Nigeria but
the prevalent situation can be studied, quantified and describes
somehow. Part of the methodology adopted was consultation of some
newspapers to know what some Nigerian elites arc saying about
Christian leaders in the country. The study is done under the following
subheadings:
(1) Leadership in the Old Testament (C)T),
(2) Leadership in the Teaching of Jesus Christ, and
(3)
Leadership in the Church and Its Influence on the contemporary
Nigerian Society. The overall conclusion contains both the
summary and the recommendation
1.
Leadership in the Old Tcshmu-nl
The OT is a collection of sacred writings which contains the stories of
God's relationship with the people of Israel, otherwise called Jews or
Hebrews. The people were like individual families when they were
used as slaves in Egypt. They believed it was God who raised Moses to
lead them out of slavery in Egypt and constituted them into a people when
He gave them a code on mountain Sinai (Exodus 19ff). They were led
by Moses who, upon his death, was succeeded by Joshua. The latter led
them to the promised land, and after his death, many judges led the
people before they demanded for the monarchical system of governance.
The most popular of the kings was David, to whose lineage Jesus Christ
is said to belong.
Leadership in the OT depended much on God who is said to
have formed the people and established a covenant with them.
Hence, theocracy is attributed to the form of governance that
characterise the people of the OT. Doohan noted that:
Theocracy means government by God and refers to an
institutionalized form of government based on I he
revealed teachings of God as implemented through
God's representatives. The best known historical
example for contemporary Westerners would he Israel... In
recent times the Ayatolla Khomeni established a
theocracy in Iran, as Muhammad, the founder of Islam
had done in Mecca (860)
It should not be assumed that theocracy ceased with the enthronement of
monarch) in Israel. As Adler and Wolff noted one should not forget that
"in ancient Israel there was no separation of the religious and the secular
life." (43) The fact remains that Yahweh became the Kingmaker of
Israel. He was the one who supposedly chose the Kings for His people,
starting with Saul (l Sam. 9:17), David (1 Sm.l6:l-13), and so on.
Leadership in the OT is largely characterised by the fear of and
obedience to Yahweh, commitment to the well-being of the people, and
prophetic guidance and rebuke. One would illustrate each of the points.
(i)
Fear of and Obedience to Yahweh
When the word fear is used as an antonym of courage, it is usually
conceived as a negative reality in human life. But, not all fears are
odious and vicious. Glenn quoted St. Thomas Aquinas as teaching
that: "Filial or chaste fear of the Lord is one of the seven gifts of the
Holy Ghost. By it we revere God and avoid what separates us from
him." (199) Indeed, it is popularly said that the fear of God is the
beginning of wisdom. That was particularly true for ancient Jewish
leaders who are said to be punished by God for disobedience to His
injunctions (such as happened to Moses and Aaron - Num. 20:12, and
King Saul -1 Sm. 15), or doing things that were not pleasing to Him
(such as happened to David - 2Sam. 11&12; and Solomon -IKgs. 11).
It is clearly stated in the Torah:
And now, Israel, what does Yahweh your God ask of you?
Only this: to fear Yahweh your God, to follow all his ways, to
love him, to serve Yahweh your God with a l l yo u r h e a rt a n d
a l l y o u r so u l ; t o k e e p t h e commandments and laws of
Yahweh that for your good I lay down for you today (Deut. 10:1213). In sum, God who is said to appoint leaders for the ancient Jews
would not tolerate disobedience and impropriety from those He put in
charge of His people.
(ii)
Commitment to the Well-Being of the People
In terms of commitment to the welfare of the people, Moses, who was
one of the foremost leaders of the Hebrews is a typical example. He
initiated revolts, in a significant way, against the tyranny which
climaxed in forced labour and execution of male children, perpetrated by
the Egyptians against the Hebrews. Most certainly, anybody looking at the
whole Mosaic saga with the eye of faith may not help thinking that it had
all been a divine plan. What is crucial for the purpose of this study,
however, is the realisation that Moses had a genuine and positive passion
for the welfare of the people he led. I le did not only intervene on behalf
of the people, on several occasions he begged God to destroy him
rather than the people, (cfr., for instance, Ex. 32:30-35). Joshua, the
Judges, and many of the kings that succeeded Moses, subsequently,
imitated him in dedication to the people's welfare. Jephthah who was
a judge sacrificed his daughter in gratitude to God for his victory over
the Ammonites who waged war on his people (Judges 11:29-40).
Likewise, King David fought gallantly to make peace and plenty reign
in Israel (2Sm. 5;6;8;10;12, for instance). When God asked King Solomon
what he would like to be given in response to his thousand holocausts of
sacrifice on the altar at Gibeon, he asked God to grant him the wisdom to
lead the people in faithfulness , justice and integrity of heart, and God was
very pleased him with additional gifts of wealth and fame (I Kgs. 3:4-15).
On the other hand, many theologians believe that the real cause of the
subsequent fall of Solomon was his exploitation of the people, through
over-taxation and over-labour. He had "700 wives and 300
concubines", and possibly numerous children and dependants to cater for.
As Calvocoressi observes:
Solomon also built splendid palaces for himself and his first
wife, the daughter of the Egyptian Pharaoh. He raised armies
of workers whom he sent to neighbouring Lebanon to work there
for one month in three. (224J)
Thus, Solomon became a burden on his people, a liability rather than an
asset. God rejected him at a time he lacked commitment to the welfare
of the people. Moreover, he became scandalous for marrying and
committing adultery with foreign women, doing things that were
considered abominable by his people, including the worship of foreign
gods (IKgs. 11:1-13).
Rehoboam, Solomon's son, who was made king after the death of his
father, failed to reassure the elders who approached him over
commitment to the well-being of the people. Instead he told them:
"My father beat you with whips; I am going to beat you with leaded
scourges." The end result was that only the people of Judah in the
North accepted him, while the rest peoples rejected him and made
Jeroboam their king (1 Kgs. 12:1 -25). It all happened as God foretold
Solomon it would (1 Kgs: 11:1 -25).
In essence, any leader in the OT who was not committed to the wellbeing of the Israelites, or who abused his authority, was rejected by
God and the people. Haering notes that: "the beginning, the subject
and the goal of all social institutions is and must be the human person
which, for its part and by its very nature, stands completely in need of
social life." (467)
(iii)
Prophetic Guidance and Rebuke
Prophets are agents of God, through whom He communicates His will
to His people. In the OT, prophets played a prominent role with regard
to political leadership. The prophets were like oracles that made
declarations on who was to lead the people at a given period of time. Of
course, they did so as Yahweh's mouthpiece. It was in Him that the
prophets had their origin, since it was believed that they were chosen and
called by Him (Hosea 1:1; Amos 1:1; Isa. 1:1; Mic. 1:1, Jer.
l:2;Ezekl:3,etc).
It would appear that the prophetic office was part of the covenantal
package, in order that the prophets may remind the people of their
obligations to the letter of the covenant with Yahweh. The
commandments must be conformed with, as failure to act in
accordance with the law of God entailed chastisement, rebuke and
punishment, not just for the ordinary people, but also their leaders.
Boadt notes in respect of king David, for instance, I hat he had prophets
Nathan and Gad "who offered divine guidance and sometimes
condemnation in matters of royal policy." (303) Examples of prophetic
confrontation of political leader's abound in the OT. How Moses
confronted Pharaoh of Egypt so as to liberate the Israelites is what the
book of Exodus is largely all about. King Saul was confronted by
prophet Samuel for his disobedience to Yahweh (2 Sm. 25:10-3);
David by Prophet Nathan for his sin against Uriah (2Sm. 12);Hezekiah
by Prophet Isaiah for displaying his treasures (2Kgs. 20:16-19),
etcetera. Of course there were sell-serving and sycophant prophets
also in the OT, but they are not of interest to this study.
2.
Leadership in the Life and Teaching of Jesus Christ
In the life time of Jesus Christ, questions arose as to who He was. The
Lord Himself was quoted as asking: "Who do people say the son of Man
is?" And I le got the response: "Some say he is John the Baptist, some
Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." In the same context,
St. Peter confessed Him to be "the Christ, the Son of living God" (Mt.
16:13-16; Mk. 8:27-30). Dupuis notes about Peter's confession that:
It all consisted in predicating a particular title
(Messiah, the anointed one, the Christ) borrowed
from Old Testament theological terminology, of the
Man Jesus, whose proper name was Yeshua The
confession of faith 'Jesus is the Christ' thus came to
be born, later to evolve semantic-ally into the
apposition 'Jesus-the-Christ' and further into the
compound name 'Jesus Christ'. (1)
That appears to be the basic content of the faith professed in Jesus
by the Church in the era of the Apostles, and it has not been
jettisoned by many Christians up to this day. Nevertheless, it should
be of interest to know what the Lord Jesus said about His own
profile. Two clues are discussed here, hi the first instance. He is
quoted as saying: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; No one can
come to the Father except through Me" (Jn. 14:6). The best
interpretation of that is probably that Jesus saw Himself as the way
to heaven, through telling the truth and upholding honesty' of
purpose, without indulging in lies, deception, dubiosity, fraud, any
act of injustice, partiality and wickedness. If this interpretation is
maintained, a Christian (or follower of Jesus Christ) would be
anybody who is striving, in truth, and honesty to get to heaven,
whether that person is calling on Jesus as an object of faith or not. It
is in that vein that Rahner speaks of anonymous Christians. (75)
What a precious perception to view Jesus Christ as the way that leads
to life in God via truth fulness and honesty of purpose! In that light.
He can be said to be the Leader (or at least one of the foremost
leaders) of humanity' on the path of true nobility. Needleman once
noted: Here is the program of an 'East-West' conference I attended
several years ago in New York, 'bringing together the One Spirit
uniting all the paths to God through the exchange of truth among
Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and Moslems... breaking down the
artificial barriers of culture, race and nations. (3)
Thus. the importance of truth cannot be localized exclusively, Truth is
pursued by Godly men and women in every socio-political and
religio-cultural entity. As the scripture observes: "You will know the
truth, and the truth will make you free" (Jn. H:32).
The second instance, with regard to the self-consciousness of Jesus.
Christ is when He is quoted as calling Himself "the good shepherd"
with identified flock of sheep (Jn 10:4). That is a much clearer
indication
that Jesus Christ saw Himself as a leader with a definite but openended followership
In the OT. Yahweh was said lobe I he shepherd of Israel (Ps. 80:1). A
shepherd leads a Hock to green pastures, water, and safety. He mm,
defend them against wild beasts and bandits. Mckenzie notes that:
In the ancient Near East the title of shepherd was applied
both to kings and to gods, Lipit-Ishtar of Isin is the wise
shepherd, the humble shepherd (ANET 159), and
Hammurabi is the shepherd of the people (ANET 164,165).
The god Shamash is addressed as shepherd (ANET387). The
OT theological use of the title, however, shows some
variation from the Mesopotamian use. The king of Israel is
never called the shepherd directly. (803).
The Lord Jesus, however, called Himself the good shepherd, as noted
earlier, and some other persons also recognized Him as such (Cf:
IPet. 5:4 and Heb. 13:20).
As a good leader, the Lord Jesus taught His disciples both in
exemplary actions and in words. For instances, He would not
discriminate against non-Jews (e.g Mt. 15:21-28 and Mk 7:24-30);
He would not allow people to kill a sinner, but asked the sinner to
repent (Jn. 8:3-11)He discouraged hypocrisy by placing mercy and
compassion above religious legalism (Mt. 12:9-14); Mk. 3:1-6; Lik.
13:10-17; Jn. 7:20-24); and the disciples saw that He often prayed
and asked Him to teach them how to pray (Lk. 11: 1-4 and Mt. 6:7-1
5).
The Lord Jesus initiated a teaching on what Godly leadership should
be like. He started off by washing the Apostles" feet. And then, he
explained his action to them, saying:
Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me
Master and Lord, and rightly, so I am. If I then, the Lord
and Master have washed your feet, you should wash
each other 's feet. I have given you an example so that
you may copy what I have done to you (Jn. 13:12-15).
By washing His disciples' feet, Jesus Christ indicated that
leadership is not about lording it over, but serving the led. As
Mckenzie notes, this point was most succinctly stressed by
Jesus in the course of settling a dispute among the disciples over
who the greatest among themselves was. (Ill) The Lord
admonished the disciples:
You know that among the pagans the rulers Lord it over
them, and their great men make their authority felt.
This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who
wants to be great among you must be your servant; and
anyone who wants to be first among you must be your
slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but
to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mi.
20:25-28; Mk. 10:42-45).
Thus, as far as Jesus Christ was concerned, leadership implies
self-sacrifice. And, judging by the evangelical accounts of His
life, He demonstrated altruism not only in words but in deeds
also.
3.
Leadership in the Church and Its Influence on
Contemporary Nigerian Society.
One should not talk about the Church and be unmindful of its
relationship to Jesus Christ. Yet, it would appear that in many
cases, the mission of Jesus is different from that of the Church
which constitutes His organised and structured followership.
The mission of the Lord, as it is popularly perceived, is that: He
has come to reconcile God with humanity, and human beings
with one another. It is otherwise stated that He has come to
show humanity that has gone astray the way back to the Father
(God). The ultimate goal of Jesus Christ is said to be that of
establishing God's kingdom in the world, whereby God would
be the recognised Lord, ruler, and controller of all men and
women. In practical terms, this would mean that human beings
should do the will of God on earth as Jesus did it. He is quoted
as saying: "My meat is to do the will of the one who sent me, and to
complete His work" (Jn. 4:34). Generally speaking, St. Mark's account
of the Gospel is reckoned to be the oldest of the four accounts. Right
from the beginning, it reads:
After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee.
There he proclaimed the Good News from God: 'The time
has come' he said, 'and the kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent and believe the Good News ' (Mk 1:14-15).
Borg explains what the phrase 'the kingdom of God' signifies, saying: As
a 'linguistic symbol' with Us home in the Jewish tradition,
the phrase evoked the web of meanings associated with the
image of God as 'King'... Entering the Kingdom is entering the
life of I he Spirit, being drawn into the 'way' which Jesus
taught and was. That Kingdom has an existence within
history as the alternative community of Jesus, that
community which lives the life of his Spirit. (I98j)
In contrast with Jesus who saw His mission as that of calling people to
accept the reign of God via repentance, love of God and neighbour,
many churches see their principal mission as that of amassing and
controlling members. The favourite passage of the scripture that is
usually quoted in support of that is: "Go, therefore, make disciples of all
the nations..." (Mt. 28:19). Although these words are ascribed to Jesus
Christ, there is no indication that He Himself aspired to amass disciples
in the manner that many churches had gone and are going about it. He
is quoted as telling someone who wanted to follow Him not to bother
doing so, because "Foxes have holes and the birds o! the air have
nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head". (Lk. 9:57-58).
As McCord observes, with specific reference to the Catholic papacy,
that is in sharp contrast with many bishops, pastors, prophets and
evangelists who maintain courts or headquarters with aides and domestic
servants. McCord concludes that it is hard to combine servanthood or
love, as advocated In Jesus Christ, with power. (10) While Jesus Christ
denied Himself acquisition of power and earth wealth, most Christian
leaders in Nigeria have administrative authorities, and they seek for, and
control funds, rightly or wrongly.
As earlier hinted, unlike Jesus Christ who addressed Himself to the
open Jewish society, as He went from street to street and region to
region, most Christian leaders in Nigeria very often address only their
church members. That notwithstanding, however, many Nigerians may he
influenced by the behaviour, attitude, life-style and utterances of Christian
leaders who live in their neighbourhood, or with whom they, tier chance,
come into contact. The influence may be positive or negative and scandalous,
depending on the leader's personality.
There are many reasons to suggest that many Christian leaders do not have
much positive image and influence in Nigeria. Among the reasons are:
1.
2.
Many Christian leaders are accused of crimes which include
money-making ritual murder (cfr, for instance, The Leader
Vol. XLI No. 1, Owerri, January 24,1999, PP. 1 & 3); armed
robber)' (cfr., for instance, Weekly Trust, August 23-29.2002. P.
10); duping (cfr., for instance, Saturday Tribune, 20
September. 2003, P.5), and so on.
There are discernible signs of anti-clericalism, as indicated by
reports of armed robbery attacks on some Christian leaders in
their mission houses (cfr., for instance. Sunday Champion,
August, i 1, 2002, p.3, and suggestions as to why churches
should pay tax f cfr,. for instance, Sunday Champion, May
26,2002, R2),
3.
If the influence of Christian leaders can be measured, at least to
some extent, by whether many Christians abstain from
crimes and anti-social activities, then, the influence can be
rated low, since many Christians are involved in various forms of
crimes that are committed in Nigeria, including the ones listed
under point one (above), and others, such as bribery and
corruption, embezzlement of public funds, nepotism,
ethnicism, and general abuse of office.
The enumerated reasons above are not to conclude that there are no
good Christian leaders, as well as saintly hi}' Christians in Nigeria.
Many churches founded schools, established hospitals and health
clinics. Some expatriate Christian leaders in particular sponsored
the education of several Nigerian youths. Leprosorium and some
other rehabilitation centres were also founded by some Christian
Churches. Yet. Nigeria remains a perverted and crime-infested
society, to a large exunt, because on both sides of the divide (i.e.
the leader and the led), the saintly are always in the marginal
minority.
One can affirm, based on the research for this paper, that a good
number of Christian leaders wield enormous amount of power that
can positively influence the socio-political and economic situation
in Nigeria, if the powers are directed toward that end. Very often,
the powers are unleashed for ecclesiastical concerns alone. But
some policies do overlap and can indirectly benefit society. For
instance, the Catholic Archobishop of Owerri, Anthony J.V.
Obinna, was reported to have told the members of his extensive
archdiocese that anybody who dressed indecently would
henceforth not be allowed into the premises of'any church under
his jurisdiction. He was said to have been disturbed by the rampant
and the corrupting influence of immodest dressing (Nwokpara 8).
If some or many members of his archdiocese imbibe the culture of
modest and decent dressing, based on the Archbishop's injunction,
they may positively influence some other people around them, and
that is how a Christian leader can indirectly influence life in the
larger society.
In the same vein, if the Church would frown at. and discriminate
against corrupt civil servants who deny the people infrastructure
by embezzling public Hinds, life in Nigeria may change for the
better. If, like the indecently dressed persons, self-serving, public
officers arc declared personae non gratae (i.e. unacceptable
persons) by Christian leaders. abuse of office, which is currently
regarded as normal by many Nigerians, may soon be appropriately
perceived in many quarters as a shameful and disgraceful thing to
do.
Far from that, the current situation in Nigeria seems to be that
Christian leaders simply look the other way, or give their support to the
status quo, so as to enjoy socio-political and financial patronage,
possibly. Here and there, veiled condemnatory words could be read,
particularly in communiques issued by bishops and other meetings of
Christian leaders. As Boer notes: "The Church in Africa consistently
seeks to clear her conscience without actually starting a programme to
correct the evils about which she so elegantly weeps". (178) With
specific reference to Nigeria, Obiokeke, a bishop and General
Overseer of God's Pentecostal Mission, observes that: "Clerics are
not telling our political leaders the truth. Instead of calling them to
order when they err, they join the world to genoflate and sycophant to
them. That is not God, that is not Christianity". (14)
In the course of this research, one came to the realization that many
Christian leaders in Nigeria are in the category of the observation
made by Hume, that:
Sometimes withdrawal into Church affairs and
preoccupation with its parochial and diocesan life is,
unfortunately, motivated by a one-sided perception that
the world is a Godless place and that involvement in its
affairs involves compromise and sometimes the
abandonment of absolute standards and ideals. (14)
Another side of the coin is the fact that while many religious leaders
may disagree with Karl Marx on many points, they may not
conscientiously disagree that "abuse of religion conceals situations that
are socially indefensible". (Martins 20)
Conclusion
In summary, it was discovered that many Christian leaders cannot be
said to be living up to expectation in terms of moral probity. Many of
the leaders were also said to bury themselves in Church affairs, without
much concern for developments in the larger society. Such leaders
would know next to nothing with regard to embezzlement of public
funds and self aggrandizement that have crippled Nigeria's industrial
advancement, prevented the masses from a fair share of the nation's
wealth, and heightened criminal activities.
It was observed that greed, selfishness and corruption also characterize
many Christian leaders in Nigeria, and so they impart mostly negative
influences. One would, therefore, recommend a programme of selfexamination and conscientization for the leaders, toward boosting
positive Christian influence in Nigeria.
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