The Church, Integrity and Good Governance in Nigeria

Abstract

There is a growing belief in society today that the church which is supposed to be a place of acquiring moral integrity and discipline, has degenerated in integrity and moral values such that Christians who ought to be keepers and lovers of one another are now suspicious of one another. Scholars have written on the church, integrity and good governance in Nigeria but failed to relate it to Nehemiah’s perception of integrity in governance and as applicable to Christians in government in Nigeria. The paper examines Nehemiah’s servant leadership and its implications for integrity in the church and its consequences for good governance in Nigeria. There is a need to interrogate why Christians in government in Nigeria have not been able to bring to bear, good governance into Nigeria political terrain unlike Nehemiah and the early apostles. This paper focuses on Christian leaders, Christians holding in trust positions of authority. The paper adopts the documentation method and content analysis method in gathering and analysing data, respectively. The paper argues that the spate of corruption, moral decadence and other social vices in society today, are pointers to the fact that the church is lacking integrity and is morally bankrupt. The paper recommends that Christians and church leaders need to step up on issues of integrity and moral values to ensure good governance in Nigeria.