The Role of Christianity in the Fight Against Corruption in Nigeria.

By

Joshua Aondoawase Ajim,

Department of Religious Studies, Federal University of Kashere,Gombe State, Nigeria.

ajimjoshuaa@gmail.com 07035849406

And

Patricia Mwuese Saaluun PhD

Department of Religion and cultural Studies, Benue State University Makurdi.

Abstract

Corruption is a misuse of power or position for selfish or selfish gain at the expense of the public
interest. It is sadly one of the greatest social maladies in Nigeria which is now inherent in the
socio-political and economic spheres of life in the country. The aim of this study therefore was to
discuss the role of Christianity in the fight against this social malady or vice in Nigeria. The
work thus employed the descriptive design base on the primary and secondary data available on
the issue of corruption in Nigeria. Through this method, it was discovered that corruption has
become an endemic problem in Nigeria, and that religion especially Christianity has not played
its proper role in combating this social ill due to the non-adherence to Christian virtues of
honesty, accountability and responsibility by Christians, both the clergy and the laity who at one
point or the other occupied public offices. The work therefore advocates for a pragmatic effort
by religious leaders and adherents through practical manifestation of Christian norms and values
in everyday life as a panacea in the war against corruption in Nigeria

Keywords: Corruption, Christianity, Fight, Nigeria

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1.1 INTRODUCTION

Human beings are by nature religious. In other words, religion is not a human intervention

but rather a natural expression of his being. Thus Christianity is a religion that deals with man’s

relationship with the divine, especially in a cultic milieu, man’s response in his worship of God

and his relationship with his fellow men. Christianity as a religion should therefore influence the

personality and the daily conduct of its adherents. This is because the essences or spirit of

religion is morality which has to do with good conduct that could enhance a healthy interaction

among human beings. In other words, morality occupies a central place in divine religions, hence

religion constitute a wide range of virtue such as honesty, integrity, chastity, modesty, hard

work, tolerance, self-discipline, humility, patience and industry. These are laudable virtues that

are inherent in Christianity which could be used to win the war against corruption in Nigeria if

put to practical use by Christian adherences. This paper is concerned with an appraisal of

Christianity in the fight against corruption in Nigeria. The concept of corruption and its

prevalence in Nigeria will be evaluated along with the critical appraisal of Christian’s role in the

fight against corruption. To achieve this, the paper is divided into three major headings;

introduction, corruption and the Nigeria Nation, and then the role of Christianity in the fight

against corruption in Nigeria; These are discussed under various subheadings, and finally a

conclusion.

2.1 Corruption and The Nigerian Nation

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Corruption is a worldwide problem that portrays neither good morals nor decent behaviour, but

an attitude of graft and indiscipline based on selfish motive and dishonesty that undermine

morality. Corruption, though a universal phenomenon, appears to have become so endemic in

Nigeria body politics that most discourses about the country here and elsewhere, Centre more on

the high level of corruption in our public and private life. Ukwaba I.E. laments on this ugly

situation in Nigeria when he notes that; “Corruption is institutionalizing such that not only that

officials are corrupt, but corruption is official” 1. Corruption therefore, is a social phenomenon

which manifests itself in various human actions, such as dishonesty, wickedness, selfishness,

embezzlement, moral degeneration, bribery, covetousness, greed and other vices.

According to C.O.T. Ugwu quoted in Igbri 2, Corruption is the non-Standard behaviour that

deviates from the formal duties of a public role because of private influence. These socially

unapproved behaviour includes, bribery (use of reward to prevent judgment of a person in a

position of trust), nepotism (bestowal of patronage by reason of inscriptive relationship rather

than merit), and misappropriation (illegal appropriation of public resources for private uses). For

Johnson, corruption is the abuse of public roles or resources for private benefits. 3 This definition

may be applied to the study of both political and private institutions, which portends cases of

systematic corruption in which the major institutions and process of the state are routinely

dominated and used by corrupt individuals and groups, in which many people have few practical

alternatives in dealing with corrupt officials.

In 1997 the Transparency International (TI), the world leading Non-Governmental

Organization fighting corruption, using Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranked Nigerian as
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the most corrupt country in the world. In its September 2000 report, the Transparency

International also put Nigeria on top of the corruption table worldwide, arguing that corruption

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has so permeated the public and private sector in Nigeria to the extent the social plague could

pose a serious threat to democracy, political stability and socio-economic development. 5 The

2001 report of the TI using the CPI rated Nigeria as the second to the most corrupt country in the

world after Banglandesh.6 Thus corruption is the most serious and contagious disease that has

endemically and directly or indirectly involved every Nigerian, quite irrespective of one’s

position and upbringing, while the ability to contend and if possible avoid it, is a courage and

sacrifice, yet to be cultivated by Nigerians. In his comment on the state of corruption in Nigeria,

Momoh states:

If there is anything which operates efficiently, uniformly and smoothly all over the country, it is
the twin engine of the machinery of corruption and bribery. The phenomena of corruption seem
to be our unofficial ideology, our lingua franca, the universal language, which is spoken and
understood in every nook and cranny of Nigeria.7

This is why Achebe writing on how corruption has almost become like a way of life for the

Nigerians, and how it is difficult to stop the Nigerians from it, he wrote that the situation is such

that: “keeping an average Nigerian from being corrupt is like keeping a goat from eating yam.

Corruption has passes the alarming and entered the fatal state; Nigeria will die if we keep

pretending that she is only slightly indisposed.” 8 Omoregbe dwelling on lack of strong moral

discipline as the cause of corruption submitted thus:

An immoral society is also a sick society. By an immoral society, we mean a society permeated
with corruption, dishonesty, fraud. Selfishness, embezzlement of public funds and other
immoral acts, such a society is sick and cannot be a sound order. Its organ cannot function
properly because they are not in sound health conditions. Life in such a society becomes
increasingly difficult, insecure and unhappy. Something has to be done to save the situation. 9

In the same light, Ehusani George in his book: ‘The Prophetic Church’ analyzed the plight of the

Nigerian populace, majority of which are poor and why they continue to remain poor in the

midst of plenty, he lamented thus:

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 Though their land is rich and their people are intelligent, they are living in misery. The majority
of Nigerians have been stripped naked by corrupt selfish, greedy and callous elites. For thirty-
five years the majority of Nigerians have suffered untold hardship at the hands of a succession
of rulers, decadent administrators, visionless leaders and reckless managers. 10

Thus, like in Jooji’s Mending the cracked Pot, as quoted in Igbiri, 11 Nigeria can be likened to a

pot and its content to a people of different ethnics, religious cultural social economic and

political backgrounds. To this extent Nigeria is a container just like the pot, and it seems that it is

cracking. The cracks in the Nigerian pot came as a result of stones thrown at it in the form of

violent conflict, social injustices, bad governance and insecurity. The cracks in the pot symbolize

the wound which must be healed for peace to reign. Hence critical issues necessary for mending

and restoring the Nigeria pot to wholeness if is to be achieved is to proffer possible ways to

which corruption can be reduce to make Nigeria a better society.

3.1 The Role Christianity in the Fight against Corruption in Nigeria

Christianity makes no room for crooks and fraudsters. It has no place for corruption in any form.

True Christianity that is based on the teachings and life of Jesus Christ is totally opposed to

corruption of any kind, it cannot accommodate much of what is called the ‘Nigerian factor’. The

real church of Christ has no place for those who would use ill-gotten wealth to manipulate the

socio-political process. Corruption in all ramifications is a direct contradiction of all Christian

beliefs and practices. However, in Nigeria today, many Christians seem to have set aside the

moral principles of Christianity which were advocated by Jesus Himself in his sermon on the

Mount (Mathew 5-7). This teaching includes a high level of truth and honesty in interpersonal

and social relationship, a high sense of purity, modesty and humility, a profound sense of self

sacrifice, readiness to forgive as often as one is offended and a disposition towards peace and

non- violence. He also made His followers or disciples to understand that not all who say to Him,

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Lord, Lord, that would enter the kingdom of heaven but only those that does the will of His

father (Mathew 5-48).

Unfortunately, Christians in Nigeria has not consistently or completely adhered to all these

teachings and has thus failed in the very important role of fighting corruption. Some Christian

denominations act as if Christianity in Nigeria is a form business, the gospel of Christ is made to

border more on commercialization in some churches. This decay in Christendom in Nigeria

impedes what should be the proper message and purpose of the church which is the inculcation

of Christian virtues in the adherents. The popular slogan in these churches today is prosperity,

not morality in the body of Christ. This corruption in Christendom is more pronounced among

the so called Pentecostal churches, the latest brand of Christianity which claim to recover the

entire zeal of the first Pentecost and to direct life according to it. Hassan Kukah observed that

every nook and cranny in Nigeria is endowed with a couple or more of these churches, poised

like pubs on London Streets.12 However, in spite of the numerical strength and availability of

these churches in Nigeria, the quality of morality of Nigerians is deplorably low. This is because

a great number of churches in Nigeria are just like multi-purpose companies which achieve their

goal through a wide variety of methods to exploit the gullible public through carefully contrived

plans aimed at extorting money from members of the church who nonetheless contribute in no

small measure in encouraging corruption by pastors and leaders of the church. This is reported

by Ugwueye in the following words:

Some of these members are people that are supposedly healed during crusades,
members provide favorable atmosphere for these leaders and pastors to operate.
Desperate female members looking for the fruit of the womb sometimes offer
themselves to these pastors who convince them that they (the barren women) need
‘holy sperm’ from them (pastor) before they could conceive and bear a child. What a
deceit!!13

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 All these deceits, thefts, cheating, adultery and many other crimes committed under the

cloak of the Christian religion are the worst of evils, it is practicing Christianity without Christ

and professing religion without morality. Blaise Pascal was very right when he said that “men

never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it under the cover of religion.’’ 14

Corruption is thus seen right in the church whose members are occupying one position or the

other in government and in other areas of human enterprises. It is therefore not surprising that the

political life of Nigeria as a nation is synonymous with corruption in spite of high religiosity

among Nigerians.

Christianity however, by its origin and nature is opposed to corruption in any form, yet

majority of the Christians occupying positions of trust in Nigeria are visibly corrupt, in fact

almost all political office holders apart from Muslims belong to one church or the other, yet

corruption is the common ideology in Nigeria. Thus one could by right to asserts that the church

has failed in imparting moral values in its members, hence the quest for money and other

material prosperity has become the main preoccupation in most of the churches in Nigeria at the

expense of sound spiritual and moral impartation which is the real function of the church in the

society. The saying that a blind man cannot lead another blind man has been demonstrated in

Nigeria, hence the Christian religion has been corrupted and consequently lost its redemptive

function in the socio-political situation in Nigeria. There is therefore urgent need for the church

to reposition herself based on the teachings of Jesus in order to win the perennial fight against

corruption in Nigeria. Christians must see this as an onerous task and validate their Christian

calling. This is very imperative because Jesus warns those whose religiosity does not extend to

the area of truth, honesty, justice and fair-play, that he would denounce them on judgment day.

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He says “when the days comes, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your

name, drive out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name? Then I shall tell them

to their faces; I have never known you; away from me, all you evil doers” (Matt. 7:22-23). Thus

genuine Christianity cannot accommodate much of what is called the Nigerian factor

(corruption). Real Christianity has no place for those who would use ill-gotten wealth to

manipulate the socio-economic and political process, instead corruption in all its ramifications is

a negation of the Christian mission to build here on earth a kingdom where justice, honesty, love

and peace would reign.

3.2.1 The Role of the Clergy in the Fight against Corruption in Nigeria

The clergy men or men of God as they are popularly called has a very big role to play in the

fight against corruption in Nigeria through preaching of messages that are transforming and

writing spiritual books extolling the moral demands of Christianity. The Catholic priests are

leading other inspired men of God from various denominations in this regard, as their preaching

often bordered on social and political issues of corruption, the Catholics Bishop conference of

Nigeria for instance meet annually to present papers on the problem of corruption and the way

forward. (see Schinller (ed) The voice of the voiceless). 15 Renowned Catholic Priests like Father

Mathew Hassan are the voice of the voiceless, denouncing corruption in all forms in his

messages and articles which are found in his website.

This is commendable, but more need to be done by all men of God in all

denominations, unfortunately some preachers, especially from the Pentecostal Churches are

preoccupied with prosperity messages neglecting impartation of Christian virtues in their

members. Consequently, there is wide spread abandonment of the pursuit of excellence, rather

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there is a glorification of mediocrity in practically every area of life. Nigerians seem to have

settled for expediency and mediocrity as they seem to have made up their minds that the price to

be paid for honesty, fidelity, truth, hard work and diligence are too high. So we settle for short-

cut and quick fix. We resort to mutual betrayal, looting, opportunism and manipulation in the bid

to make it at all cost and by all means. Thus, some of the clergy men have rather exploited and

manipulated Nigerians, such that Christianity today has been turned into a business with few or

no ethical norms, where popularity and charlatanism is the order of the day in the founding and

running of most churches in Nigeria, and where pride and arrogance, greed and avarice rather

than doctrinal differences are responsible for the daily emergence of New Churches. Ehusani,

noted the observation of many observers that in this era of economic distress, “The quickest and

easiest way to make money in Nigeria is to carry a Bible on Sunday and start preaching.” 16 Thus

popular Christianity in Nigeria today lacks the essential component of a critical social conscience

as evidenced in the widespread corruption and social decay all over our country. The clergy have

in advertently supported the monumental pillars of corruption in the country which brought so

much misery and pain upon the people.

The ‘men of God’ or clergy men can only fight corruption effectively when they recognize

that the message of the cross is fundamental and central to the religion of Jesus Christ. The very

message that the clergy in the popular Christianity has jettisoned; the cross and all the spiritual

values associated with it. This brand of Christianity has more or less declares all failure,

suffering and pain as of the devil, while associating with God, only wealth, success and healing.

The main rituals of this religion are not about sacrifice in form of moral integrity but healing and

deliverance sessions, and prosperity carnivals. Now, can such an enterprise which is centered

around the satisfaction of the human craving for wealth, power and success with little or no

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emphasis on the efficacy of sacrifice upon which traditional Christian morality is built ever help

to fight corruption in Nigeria? The answer to this question is simply no. Ehusani George also

commented on the impossibility of this brand of Christianity advocated by the “men of God” to

solve the problem of corruption in the following words:

What camouflages as popular Christianity in modern day Nigeria that is spreading like wildfire
and wining thousands of concerts every day, may not really be Christianity, after all, to the
extent that it has thrived in the midst of corruption and social decay, and has not been able to
make a difference in social morality of its adherents.17

The clergy men should however remember the comment of Jesus to his followers that it is by

their fruits that they shall be known. So if what we see exhibited by the millions of Christian

converts are simply indiscipline and corruption then we can say without fear of contradiction that

what we are witnessing in Nigeria is a mass movement of some sort with elements of Christian

spirituality such as singing, prayer and the study of the bible, but largely lacking in

understanding of the Christian call to a high level of sacrifice, discipline, honesty, truth and

justice. Such a mass movement, particularly when it tramples down on the message of the cross

(which is central to most Christian enterprises) does not qualify to be called Christian, no matter

how many churches are erected in its name, or how much noise it makes in the name of Jesus

Christ. Did Jesus Christ himself not warn that there would be many fake preachers and prophets

some of which would even perform miracles in his name?

However, it is imperative to note that true Christianity promotes very high ethical and

moral standards which if believers try to live by, they will remove the evil of corruption from our

society. True Christianity teaches that the meaning of human life is beyond humanity, and

beyond this world, therefore the proper dissemination of the Christian message will help to

checkmate the human instinct to grab and to accumulate for self, while neglecting the common

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good. The preaching of the full message which has the cross at its center is capable of purging

Nigeria of the scourge of corruption.

3.2.2 The Role of the Laity in the Fight against Corruption in Nigeria

The laity are the members of the church of Christ apart from the clergy. They are actually

the body of Christ also called the church. The Greek word Ekklessia which is the linguistic root

of the church means ‘to call out”. The term is used in Christendom to demote a group of people

gathered as a body of Christ. (Act19:39). So the laity are the members of the body of Christ

which is catholic or universal. If we can take statistics of the assembly of worshippers on

Sundays or Saturdays as the case may be, we will discover that the worshippers are increasing

geometrically in numerical strength. However, the evil of corruption continues unabated and the

perpetrators are sadly members of the church or the laity. Joseph Pav lamented about this

development in the following words:

The modern church has actually gone back to the situation of the church in the Old Testament
and the degenerative state during the medieval church. The more the church grows in wealth,
the more the original nature of the church grows din. As a matter of fact, the situation in
Jerusalem as a place of God’s people in Ezekiel 22 and 23 is the same with the church today…
people are no longer interested in the things of God but in their selfish interest and some hinder
others from the kingdom of God.18
Thus the laity or members of the church in Nigeria are bent on satisfying their selfish cravings

for wealth and power at the expense of the moral and spiritual values in Christianity, such that

members of the church are almost more corrupt than people who are not Christians at all. Instead

of being the light and salt of the world, Christians in Nigeria are involved in all works of

darkness, and are sources of bitterness because of their active involvement in corrupt practices.

This is exactly what was foretold by Apostle Paul in his letter to Timothy saying:

But mark this Timothy, there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boastful proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful,

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 unholy, without love, unforgiving slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good,
treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having a form of
godliness but denying its power (2Tim.3:1-9).

It is very obvious that this scripture is fulfilled in the church in Nigeria hence members of

the church are following the world system where morality and modesty is becoming ridiculous

issues. However, members of the laity can non-the less eradicate corruption if they are ready to

sacrifice their selfish desires to live for Christ and represent him everywhere they are whether in

their homes, schools, market, offices or even in governance. If the virtues of honesty, love,

impartiality, faithfulness, truth, tolerance, charity and patients which are Christian values are

embraced and practiced by the laity, then the problem of corruption will be drastically reduced

and eventually eradicated. Corruption has prevailed in Nigeria because most adherents of

Christianity are not living the Christ like life, they have embraced the world system in all its

ramifications such that it is hard to identify Christians by their fruits any more, Christianity is

now associated with noise making and witchcraft practices in the name of spiritual warfare.

But where then is the light that shines in darkness? Why are the laity more interested in

the world system than the things of God? Jesus Christ was very correct when he said light has

come into the world but the world likes darkness more because their deeds are evil. If it is in the

examination halls, you will hardly notice the difference between a Christian and the non-

Christian, in politics there is no difference between a Christian and a non-Christian, the same

with business enterprises. Christianity today has become more like a drug; it is applicable in

some instances but not in all areas of life. People apply Christianity as a drug for making them

rich, healing balm, deliverance from witches and wizards, killing of enemies etc. but when it

comes to righteousness, holiness and application of the word of God; when it comes to the issue

of business, generosity and morality, they use what they call ‘wisdom’ to maneuver their ways.

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 However, God is still calling “come out of them and be ye separate”. Christians are not

of this world, the laity must not copy the world system if the fight against corruption is to be won

at all, it depends on the life style of the laity in their everyday enterprises, so that they can fulfill

the mandate of their Christian calling to be the light and salt of the world. If we actually believe

that Christian principles are holistic, they should also inform our ideas about public life. Faith in

the public square is different from imposing strict religious values; rather it is putting to practice

those “kingdom values” espoused by Jesus in his time. The Christian youth which constitutes the

dominants group in the church can transform the Nigerian society through the practical

application of Jesus teaching and thus influence the live of the society toward righteousness and

shunning of corruption in all its ramifications. This is possible because, in the past young people

are usually puritanical and idealistic in their positioning. But unfortunately, the youth today are

as corrupt as the old people. The youth are also involved in the manipulation of primordial

values such as ethnicity and religion to further their selfish interest. The Christian youth must

rise up to help eradicate corruption in Nigeria because the struggle against corruption in our

national landscape is one for the survival of the nation itself. The choice before Nigerians is

clear; we either go to war against corruption in all its ramifications or we shall be consumed by

this hydra-headed dragon. We must not leave the struggle against corruption to government

bodies alone, because by its history as the primary site of corruption, the state is unable to sustain

any meaningful crusade against corruption. The civil society groups and various non-

governmental organizations, including the Christian youths and student’s groups, must join the

crusade against this monster before it destroys the Nigerian state and the church within.

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 RECOMMENDATIONS

This paper in the light of the preceding’s, suggest the revival of Christian Evangelism in a

pragmatic manner through the following means;

i. Preaching

Like the prophets of old, pastors and Christians in general in our generation are expected to

preach fearlessly against corruption because they are expected to be the mouth piece for the

voiceless, the down trodden and the people who do not have the opportunity to speak out against

certain ills in the society. Christian should remember that Jesus Christ spoke against injustice and

corruption. To restore these moral values that seem to be forgotten, such as justice and

forthrightness, the very reason Jesus himself came to this perverse generation. In a generation

where selfishness is the order of the day, where people want all for themselves and nothing for

others, Christian leaders and followers must become aggressive in the preaching of the

transforming gospel of Jesus Christ. This is because, in a situation where corruption is not

checked as it is this day in Nigeria, the poor and the rich, the Christian and the non-Christian

suffer, even though the poor are more likely to suffer the most. It is therefore the moral

responsibility of the gospel preachers to preach against corruption in all its ramifications.

ii. Seminars

This is another weapon in the Christian crusades against corruption in Nigeria. The

Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria and other Christian organizations are doing well in this

regard as they organized annual conferences where they present papers against the evil of

corruption from a biblical perspective. It is instructive to note that it was in one of the seminar

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presentations where the Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, most Rev. Mathew Hassan Kukah was the

guest speaker at the annual founders Day Anniversary lecture of providence Baptist church in

Lagos that the respected man of God was bold enough to condemn the materialistic stand of most

Nigerian clergy men. He observed in the following word:

The acquisition of private jets by Christian leaders diminishes the moral voice of the church in
the fight against corruption. The stories of corrupt men and women being given recognition by
their churches or mosques as gallant’s sons and daughters and the embarrassing stories of
pastor displaying conspicuous wealth as we hear from the purchases of private jets and so on
clearly diminish our moral voice (19).

All Churches should thus organize seminars and invite such bold and courageous men of God like Rev.

Hassan Kukah who are fearless enough to preach against corruption irrespective of who is involved.

iii. Workshops

Christian churches in Nigeria can also employ the means of organizing workshops on the

problem of corruption in order to brainstorm on the problem, causes, effects and ways to control

and eradicate corruption in Nigeria. Reputable resources persons across the ideological spectrum

would be invited to attend such worships and contribute on how Christians can play effective

role in the fight against corruption. The N.K.S.T Church, ECWA and Anglican Churches in

Benue State has annual workshops where issues of corruption are discussed from a biblical

perspective. Other churches would do well to use this means as a weapon to fight corruption in

Nigeria. The problem of corruption in Nigeria urgently calls for a Christian crusade, this time not

with physical weapons but with moral and spiritual weapons. The churches in Nigeria must do

everything possible to save Nigeria from the hydra-headed dragon called corruption, for this is

the only hope of Nigeria.

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 CONCLUTION

We have noted that corruption is responsible in larger measure for the broken promises, the

dashed hopes and the shallow dreams that have characterized the existence of the multitudes of

Nigerians in the last few years. Corruption can be cited as prominent among the causes of our

many failed attempt in the practice to democracy to the benefits of Nigerians. The democracy

prevalent in the society is itself a fraudulent superstructure which survived upon a substructure of

corruption which is eating its host Nigeria, almost to death. This paper strongly affirms that the

success of Nigeria since independence in the areas of justice, accountability in public life has

never been achieved. Nigerians are still waiting for a messiah that would come on a solid

foundation, so that there would be an eradication of corruption and its co-vices, which are

becoming more sophisticated through institutionalized corrupt practices. The Nigerian society at

present is characterized with embezzlement of public funds, violence, robbery, injustices,

marginalization and all sorts of other immoralities. This paper therefore calls on all Nigerians

especially Christians to imbibe the Christians values of honesty, justice, love, hard work, probity,

and desist from conferring honors to people whose wealth is questionable. Church leaders must

start calling a spade a spade. Christians in general should see it as their principal role to inculcate

the fear of God and the values of honesty, probity, hard work, accountability and concerned for

the common good.

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 Endnotes

1. E.I. Ukwaba, “African Value System and Dynamic Foreign Policy: The Nigerian
Experience”. (A paper presented at the General Studies Inaugural Public Lecture Jointly
Organized with KUULAM CHEE Foundation at the UNN, 17, 18 September
2001),29.
2. F. N. Igbri, “Religion, Politics and Corruption in Nigeria: An Ethical Appraisal.
(An M.A Dissertation submitted to the department of Religion and Philosophy,
Benue State University Makurdi.2012),16.
3. M. Johnson, “Fighting Systematic Corruption; Social Foundations for Constitutional
Reform”. (In the European Journal of Development Research, 10 (1). 1998). P.89.
4. C.T Galtung, “The Church and Political Crisis in Nigeria” (In Jos Studies, a Publication
of St. Augustine Major Seminary. Vol. 8 No. 1 1998),109.
5. C.T Galtung,109.
6. C.T Galtung,109.
7. C.S Momoh, Philosophy of a new Past and an old Future (Auchi: African Philosophy
Project Publications, 1991),115.
8. C. Achebe, The Trouble with Nigeria. (Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishers, 1983),38.
9. J. Omoregbe, Ethics: A Systematic and Historical Study (Lagos: Joja Educational
Research and publishers, 1993),x.
10. G.O. Ehusani, The Prophetic Church. (2nd Edition, Ibadan: Kraft Books Limited,
2003),7.
11. F.N Igbiri,37.
12. M.H. Kukah, Religion, Politics and Power in Northern Nigeria (Ibadan: Spectrum
Books, 2003),27.
13. E. Ogwueye, Politics and Religion: A Christian Perspective. (Enugu: SNAPP Press,
2001),226.
14. F.N Igbiri,101.
15. S.J. Schineller, (ed) The voice of the voiceless; Pastoral Letters and Communiques of
the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, 1960-2002. (Ibadan: Daily Graphics
Nigeria Limited, 2002), 38.
16. G.O. Ehusani, 93.
17. G .O Ehusani, 92.
18. J.A. Pav, The Decaying Nature of the Church: Who is the Hope? (Gboko: viktorian
multi-Media, 2003),13.
19. S.J. Schineller, (ed),39.

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