The paper investigates the role that church should play in order to put good governance in place in Nigeria.

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RELIGION AND GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA
Editors
Ayantayo, Jacob K. (Ph.D)
Dada, Oyinloye, A. (Ph.D)
Labeodan, Helen A. (Ph.D)
Dedicated to
LATE DR AKINTUNDE, DORCAS OLUBANKE
Published 2012

2. 404
Chapter 28
The Role of the Church towards Achieving Good Governance in Nigeria
By
Job O. Okunoye (oluremiokunoye@gmail.com)
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.

3. 405
Introduction
Religion and governance have all over the ages remained two inseparable
twins. As seen in the Old Testament, if God was himself interested and
involved in the earthly governance of his people, there should be nothing
wrong if his children from age to age continue the work he started. Religion,
according to Akao, 1
has much to contribute to both the spiritual and physical
well - being of man and the community in which he lives. Plato once said
that a nation cannot be strong unless it believes in God. Religion has an
important contribution to make to the moral strength and the political unity
of the nation.2
For Christians to shy away from the political agenda is to rob
the civil populace of the most important ingredient for social unity and
stability.
It is God's will that there should be an organized state. Jesus recognized this
when he told his disciples to play their dual role of giving to civil authority
and to God their respective dues. A form of government has to be in place to
make possible such communal facilities like water, sewage, electricity,
roads; telephone, security, etc. That cannot be constructed through
individual efforts alone. To organize these, a government of whatever colour
must be in place, and Christians as good citizens must be at the forefront of
giving birth to such a government. For Christians not to allow themselves to
be used by God for achieving this purpose is invariably shirking one's
Christian responsibility and challenge. The impact of the church on the
Nigeria society is generally observed to be diminishing today unlike the
missionary days. This is primarily as a result of the unwillingness of the
church and devout Nigerian Christians to face the challenges of the society
thinking that Christian's activities should be confined only to the spiritual
realm.3
But Christians, as children of God, should appreciate the fact that
God the father is interested in all aspects of human life - social, economic,
political and spiritual.4
This paper therefore aims at examining the role of the
church towards achieving good governance in Nigeria. At this point, let us
find out the meaning of the words "Church" and "governance" on which lays
the burden of this discussion.

4. 406
What is Church?
In the Old Testament, Israel was simply "the congregation". The term was
also used by early Christians. In fact, it is the actual meaning of the word
"church". Christians are often referred to as the church or the congregation.
The term could be applied either to all believers in the world or to any local
group of them. It meant the total presence of God's people (Christians) in a
given location. In other words the word "Church" refers to the community of
believers - either all believers or a local group. The Greek word ecclesia is
usually translated "Church" The New Testament sometimes speaks of a
secular Greek assembly (Acts 19:32, 41). Almost always it speaks of a
Christian assembly. Sometimes the word ecclesia designates the actual
meeting together of Christians, but it is mostly used to describe the believers
(Christians) who make up a local congregations (such as the church in
Corinth, etc).6
When reading the New Testament, Christians need to be aware of the
various ways in the word ecclesia (church") is used. First, it is any gathering
of believers. Second, it is an organized local body - made up of all the
believers in any given locality. Third, it is the universal church. This means
all the believers who have ever been, are now existing, and will ever be.7
At
times it is hard to differentiate one meaning from the other. Nevertheless
students of Biblical studies could avoid some confusion if they use
discernment in their study of the text. But for the purpose of this research
paper, we shall adopt the second usage of the word that is, the church as an
organized local body made up all the believers in any given locality and in
this case, Nigeria.
What is Governance?
Recently the terms "governance" and "good governance" have increasingly
been used in development literature. Bad governance has increasingly been
regarded as one of the root causes of all evil within our societies. H fact,
major donors and international financial institutions are increasingly basing
their aid and loans on the condition that reforms that ensure "good

5. 407
governance" are undertaken. Thus, this column tries to explain, as simply as
possible, what "governance" and good governance" means.
The concept of "governance" is not new. It is as old as human civilization.
Simply put, "governance" means: the process of decision making and the
process by which decisions are implemented (or not implement).8
Also,
"governance" has been generally defined as the manner in which power is
exercised in the management of a country's economic and social
development.9
Governance can be used in several contexts such as corporate
governance, international governance, national governance and local
governance. As a matter of fact, not every governance of a country is good.
To assess, therefore, the tenability of good and bad governance in a country,
one must compare and consider the vitality of political and economic
plurality which enhances choices made by the masses.10
Bad governance,
however, has been described at the poor management and low level of
development in the developing world".
Governance is the attainment of any worthwhile governmental objectives
which can only be possible in an environment devoid of rancour, ill -will,
strife, struggle and disdain.12
Thus, good governance is a sine qua non for
achieving a functional and result oriented goals, with the resultant overriding
need, extending the frontier of welfairism of the government of the
governed.13
Since governance is the process of decision making and the process by
which decisions are implemented, an analysis of governance focuses on the
formal and informal actors involved in decision - making and implementing
the decisions made and the formal and informal structures that have been set
in place to arrive and implement the decision. Government is a principal
actor in governance. Other actors involved in governance vary depending on
the level of government that is under discussion. In rural areas, for example,
other actors may include influential landlords, associations of peasant
farmers, cooperatives, NGos, religious leaders and so on. The situation in
urban area is much more complex. However, all actors other than
government and the military are grouped together as part of the "Civil
society".14

6. 408
Governance in human expression is God-ordained, that is divinely directed
and dispatched. The political scientists refer to this Godly governance in
earthly kingdom as Divine theory. 15
The Divine theory depicts that the state
and governance are designed by God to meet the purpose, yearnings and
aspirations of the civitas. So, the rulers are regarded as ordained and chosen
by God to serve as representatives here on earth. As such, governance by
God is regarded as expressed in the collective will of the people, and this
collective will of the people does not in any way contradict God's purpose
for the state. Those who rule must rule in consonance with God's principles
and ordinances. This informs human development in earthy kingdom for
when "the righteous rules the people rejoice" (Prov. 29:2). To this end good
governance is delegated responsibilities exercised freely on behalf of God.
Thus, good governance comes into full action when the ruler understands his
assignment and carries it out as divinely directed.
According to Alamu, 16
Walter, 17
Akao, l8
and Dairo, 19
good governance has
eight major essential characteristics:
1. It is participatory: Participation by both men and women is a key
cornerstone of good governance. Participation could be either direct
or through legitimate intermediate institutions or
representatives. It is important to point out that representative
democracy does not necessarily mean that the concerns of the most
vulnerable in society would be taken into consideration in decision
making. Participation needs to be informed and organized. This
means freedom of association and expression on the one hand and an
organized civil society on the other hand.
2. Rule of law: Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are
enforced impartially. It also requires full protection of human rights,
particularly those of minorities. Impartial enforcement of laws requires
an independent judiciary and an Impartial and incorruptible police
force. Dicey asserts that everybody is equal before the law. This
means that all people irrespective of gender, race, occupation, language,
ethnicity, status, etc are equal before the law. The law does not
discriminate among people.20
It surpasses every individual. Therefore,

7. 409
the people in governance and the governed, the powerful and the weak,
the rich and the poor, etc are all equal before the law. There should be
no different law for different people.
3. Transparency: Transparency means that decisions taken and their
enforcement are done in a manner that follows rules and regulations. It
also means that information is freely available and directly accessible to
those who will be affected by such decisions and their enforcement. It
also means that enough information is provided and that it is provided
in easily understandable forms and media. It is the transparency in the
opinion of the commonwealth that enhances public participation in
public affairs, promotes the accountability of public agencies and
officials and provides a powerful aid in the fight against corruption.21
4. Responsiveness: Good governance requires that institutions and
processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe.
5. Consensus Oriented: There are several actors and as many viewpoints
in a given society. Good governance requires mediation of the different
interests in society to reach a broad consensus in society on what is in
the best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved.
It also requires a broad and long-term perspective on what is needed for
sustainable human development and how to achieve the goals of such
development. This can only result from an understanding of the
historical, cultural and contexts of a given society or community.22
6. Equity and Inclusiveness: A society's well-being depends on ensuring
that all its members feel that they have a stake in it and do not feel
excluded from the mainstream of society. This requires that all groups,
but particularly the most vulnerable, have opportunities to improve or
maintain their well-being.
7. Effectiveness and efficiency: Good governance means that processes
and institutions produce results that meet the needs of society while
making the best use of resources at their disposal. The concept of

8. 410
efficiency in the context of good governance also covers the sustainable
use of natural resources and the protection of the environment.23
8. Accountability: Accountability is a key requirement of good
governance. Not only governmental institutions but also the private
sector and civil society organizations must be accountable to the public
and to their institutional stakeholders. Who is accountable to whom
varies depending on whether decisions or actions taken are internal or
external to an organization or institution. In general an organization or
an institution is accountable to those who will be affected by its
decisions or actions. Thus, in Nigeria, all government activities should
be made available and accounted for appropriately for public
consumption. This accountability in governance ensures that elected
and appointed government officials render account of their stewardship
and justify their persistent stay in office. It must be noted, however, that
accountability cannot be enforced without transparency and the rule of
law.
The summary of the characteristics of good governance is summed up in
Mudder's work which says:
A responsible society is one where freedom is the Freedom of
men who acknowledge responsibility to justice and public
order, and where those who hold political authority or
economic power are responsible for its exercise to God and the
people whose welfare is affected by it. Man must never be made
a mere means for political or economic ends. Man is not made
for the state but the state for man. Man is not made for
production, but production for man. For a society to be
responsible under modern conditions it is required that the
people have freedom to control, to criticize and to change their
governments, that power be made responsible by law and
tradition, and be distributed as widely as possible through the
whole community. It is required that economic justice and
provision of equality of opportunity be established for all the
members of the society.24

9. 411
From the above discussion, it should be clear that good governance is an
ideal which is difficult to achieve, most especially with what we are
experiencing in Nigeria, which is the direct opposite of good governance.
Indeed, very few countries and societies have come close to achieving good
governance in its totality especially in Africa.25
However, to ensure
sustainable human development; actions must be taken to work towards this
ideal with the aim of making it a reality. Thus, what is the role of the church
towards making good governance a reality in Nigeria?
The Role of the Church towards Achieving Good Governance in Nigeria
The church is called to build a just and equitable society, a society that cares
for all its citizens, especially for those that are weak and marginalized; a
democratic society that respects our constitution, the rule of law, that guards
against misuse of power, that fosters our diversity and plurality, and that
fosters the role of civil society. Such a society can only be built on the moral
and ethical values founded in the Bible - values such as the respect for life,
human dignity, humbleness, honesty, and to serve one another. But how can
the church achieve the goal of good, governance within a constitutional
democracy?
1. Encouraging Participation in Politics: The church needs to be
envisioned to take up the responsibility of producing Christian
politicians who will make positive impact on the society. Those that
have the gifts and potential for leadership should be encouraged to go
into politics to enable them use their gifts to serve people especially
those that are marginalized and oppressed. The aim is not just for
Christians to be represented in government, but more importantly to
address the issues of corruption and injustice within the country.
The different Christian denominations should encourage their local churches
to organize seminars and workshops on the political situation in the country
and the need for Christians to get involved. Resource persons engaged
should be those who have vast knowledge in politics and socioeconomic
development. The workshops should also focus on the challenges Christians
face in politics and how these can be addressed.26

10. 412
Thus, the challenge for the church in this regard is to be provocative - to be
political, without being bound by loyalty to a specific political party; to
analyze economic theory, or ideology; to challenge and question policies
that exclude or marginalize specific sections of society; and to challenge the
priorities of public spending.
2. Praying and Fasting: One of the most important things the church
can do to usher in good governance in Nigeria is to fervently pray for
those involved in governance - the politicians. There are times the
church need to fast for those in government, most especially when
critical decisions are to be taken, or when they are facing serious
persecution. The prayers and fasting should be focused on the need for
courage, fearlessness, faithfulness, transparency, openness to
correction, honesty, and to overcome all temptations.27
Ayodele while
quoting late Obafemi Awolowo says "It is very good indeed for the
churches to pray for the success of the government of the day....and
futile for them to pray for the success of a manifestly satanic
administration."28
Praying and fasting for the government becomes
more imperative when we consider that those in government are
engaged in a very serious battle against demonic forces and they need
the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome all attacks and obstacles that
the devil will bring against them.
3. Promoting Values Transformation: An important programme for
the church is moral recovery through intentional values transformation
based on the Bible. Christian politicians should be made to realize that
they must uphold Biblical values above all other values. Any value
that goes against the Bible must be discarded. This should be done
through consistent and in - depth Bible studies specifically organized
for those in government and preaching on various themes related to
values and how they affect our attitudes and behaviour. Such values
include: justice and fair play, righteousness and moral discipline, hard
work and extravagance, decision-making by consensus, accountability
and openness, Community Spirit, Honesty and Sincerity, love through
sacrificial living and giving, etc.29

11. 413
4. Advocacy: Advocacy is about influencing those in power and
position of authority to bring about change for the benefit of all
especially the poor.30
Based on this understanding, advocacy is an
integral part of the mission of the church Jesus Christ modeled
advocacy in his ministry here on earth. He said at the beginning of his
ministry that he came to set the captives and prisoners free (Luke
4:18). He demonstrated concern for the poor and the less privileged.
Just as Jesus Christ served as an advocate, the church must not shy
away from advocacy. The church should encourage Christian
politicians to address issues that cause poverty among the people,
serve as advocates for the people, and stand in the gap for the people.
The church should engage and challenge political parties, parliamentary
hearings and government representatives with regard to the priorities they
set. Similarly, the church should fully support and stand behind Christian
politicians who confront corrupt leaders even when they face reprisals and
persecution. Once Christian politicians know that the church fully backs
them and that they would not be abandoned at the eleventh hour, they would
be encouraged and continue to fight injustice and corruption in the country.31
5. Providing a forum for Dialogue and Networking: The church in
Nigeria should take the initiative to create a forum for regular
dialogue with the government especially the Christian politicians. A
good example of such kind of forum is the National Religious
Association for Social Development (NRLF) and the National
Religious Leaders' Forum (NRLF) that lobbied the state for a
development partnership - to strengthen social programmes that
benefit the poor in South Africa.32
The purpose of such a forum would
be to share ideas, strategies, experiences, problems and difficulties,
inputs into the strategies for effective governance, poverty alleviation,
and eradication of corruption. This can be done under the broad
umbrella of Christian Association of Nigeria (C.A.N.) or Pentecostal
Fellowship of Nigeria (P.F.N.) and be taken up at the local, state and
national level. However, care must be taken to ensure that the
emphasis is on actual dialogue and not establishment of structures for

12. 414
dialogue. The danger is that structures can easily lead to
institutionalization which has its own drawbacks.
Moreover, the church is better placed to create a forum for dialogue with
Christian politicians from, different political parties because it is a
nonpolitical body. It is equally important that Christian politicians from
different denominations meet and communicate on a regular basis to share
ideas, information, and experiences on various issues and challenges they
may be facing in the political terrain. It is through mutual encouragement
and support that they can resist the pressure and to keep on fighting without
giving up. Again, the church is in the best position to facilitate networking
and collaboration among Christian politicians because it is non-partisan.
6. Providing Advice / Counseling: The Church should serve as an
avenue where politicians can go to for advice and counseling. To do
this effectively, the church should engage respected, reliable and
experienced persons who are non-partisan and with proven integrity to
serve as counselors and advisors to the politicians at the local, state
and national level. The time of counseling should also be a time of
prayers for the counselee. Care must however be taken to allow the
leadership of the Holy Spirit in the whole process.
7. Forming Partnerships with the Government and other Sectors:
The Church in Nigeria should seek to establish formal partnerships
with the government (at all levels) and other sectors in order to change
the lives of the poor, the unemployed, the excluded and those at risk
in our society; This partnership needs to be promoted and sustained
with commitment in spite of the problems and challenges. The church
however must be watchful against the danger of cooption that is of
being used by the politicians who have their own agendas. The
challenge here is that the church in Nigeria should become a real
partner in struggling against poverty and underdevelopment and
towards achieving good governance in our country, Nigeria. We
believe that this partnership will help facilitate negotiations with
government officials and representatives of other sectors to address
the social, economic and political challenges confronting Nigeria.

13. 415
8. Facilitate Setting up of Accountability Groups: The Church should
encourage politicians, especially the Christian ones, to set up
accountability groups. This is because accountability groups have
been found to be very effective in keeping individuals focused on
what they have committed themselves to do. The tendency for
politicians to veer off from their initial commitments is very high even
though some of them are liars and are quite aware of the fact that they
cannot fulfill what they promise. Nevertheless, we believe that one of
the main reasons why many politicians do not keep their resolutions is
lack of accountability to any group.
Qualities of an Effective Politician
Having examined the role the church should play towards achieving good
governance in Nigeria, this column briefly discusses some essentials
qualities that politicians (who are the principle actors in governance) need to
have in order to usher in good governance in our country. These qualities
should also serve as a basis for self-assessment to ascertain whether they are
effective or not.
1. Compassion: The NIV Study Bible defines compassion as "Deep
feeling for suffering and needy people". Simply put, compassion is
love in action. A compassionate politician will never be at ease nor
happy seeing people living in abject poverty, while knowing that such
poverty is man-made and caused by injustice, corruption and
mismanagement of resources. Thus, it is required that everyone and
most especially those in governance be compassionate.
2. Servant Leadership: An effective politician should be a servant
leader like Jesus Christ so that they can influence people positively
since leadership involves influencing people to accomplish certain
tasks or achieve desire results. Leadership in Nigeria is seen as a
means of acquiring material wealth and making people do what they
want. It is not about service to people. This must be checked.

14. 416
3. Integrity: Politicians must be people of integrity, people who can be
trusted. The NIV Study Bible defines integrity as "Honesty in life and
adherence to moral principles". Integrity therefore has to do with
honesty, sincerity and being morally upright. It involves telling the
truth, not cheating or stealing, being genuine, frank, and
straightforward, not telling half-truths and not being hypocritical. It
also means not keeping quiet when things are going wrong or when
injustice is being perpetuated. In government and business circles
today, this quality is very scarce. Thus, every politician should take
note and strive to be person of integrity because integrity must be
valued above wealth (Prov. 28:6).
4. Faithfulness; Faithfulness connotes consistency, which is
underscored by trustworthiness.34
' As the NIV Study Bible puts it, it is
"Remaining steadfast to one's commitments". An effective politician
should keep to his word and not change like chameleons nor be blown
around by every wind of doctrine. Their word should be their bond.
Politicians in Nigeria are known for making promises they do not
keep. They say one thing and do another. They should be people who
can be trusted in order to usher in good governance.
5. Discipline: One characteristics that politicians in Nigeria are well
known for is indiscipline. Discipline has to do with the ability and
willingness to keep to lay down procedures. The Oxford Advanced
Learners' Dictionary defines this type of discipline as "the ability to
control your behaviour or the way you live, work, etc. It has to do
with the right thing at the right time in accordance with the rule of
law. We cannot make progress in the country if we are not disciplined,
and politicians need to take the lead in this regard.
6. Accountability: The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines
accountable as "Responsible for your decisions or actions and
expected to explain them when you are asked." This means that a
politician who is accountable will not take offence at being asked to
explain an action taken or decision made, even though African culture
does not encourage leaders to be accountable to their subordinates or

15. 417
followers. Accountability, however, should be a two-way process, in
which the leaders are accountable to the people they lead and the
people are accountable to their leaders. In the light of this, how many
politicians in Nigeria can be said to be accountable?
7. Transparency: This simply means being open and not hiding
anything especially information about oneself and the work one is
doing.35
A transparent politician will not be involved in any shady
deals; nor cover up any shady deals by others. Transparency is closely
related to accountability and leads to accountability. It follows, then,
that one way of checking corruption is to ensure that leaders are
transparent and accountable.
Other qualities to be looked for in the life of any politician include: courage,
patience, perseverance, humility and contentment. As much as possible, the
above mentioned qualities must be given priority when electing or
appointing people into various leadership positions in our country for when
"the righteous rules, the people rejoice" (Prov. 29:2).
Conclusion
As a Church, our most important contribution remains that we live out our
true identity, that we are part of God's creation that have overcome ethnic,
cultural, language, etc divides. Our main mission is not to serve the church,
but our mission is to be in the service of God's outreach to the whole world -
to be a church for others. This is the true identity of the church.
Therefore, being true to our own identity is the biggest challenge we can
pose to political and economic processes that seeks to be elitist, that only
represent the interest or the ideologies of a selected group. In the process we
will sometimes oppose popular (and even "majority") interests - for the sake
of peace, social justice and fairness. We need to do this in the public arena,
but also within the church self.

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APPENDIX
Appendix A: The Ibrahim Index of African Governance Available data for
nearly all sub-Saharan countries.
ran
kin
g
Country
Ibrahim
Index
OfAfrican
Governance
Safet
y and
Secu
rity
RuleofLaw,
Transparence
&corruption
Participation
andhuman
rights
Sustainable
economic
opportunity
Human
development
Change
in
ranking
2000 –
2006
Mauritus 86.2 ' 91.7 85.2 22.7 75.5 90.0 1
2. Seychelles 83.1 83.3 74.2 79.3 80.5 96.3 -1
3. Botswana 73.0 75.0 88.3 75.5 58.1 67.9 0
4. Cape Verde 72.9 84.0 80.4 74.6 52.8 72.8 2
5. South Africa 71.1 61.1 75.2 81.1 67.4 70.5 -1
6. Gabon 67.4 94.4 57.1 59.9 62.4 63.0 1
7. Nambia 76.0 77.7 74.5 69.4 55.0 58.3 -2
8. Ghana 66.8 85.9 70.1 67.7 46.6 63.8 1
9. Senegal 66.0 85.9 64.8 75.5 46.2 57.5 3
10. SaoTome &
Principe
65.3 84.0 55.6 80.4 44.6 61.8 1
11. Lesotho 64.1 91.7 66.7 63.4 43.4 55.5 4
12. Malawi 63.7 86.1 65.0 66.0 45.0 56.3 -4
13. Benin 61.2 78.4 52.8 69.6 46.9 58.4 -3
14. Tanzania 60.7 83.3 58.4 61.0 48.6 52.1 0
15. Kenya 59.3 62.9 57.9 64.1 47.9 63.8 2
16. Mauritania 58.8 77.3 62.3 63.8 34.5 55.9 3
17. Madagascar 57.7 86.1 57.8 58.1 40.0 46.4 -4
18. Rwanda 57.5 76.2 47.6 69.7 47.3 46.9 18
19. Zambia 57.5 77.8 61.3 54.9 47.8 45.8 -1
20. Mali 56.9 84.0 52.7 71.1 33.6 43.1 9
21. Burkina Faso 56.7 78.4 58.5 58.0 39.1 49.2 1
22. Gambia 55.8 78.3 53.4 52.1 44.4 51.10 -6
23. Mozambique 55.8 86.1 43.8 71.0 35.8 42.4 -3
24. Cameroon 55.6 77.7 42.5 50.4 48.1 59.2 1
25. Uganda 55.4 70.5 55.7 50.7 50.0 50.3 1

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26. Comoros 53.8 78.3 48.9 55.9 38.1 47.5 6
27. Ethiopia 53.2 75.4 48.7 57.4 33.0 51.6 10
28. Niger 53.1 78.4 52.6 70.7 28.3 35.6 6
29. Djbouti 52.5 78.3 39.8 52.2 39.1 52.9 -2
30. Congo 52.1 71.3 47.8 47.6 40.4 53.2 5
31. Zimbabwe 52.0 75.0 45.8 45.0 44.4 49.7 -10
32. Equatorial
Guinea
51.6 85.4 44.3 38.5 47.3 42.3 6
33. Guinea 51.5 72.8 51.1 44.9 37.3 51.5 -2
34. Swaziland 50.9 63.9 51.3 31.2 50.4 57.5 -6
35. Togo 49.8 77.4 46.7 41.4 42.7 40.5 -5
36. Coted'ivoire 48.8 11. 1 37.8 32.8 44.1 52.2 -12
37. Nigeria 48.3 62.8 44.3 44.2 40.7 49.5 2
38. Eritrea 48.3 74.8 60.1 25.2 33.1 48.2 5
39. Siera Leone 48.3 72.0 35.1 68.4 39.4 26.4 2
40. Burundi 46.8 60.4 48.8 41.9 40.3 42.2 2
41. Central
African
Republic
46.7 68.8 45.0 54.5 38.7 20.6 -8
42. Angola 44.3 67.8 38.1 38.8 40.7 38.3 5
43. Liberia 42.7 65.1 32.2 40.4 41.4 34.4 -3
44. Guinea
Bissau
42.7 71.2 33.8 38.7 28.2 41.5 -21
45. Sudan 40.0 31.1 31.4 38.3 41.3 57.8 0
46. Chad 38.8 68.3 42.1 43.3 24.2 15.9 -2
47. Democratic
Republic of
Congo
38.6 69.4 25.4 24.3 31.6 42.3 -1
48. Somalia 28.1 63.5 19.4 23.5 5.1 28.9 0
Source: www.moibrahimfoundation.org.

18. 420
End Notes and References
1. J.O. Akao (1999) "Christianity and the Quest for Democracy in
Nigeria" Orita, Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. xxxl, p.53.
2. Robert F. Davidson (1952) Philosophies Men Live By, New York:
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, P. 325.
3. A.O. Dairo (2009) "Born Again Christian Skeptics and political
Democratic Progress in Nigeria: Giving Caesar His Dues" Orita,
Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. XLI/I (June), p. 89.
4. Ibid
5. e.sword dictionary, www. e.swod. Net.
6. Ibid
7. Ibid
8. "Good Governance - The Role of the Churches A South African
Perspective on wwwgke.org. Downloaded 21/1/2011.
9. The World Bank Governance and Development, Washington D.C.
1992.
10. Ibid. ll.Ibid.
12. A.G. Alamu (2002), "Moral Assessment of Students' in Ambrose Ali
University, Ekpoma," M.A. Thesis, University of Ibadan, pp. 114.
13. Ibid
14. "What is good governance?" www. unescap. org/huset/gg/
governance, htm. Downloaded 21/1/2011.
15. "God and Governance: A Christian Appraisal of Contemprary
Nigerian Political Situation", http//www. unilorin. edu.
ng/publications/ alamu/God and Governance htm.Downloaded
21/1/2011.
16. Ibid
17. T.D. Walter (1974) Towards a Good Society: Some Christian
contributions to Nation Building" Orita, Ibadan Journal of Religious
Studies,Vol viii/2 (December) pp. 124 - 125
18. J.O. Akao (1999). "Christianity and the Quest for Democracy in
Nigeria", p. 53.
19. A.O. Dairo (2009) "Born Again Christian Skeptics and Political
Democratic Progress in Nigeria: Giving Caesar His dues," p. 89.

19. 421
20. J.U. Azelama (2002). An Introduction to Political Science for Public
Administration Students in Nigria, Benincity: Macadams Publishers,
p.54.
21. "God and Governance" htp/www. unilorin. edtu
ng/publications/alamu/ God and Governance.htm.
22. "What is good governance?" www.unescap,org/huset/gg/
governance.htm. Downloaded on 21/1/11.
23. Ibid
24. G. Muelder (1959) Foundations of the Responsible Society, New
York: Abingdon Press, p. 19
25. See appendix I on details of Ibrahim index of African governance
26. M. Danladi (2009). Christian in Politics, Bukuru: Africa Christian
Textbooks, p. 136.
27. Ibid
28. C.O. Ayodele (1999) Christianity and Democracy in Post-
Independence in Nigeria" in J.O. Akinbi (ed) Towards a Better
Nigeria: Reflections on Contemporary Issues in the Socio-Political
and Economics Development of Nigeria, Ibadan: Ben. Quality, p.33.
29. M. Danladi (2009) Christian in Politics, pp. l10-111.
30. Ibid, p. 140
31. Ibid, p. 141
32. "Good Governance - the role of the churches: A South African
Perspective on www gke.org. Downloaded 21/1/2011
33. Danladi, pp. 152-154
34. Ibid, p. 154
35. Ibid, p. 163