The Role of the Church Towards Achieving Good Governance in Nigeria
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Date
2012
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Department of Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Abstract
Nigeria has had more than its fair share of the worst form of governance — civil or military. She has been at the receiving end of political tyranny, thuggery, rigging of elections, injustice, corrupt political office holders, unfaithfulness, tyrannical rulers, gagging or cowing the opposition into submission, assassination and so on. The inordinate and selfish ambition of the good boys to have their own share of the national cake has strangulated national development and derailed the train of technological advancement. If, as a result of the development of politics into a dirty game, Christians stay aloof, can their aloofness remove the evil from politics and governance? Will it not rather help it to take such deep roots as to make it difficult to dislodge? It is with this concern that this paper looks at the essential elements of good governance and the role the church, which is the united body of Christ, can play to help bring about good governance in Nigeria. The paper establishes that the church has a sacred duty to provide the moral foundation and be the conscience of the nation. It concludes by discussing essential qualities an effective politician who is to govern must possess before he/she can facilitate good governance.
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Keywords
Good governance, Roles of the Church, Nigerian Political leaders, Servant leadrship, Accountability and transparency.