Religious Leaders and the Burdens of Integrity in Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigeria, most religious leaders are found wanting when it comes to leadership with integrity. Integrity is now a very serious missing link in the life of most religious leaders of Nigerian society. The paper focuses on integrity as required of religious leaders in Nigeria with particular reference to Samuel as a religious leader in Israel. The paper employs both qualitative and descriptive approaches in the documentation of data. Primary data is sourced from the biblical text (1 Samuel 12: 3 – 4) in conjunction with published works. Findings reveal that most religious leaders in Nigeria do not live up to expectations when it comes to the use of public funds and resources. This is because most people encourage shortcuts rather than integrity. The paper recommends Samuel’s leadership integrity whose life was a match to his word. Integrity is an unavoidable value of personality that should characterize religious leaders in Nigerian society. Samuel’s integrity is a benchmark for religious leaders because integrity sustains a person when no longer in office.