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Abstract
Nigeria has experienced bad leadership which has affected governance over the years. This 
has also contributed to poor development of the country. The Church or Christians have failed 
to provide exemplary leadership and influence good governance in Nigeria. Some Christians 
who have occupied leadership positions at various levels of governance in Nigeria have not 
provided good examples to emulate. Yet, the Bible presents some models of good leaders. 
Drawing from the Bible this paper analyses the concept of leadership styles and qualities that 
were demonstrated by some leaders in the Old Testament with focus on Joseph and King 
David. The study adopts a comparative study method, partly historical, religio-contextual and 
analytical and is related to the Christian perspective. Secondary sources, like Bible 
commentaries, books, journals and newspaper articles both print and online have been made 
use of in the study. The paper identifies some leadership qualities demonstrated by these 
models which include the fear of God, possession of vision and strategy, courage, humility, 
skills, selflessness and integrity. These models provided good leadership and were successful. 
The paper recommends that for Nigeria and her people to experience a positive turn around; 
all political and religious leaders at the national, state, and local government levels must 
learn and emulate the good qualities of biblical leaders such as Moses, King David and 
Joseph. They were courageous, humble, skilful, and had no personal ambitions. They led by 
example exhibiting the fear of God.

Key words: Governance, Leader, Leadership, Humility, Character

Introduction
One of the complaints about governance in Nigeria is poor leadership. There is certainly a 
perception of leadership failure and many obvious examples of poor leadership in Nigeria. 
This paper examines the concept of biblical leadership styles and qualities that were 
demonstrated by some biblical characters. It looks at the concept and meaning, the problem of 
leadership in Nigeria, and some examples of biblical leadership to see if we can find models 
that will be replicable in our contemporary Nigerian situation. The paper focuses on some 
leadership models in the Bible that represent various aspects of leadership and governance. It 
specifically looks at the relevance of the leadership styles on governance and accountability 
and how it could be applied to the Nigerian situation.    

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MAKPU, MALLO ISHAYA PhD
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies

Nasarawa State University, Keffi
GSM: 08065592660

E-mail: makpuishayamakpu@gmail.com
And

TAMA, SULEIMAN SAMUEL PhD
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies

Nasarawa State University, Keffi
GSM: 08092159979

E-mail: sthama2007@gmail.com

BIBLICAL MODELS OF LEADERSHIP: 
LESSONS FOR NIGERIAN DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE 

IN THE 21ST CENTURY



Biblical Meaning of Leader and Leadership
The Holy Bible has a solution to every human problem. These problems could either be 
spiritual, physical or political including leadership.   McCain argues that:

The solution to poor leadership can be found in the Holy Scripture. As 
Christians, our first instinct should be turned to the Holy Bible for guidance for 
any problem including the problem of leadership. The Bible is not a textbook 
for all academic discipline. But it does contain some specific instructions as 
well as numerous examples for many other life problems in our modern 
society. So leadership was as much an issue in the ancient world as it is today. 
We can find a lot of information about leadership in the Holy Bible in both 
didactic as well as the historical passages (McCain, 2007:1).

A leader is defined as “a person who leads as a guide, or a conductor who directs, or a principal 
officer, while leadership is the office or position of a leader or a capacity to lead” (Merriam 
Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 2002). There are many words connected with leadership in 
both the Old and New Testaments. Our concern in this paper is leadership models in the Old 
Testament times. In the Old Testament there are many Hebrew words that are connected with 
leadership. One of such words is "nachani" which is properly a qal perfect verb, 3rd person 
masculine singular from the root "nchh" but the simplest Hebrew word for leadership is 
"nagiyd”, which is used about 45 times in the Hebrew Bible. The word means, “to lead or 
guide” (Brown and Briggs, 1979). This phrase speaks of guiding or treating kindly someone 
who is helpless, (Job.31:18). The phrase sees God as the prime space as the one who leads. 
Thus, Abraham's servant acknowledged God as his guide, (Gen.24:27). At the time of Moses, 
the guidance of God was manifested in the pillars of cloud and fire which preceded the 
Israelites, (Exo. 13:21). The word is also used in Psalms 78:5, and 72, where the Psalmist 
recalled God's leading of the Israelites along the right path (Leonard, 1980). Another word is 
“nahag” which means to “drive”, “conduct”, or "to lead"(Brown and Briggs, 1979). The verb 
has several meanings which include:

i. To drive a flock ( Exo. 3:1; Isa.11.6), it also speaks of a King leading in procession (Isa. 
60.11).

ii. To drive an Ass (2Kgs.4:24), or Cart (2 Sam.6:3, etc.).
iii. To lead out an army to battle (1 Chron.20.1, 2Chron.13) (Brown and Briggs, 1979).

Leonard (1980) argues that the word denotes an orderly conducting of a group of animals or 
people to an intended destination either by forcible driving or leading. The word occurs in the 
Old Testament about thirty times in various places and instances. Another Hebrew word is 
“nagiyd” that explains the concept of leadership. The word means “leader, ruler, prince etc.” 
(Brown and Briggs, 1979). It is used of the Israelite kings as they led God's people. For 
instance, Saul (1Sam.9.16), David (1Sam.13:14), Solomon (1Chron.29:22), and Hezekiah 
(2Kgs.20:5). The word is also used of a foreign ruler or prince (Dan.9:25-26). The word is 
further used as the title of some high officials connected with the Temple (Jer.20:1, 29:26, 
1Chron.9:11, 2Chron.31:13, etc.). The word is used about 45 times in the Hebrew Bible, and it 
is applied to leaders in several fields such as governmental, military and religious spheres. It 
occurs in the singular form and refers to the man at the top, the king or the high priest, among 
others (Leonard, 1980).

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Crossman argues that these broad leadership groups can be combined into two major 
theological types, such as administrative leadership and prophetic leadership. Administrative 
leadership is a matter of organization and management and is to be exercised with zeal and 
faithfulness, while the essence of prophetic leadership is wise decision-making and 
transformation of people's lives and living conditions (Crossman, 1981). According to him 
both two kinds of leadership, the administrative, which cares for, and the prophetic, which 
transforms, are necessary if the church, nation, institution, company or any organization or 
establishment is to retain a healthy and dynamic balance. If prophetic leadership is lacking, the 
church, nation, etc. ossifies in traditional rigid formality. If administrative leadership is 
lacking then all becomes movement and people who get into difficulties and cannot keep up 
with the pace are no longer cared for and lose contact with the church, institution or 
disenfranchised with the nation. Since nations, organizations, the church, etc., today are for the 
most part organised under one form of leadership, therefore, they tend to tilt to some extent to 
one   of these   types of leadership only and so easily lose their balance (Crossman, 1981). 

Arising from the above biblical inferences, it is true that leadership has to do with the 
ability to direct, lead, guide and control people while in office. Therefore, a leader is involved 
in taking vital decisions which usually have positive or negative effects on the people. Rainey 
Less (1983) describes a leader as, “someone whose actions have the most profound 
consequences on other people's lives for better or for worse, sometimes forever and ever.” 
Thus leadership is not an easy task. Hence, Jemiriye argues that:

Leadership is the art of managing the nature of man, including physical, 
religious or other nature. Leadership is the power to direct, motivate, and 
inspire others. It is the art of moulding, correcting, influencing or guiding 
human behavior towards desired designed goals or ends. Leadership therefore, 
calls for obedience from the followers, while the leader earns the people's 
confidence, respect, and submission (Jemiriye, 2004).

Leadership is a very big and difficult task that one steps in, therefore, one must do selfless 
service and sacrifice time and materials

An X-Ray of Nigeria's Leadership Problem
Nigeria which is the sixth world producer of oil is ranked as one of the poorest in the world 
with records of political, ethnic and religious unrest, crimes, violence, corruption, insecurity, 
low productivity and collapsed infrastructures. Chinua Achebe (1983:3) opines that “the 
problem of Nigeria is leadership which has left its citizens most traumatized, marginalized and 
impoverished.” He further reduces these problems into one “the failure of leadership.” Achebe 
therefore asserts that:

The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is 
nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong 
with Nigerian land or water or air and on anything else. The Nigeria problem is 
the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility and the 
challenge of personal examples which are hallmarks of true leadership 
(Achebe, 1983:4)

Chinua concluded “we have lost the twentieth century, are we bent on seeing that our children 
lose the twenty-first century? God forbid” (Achebe, 1983:4)

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Nigeria has bosses, not leaders. This yoke must be broken. It is high time for our leaders 
to see the pledge of the masses. It is equally high time for our spiritual leaders to wake up from 
their slumber and speak the truth, because Nigeria has become a state where “hopes have been 
betrayed” (Achebe, 1983:4). Nasir El-Rufai (2010) holds a similar view with Achebe and 
argues that the principal issue in Nigeria has been the failure of leadership. We have not made 
the progress that our human and natural resources entitled us to make and it is all because we 
have failed leaders. Several works exist that have associated the lack of all-round development 
of Nigeria including economic, educational, political, social, etc. to poor leadership (examples 
include Adeyemo 2009,  Sabella 2005 and Gwamna 2016). Leaders of Nigeria have been 
described as third-rate leaders, who, along with their cronies have plundered the nation's 
wealth and ruined the country's institutions, and have curtailed her people's aspirations and 
possibilities. They manipulate the poor, and the uneducated, they play regional and sectional 
politics, they are  masters in ethnic and religious politics, the draw no boundary between public 
and private interest, thereby illegally enriched themselves, they have no respect for human life 
and dignity and they rely on coherence agencies to do their bidding (Sabella, 2005). Therefore, 
leadership in Nigeria may be seen as a means of exploitation, personal enrichment, fulfilling 
interest and selfish ambitions.

Certainly, the masses in Nigeria, like the biblical Israelites in Egypt are groaning and 
suffering. Many cannot afford three square meals a day as a result of poverty that has come 
through bad leadership. This brings us to the heart of the matter and the focus of this paper. 
Nigeria needs leaders, not puppets to change, transform and manage the resources of the nation 
appropriately. Nigeria leadership needs to emulate good biblical models of leadership to be 
able to change and transform the country.

Old Testament Models of Leadership
Old Testament records present different categories of leaders. Some examples include 
prophets such as Moses and Daniel among others were class of leaders found among 
administrators.  There were politicians such as Moses and Nehemiah, kings and queens such as 
David and Esther, military generals such as Gideon, and so on. Outside the Bible records, men 
and women who made a difference in their generations were prophets or leaders of their days 
(Adeyemo, 2009). Therefore, readiness to change, generosity of spirit, impatience with 
hypocrisy, willingness to take risk, creativity and innovative thinking are parts of the 
benchmarks of these leaders.

The Bible has various descriptive functions of prophets/leaders. Adeyemo (2009) 
suggests five basic functions used to describe biblical leadership, such as: 
i. Servants of God (Zach. 1:6), because they are sent to do God's cause and purpose.
ii. Seers (Ezek. 3:17), because they are God's watchmen with telescopic vision and 

insight.
iii. Spokesmen for God (2Chron.36:15), because they boldly declare the mind of God 

saying “thus says the Lord.” (Nathan in 2 Samuel, 12.7, Elijah in 2 Kings, 1.4, etc.).
iv. Statesmen, (Ezra, 5:2), because they stand for justice, righteousness, moral and ethical 

purity and equity.
v. Supernatural or spirit-filled beings (Acts14:11, compared with Daniel 2:10-11), 

because they struggled with both God and man and prevail in solving enigmas, 
revealing secrets, healing their land and saving their kings (Adeyemo, 2009)

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In the Bible also prophet-leaders were incredible beings. Kings bowed down to them, for 
example Nebuchadnezzar, prostrating before Daniel (Dan. 2:46-47). This is a case of leader 
and minister.  Here Daniel is seen as the leader but a minister.  Military generals seek help from 
them. Example, Naaman before Elisha (2Kgs.5:15). Elisha here is a prophet and not a king. 
The national crisis of famine, drought and wars were solved by them. For example, Ahab went 
on his knees before Elijah in 1 Kings 18. Here Ahab was a king and Elijah was a minister. 
Furthermore, even angels reverend and esteemed them highly- the way angel Gabriel 
addressed Daniel in Daniel, 9.21-23, 10.11, 19.27. Daniel is a minister here. Two of these Old 
Testament leaders; Joseph and David are discussed below as models of good governance in the 
Bible.

a). Joseph Managed a Nation in a Time of Surplus and in a Time of Crisis.
The book of Genesis records that Joseph passed through a lot of troubles before he finally had 
his first meeting with the Pharaoh of Egypt, which resulted in his promotion to a leader. Payne 
(1979), states that “Joseph rose to the position of authority second only to the king”. John 
(1982) describes Joseph's position as vizier, and Candlish (1972) says he was a prime minister. 
Therefore, according to McCain (2007) “among Joseph's, many jobs,” one special portfolio 
was what we might call the minister of special duty both in the years of abundance and the 
years of famine. Joseph was evidently successful in both management and accountability. 
Nigeria's national leaders should learn from Joseph. Good management and accountability are 
essential qualities that are necessary to lead a nation during either a time of abundance or a time 
of crisis (McCain, 2007).

Joseph  Planned  Well
When Joseph was interpreting the dream to Pharaoh, he outlined part of the plan that Pharaoh 
should follow during the successful years. The Bible states this plan as follows:

Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest 
of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food 
of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of 
Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for 
the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon 
Egypt, (Genesis 41:34-36).  

The plan involved collecting a substantial portion of the harvest and placing it in the reserve 
for future use. Joseph knew human nature very well. He realised that without proper planning, 
the surplus in the years of plenty would be squandered. We read in the book of Genesis thus: 
“the plan seems good to Pharaoh and to all officials,” (Gen.41:37). So Pharaoh appointed 
Joseph to implement it. Joseph further refined and improved on the general plan initially 
presented to Pharaoh. 

Joseph followed the Plan
As Joseph was appointed to this strategic position, he followed the plan that he created. He 
travelled throughout the land to familiarise himself with the places, (Gen 41:45, 46). He 
created storage facilities and stored the grains in them. He kept a good record of the grains and 
preserved all, (Gen. 41:48-49).

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Joseph advanced the Nation
One of the most remarkable things about this story is that even in the time of crisis; Joseph was 
able to push the nation forward. People from the surrounding nations had to come to Egypt to 
get food and Joseph took their money. This tended to weaken the surrounding nations and 
strengthen Egypt. It takes an excellent manager to prosper when everyone else is suffering. 
Joseph was that kind of manager (McCain 2007).

Application to Nigeria Context
According to McCain (2007), Nigeria has had many years of crisis. In July 1966 Nigeria had a 
major crisis. Six months earlier there had been a violent coup and in late July there was a 
counter-coup that killed the then head of state Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi. 
Lieutenant Colonel Yakubu Gowon stepped into the crisis and led Nigeria successfully 
through this difficult time. In a similarly difficult situation, General Olusegun Obasanjo 
stepped into a crisis when another head of state, General Murtala Mohammed was 
assassinated. General Obasanjo successfully led the nation for three years, becoming the first 
African military head of state to hand over power to a civilian government (McCain, 2007). He 
further states that: General Abdulsalam Abubakar stepped into another serious crisis when 
Nigeria's head of state, General Sani Abacha unexpectedly died in office, the supposed “coup 
from heaven”. General Abubakar put the country into a transition to the current civilian 
government. He will no doubt go down in history as a head of state who ruled well during the 
eleven months he was in office. 

Therefore, it seems that Nigeria's national leaders have probably provided better leadership at 
. a time of crisis than at a time of abundance (McCain, 2007) Therefore, the three major marks of 

Joseph's leadership model were planning, discipline and genuine concern for the common 
people of society. These are essential qualities that are necessary to lead a nation at either a time 
of abundance or a time of crisis.

b). David as a Model
Another biblical leadership model is King David who was a head of state. There is no greater 
service to a nation one can render as the head of state. McCain upholds that this was what King 
David did for the nation of Israel. God called him from being a last-born son who was a herder 
of sheep to being king of the strategic nation of Israel.  He was not a perfect head of state.  He 
made mistakes and had to repent on various occasions. However, he is generally viewed as the 
greatest king of Israel. David was a man of character, courage, humility, skill and a man of 
vision (McCain, 2007). It does not matter how honest and good a leader is, if he does not know 
how to lead and manage, he will still be a poor leader. David was a talented man, a man who 
knew what to do. He knew how to fight, govern, solve problems, and knew how to motivate 
people (McCain, 2007).

King David had five good qualities that characterize the life and service of an outstanding 
leader. These are qualities that transcend cultural and generational barrier. These are the kind 
of intangible leadership qualities that can serve as a guide to Nigeria's head of state today. 
David was a man of character, courage, humility, skill and vision. These qualities are examined 
below.

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David as a man of character
This is illustrated by the fact that David had a tender conscience, a conscience that had been 
developed by meditating on the word of God, (Ps.2:2, 119:16, 48:7, and 99:143). For instance, 
he refused to hurt Saul because it was contrary to the law of God to harm a ruler of the people, (I 
Sam.24:8-10). David's character is further demonstrated when he bore full responsibility for 
his mistakes, (2 Sam.12:5), and willing to forgive people, (2 Sam.16:11-12.19:23, 21:7), but 
he was a fair man who is committed to justice. It was this part of his character that enabled him 
to a make tough decision to sack Joab after he had apparently demonstrated a lack of 
confidence of the king, (2 Sam.19:5-7), replaced him with Amasa (2 Sam.19:13). The balance 
between forgiveness and justice is clearly demonstrated in his treatment of Shemei, the man 
who cursed him and threw stones at him when he was fleeing from Absalom. During his 
lifetime, David refused to allow anyone to harm Shemei (2Sam.19:22-23), but as he was 
turning over the kingdom to Solomon, he insisted that the man pays for his insubordination, (1 
King, 2:8-9).  

David, a man of courage
David had the courage to face wild animals that attacked his flocks when he was just a boy 
(1Sam.17:13-14). He also had the courage or dared to face a mighty giant when he was little 
more than a youth (1Sam.17:23-51). These were qualities that were absolutely essential as a 
soldier. However, it takes courage of a different kind to be the ruler of a nation. One has to have 
the courage to do the right thing when people are advising you to do something else. When 
Absalom attempted to overthrow David, because he was a brilliant soldier, it actually took 
more courage to flee the kingdom than to stay and fight. David felt that to stay and fight the 
fight that would cause more bloodshed and would not be good for the kingdom. Therefore, 
contrary to the advice of some, he made the courageous decision to temporarily leave 
Jerusalem (McCain, 2007).   

David was a man of humility
One of the greatest temptations that a leader has is the temptation of pride. However, one of the 
most outstanding characteristics of a true leader is humility. Few leaders in the Bible 
demonstrate humility better than King David. Some Biblical books like 1Chronicles, 1and 
2Samuel and Psalms refer to King David thus, The Bible says: 

     He refused to exalt himself to the position of a kind and rather waited until God 
exalted him. He chose to suffer like his men. He refused to drink the special water 
from the well that his men got for him, (1Chron.11:18). He refused to take revenge 
on his enemies. He allowed Mephibosheth, the son of Saul to eat at his table for the 
rest of his life (2Sam.9:13).  He admitted his mistakes. He confessed his sin of 
adultery (2Sam.12:13a, Ps.51). He confessed that taking the census was wrong and 
submitted himself to God's judgement, (2Sam.24:10).  He accepted instruction 
from others. He often took the advice (1Sam. 20:23-35). He was willing to even 
take advice from women (2 Sam 14:21).

There is no doubt David was a man of great humility. He never allowed his position to becloud 
his sense of responsibility. 

David: A man with Skill
Any good leader without good skills of knowing how to lead and manage both human and 

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material resources will still be a poor leader. David was a talented man, a man who knows what 
to do. McCain says: “He knew how to fight. He knew how to govern. He knew how to solve 
problems. He knew how to motivate people” (McCain, 2007:11).

David was a man of vision
God told David when he was young he was going to be a king. He never waved from that 
conviction, but neither would he use improper means to fulfil that vision. Since God gave him 
the vision, he was willing to be patient and allow God to fulfil it. However, the vision caused 
him to persevere in his work even in times of troubles.  This personal vision he had enabled him 
to inspire others and drew good people to support him. The list of his “mighty men” 
(2Sam.8:39) is a testimony to his ability to inspire others.  Perhaps no quality of a leader is 
more important than having a clear vision and being able to convince others to accept, promote 
and defend the vision (Adeyemo, 2009:80).

Application to the Nigerian Context
Nigeria has had twelve heads of state since independence. Although none of them had all these 
qualities, there have been glimpses of these qualities from time to time in these leaders 
(Adeyemo, 2009:81). Nigeria is currently under the dispensation of new leadership under 
democracy. Where do we go? David is a great model of what a head of state or leader should 
look like. In fact, he is a good model of what any political leader should look like. The qualities 
that he demonstrates are the same qualities that will make any person a good head of state. 

These are the calibres of leaders that Nigeria needs today. They should be leaders with good 
character, courageous, humble, and skilful, and have vision. To become a leader, one must first 
count the cost.  Therefore, to change Nigeria for through good governance the leaders must be 
prepared to die. This is “die to self, die to selfish dreams and ambitions, die to sin and die to 
worldliness” (Adeyemo, 2009:81). Leaders in the biblical world were leaders who looked at 
the world through different sets of lenses. They saw visions of better things. Thus Adeyemo 
upholds that:

Where others see problems, leaders see potential.
Where others see the plight of men, they see the power of God.
Where others see barriers, they see bearings (directions).
Where others see the cross, they see the crown.
Where others see buffeting, they see a blessing in disguise.
Where others see the natural, they see the supernatural.
Where others see the visible, they see the invisible.
Where others see danger, they see opportunity.
Where others see dead-ends, they see new beginnings 
(Adeyemo,  2009:81).

These are the kinds of leadership visions we need in Nigeria.  The biblical concept of 
leadership is complex and dynamic as it involves so many aspects. Because it begins with 
God's preservation of their lives, and then God's training or pieces of training and calling for 
difficult assignments, effectiveness, responsibility, accountability, vision, character, 
productivity, persuasion, and realization of the targeted goals.

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A Call to Nigerian Christian and Political Leaders
Nigerians need leaders who fear God. Politicians have tried to shut Christians out of politics, 
telling them not to mix faith with politics as if the realities of life can be so neatly 
dichotomised. However, on the other hand, Christians have failed miserably to engage 
effectively in politics, excusing that politics is a dirty game, which is the failure to distinguish 
between politics and political players. Jesus Christ's last commission to the Church is to make 
disciples of nations, teaching them all the patterns of life and godliness (Matt. 28:19). The 
gospel is to make us better, just, and honest citizens down here on earth. Therefore, as 
Christian leaders, in Nigeria note that leaders do not romanticise problems of their days nor 
ignore them under a cloak of pseudo-spirituality. Instead, they confront life's vicissitudes by 
faith in God. Biblical leaders knew that faith in God works for those who fear and love God. 
Faith in God, therefore, encourages biblical leaders and it can equally help our leaders today. 
Because faith in God:

i. Conquered kingdoms before, and it can do it again.
ii. Performed righteousness before, and can do it again.
iii. Obtained promises before, and can do it again.
iv. Shut lions' mouth before, and can do it again.
v. Quenched powerful fire before, and can do it again.
vi. Made men mighty in wars before, and can do it again, etc. (Adeyemo,
      2009).

Therefore, through these biblical leadership models, we challenge Nigerian leaders to rise 
above their mediocrity, to step out of their comfort zone, to step into the gap for the redemption 
of Nigeria. If you have to fast, fast, if you have to pray, pray, if you have to weep and mourn 
weep and mourn, but for God's sake do not sit on the fence and watch Nigeria dying.  You 
probably have accessed to the highest power or position like Daniel, Moses and so on, we 
challenge you to use that position to work effectively for the general development of Nigeria. 
Perhaps you are charged with government responsibility at a high level like Joseph, we charge 
you in the word of prophet Amos, “let justice run down like water and righteousness like a 
mighty stream,” (Amos 5.24). Or maybe you are a business or corporate executive, carrier, or 
professional guru; we challenge you to a life of excellence like Daniel, (Dan.6.1-5). We 
challenge you to a life of blameless, integrity, and high performance like Joseph of the Old 
Testament, (Gen.41). Therefore, Nigeria needs leaders who know how to do things according 
to due processes in order to be a developed nation. We need leaders who will emulate biblical 
models of leadership.

Religious and political leaders must see themselves as ambassadors of God on earth 
and so be ready to make a positive impact upon the political leadership of the country. 
Fortunately, Nigeria a secular state yet has been greatly influenced by religions such as 
Christianity, Islam, and African Traditional Religion. Both leaders and the lead should see 
themselves as God's own people so that we together can move this country forward. Each 
person is born to tackle a particular task in this world; therefore, he/she is representative of 
God.  Each person will also give an account of her/his stewardship to God one day. 

Pastor Akin Akande advised that only the Church can change Nigeria. He says “if the 
nation must change, the Church must change and embrace the principles of God's kingdom, 

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. not only in words but also in deed” (Akin Akande, 2010) Therefore, we call on Nigerian 
Christians to change their attitude and embrace godly principles. Nigerian citizens are 
enjoined, as they look at the leadership landscape in this nation, particularly during elections, 
to search for men/women that are just and have the fear of God. This is the time to make every 
effort to fight and reject imposition by the evil caused by whatsoever party names they are 
called, of people to be elected who feed themselves fat and kill the citizens.

The paper calls on all leaders, Christians in particular, to recognize that governance is 
an honourable service to humanity. Those occupying political leadership positions are 
encouraged to adopt these qualities as they lead. The biblical models enumerated above can 
contribute to good governance. 

Conclusion
The paper has discussed the concept of leadership models in the Old Testament and has seen 
the problems of Nigerian leadership situation. Therefore, for the nation and her people to 
experience a positive turn around, the new crop of political and religious leaders at the 
national, state, and local government levels must learn and emulate the good qualities of 
biblical leadership of King David and Joseph, who were courageous, humble, skilful, and had 
no personal ambitions. They rendered selfless services. They did not exhibit any primordial 
ethnic sentiments.  For instance, Moses, in his valedictory speech challenged the people to 
love, obey, and serve the Lord, when they get to the land of promise. He emphasized obedience 
which will bring blessing and disobedience which will bring curses. David is a great model of 
what a head of state should look like.  In fact, he is a good model of what any politician should 
look like.  The five qualities that made him a model are courage, humility, skilful, visionary, 
and a man of character. These same qualities can make any person a good leader. This is indeed 
a major lesson for our contemporary both religious and political leaders.

Recommendations
To move Nigeria forward, our leaders and the lead should learn to fear God. The leaders should 
follow the examples of the biblical leadership models discussed above. The paper, therefore, 
makes the following recommendations for good leadership in Nigeria.

i. Our leaders must have the fear of God. Joseph and David exhibited the fear of God in 
their leadership.

ii. Nigerian leaders must lead with humility. David and Joseph were lowly people, and 
chosen by God and put in charge of people and things. The power and prestige of their 
positions never changed them. They knew that, even as leaders, they were still just 
servants of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

iii. Nigerian Leaders need to have the courage to lead. David and Joseph had courage to 
face the difficult challenges they encountered as they lead their people. They were 
brave because they knew who had their backs. Since they were on God's side, then 
there was nothing to fear—not even death.

iv. Patience was another quality exhibited by David and Joseph. They all passed through 

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difficult situations that would have made them give up. However, they held on. They 
knew that God was in control, and trusted Him enough to wait on His timing.

v. David and Joseph had Vision and Strategy. Joseph was a dreamer, who had a gift for 
defining a compelling vision for the future. He was a planner, instructing the officials 
to prepare for a famine, even though it was years away, gathering up food to store up, 
even during the seven years of “plenty”. David had a vision of his rule and the building 
of the temple and other activities. Our leaders must have vision and strategy of 
fulfilling them.

vi. Joseph and David had character and integrity. They were honest, disciplined and 
selfless in their service. Our leaders must emulate the qualities exhibited by these 
biblical models. They were tempted at multiple times, and they resisted in most of the 
cases.

REFERENCES

Achebe C. (1983). The trouble with Nigeria. Nairobi: Heinemann.
Adeyemo T. (2009). Africa's enigma and leadership solutions. Nairobi: Word Alive 

Publication.
Akin, A. (2010). Only a changed Church can change Nigeria, The Nation Sunday, September, 

5th  2010.
Brown, Driver, S.R. & Briggs, C.A. (1979). The New Brown-Driver-Briggs, Gesenius Hebrew 

and English Lexicon, Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publication.
Candlish, S.R. (1972). An exposition of Genesis. Wilmington Daleware: Sovereign Grace.
Crossman, S. (1981). Stewards of God's grace. Exeter: Peter  Noster Press.
Dogara J. G. (2010). Religion and politics in Nigeria, ACTS, Bukuru.
El-Rufai, N., (2010). Quit presidential race now, El –Rufai tells Buhari, IBB. Daily Sun, 

Tuesday, September 30, 2010.
Jemeriye, J.T. (2004). Acceptance or tolerance: The challenge from African Religion for 

leaders and society. In Religion, leadership and society: Focus on Nigeria, Lagos: Free 
Enterprise.

John, C.L.G., (1982). Genesis, volume 2. The Daily study Bible series, Philadelphia: 
Westminster Press.

Leonard, J. C., (1980). Theological word book of the Old Testament. Laid, H. Gleason L. A. & 
Bruce K.  W. (Eds.), Chicago: Moody Press.

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McCain, D. (2007).Biblical Models of Leadership and their Relevance to the Nigeria Context, 
African Journal of Biblical Studies, 22(11). 

Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts: Webster incorporated.
Payne, D. F. (1979).Commentary on Genesis Chapters 12-50, New International Bible 

Commentary Based on the NIV, Bruce, F. F. (Ed.), Grand Rapids, Michigan: 
Zondervan Publishing.

Rainey, L., (1983). Biographies of Old Testament, Decetur, Georgia: The Granary.
Sabella, O. A. (2005). Leadership and development problem in Africa: Responding to E. Tarfa, 

Retrieved from
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