IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 11. No. 1, (2025) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Dept of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University Umunya Indexed: Academic Journals Online, Google Scholar, Igwebuike Research Institute 100 THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATING PEOPLE IN THEOLOGY IN THE 21st CENTURY TO FORM RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF CONSCIENCE IN NIGERIA Barnabas Sama’ila Shabayang, PhD Department of Theology, Veritas University Abuja Bsbliss93@gmail.com Abstract In Nigeria today, most Religious Leaders are either Christians or Muslims. Due to massive differences in understanding what the “Holy Books said (Bible and the Quran]; there is urgent need be fully grounded knowledge on aspects of Theological Education to sharpen their vision for effective leadership. The Importance of Theological Education in the formation of conscience is cardinal in forming human character to uphold sound societal ethos. The drive to seek wisdom in order to exercise morality to exhibit basic ethical behaviour in human society can be tie to the quest for sound spirituality of leaders of Churches or Mosques in Africa. This is extremely important and is the sino quo non of rendering qualitative catecheses to the Congregation of God's people in the 21st century. The reception of qualitative theological education by Religious Leaders in Africa has multiple benefits - it promotes orthodoxy, guides the leader's intellectual power to deliver divine truth, carving a roadmap and setting rich agenda of priorities on issues of justice, peace and the development of pastoral and cultural sensibilities. It increases the quality of the messages delivered at public gatherings, it renews and refreshes the recipient access to the truth and it enhances capacity for dialogue with multiple and diverse religions. In this research, we undertake to expound the teaching that is grounded with God-centred truth in Sacred Scriptures and Sacred Tradition, received through the discipline of acquiring Theological Education; as it helps religious leaders in Africa yearn for a greater spirit to promote peace and harmony amongst adherents of different faith-based communities. A sound Theological Education promotes orthodoxy and sustains the Deposit of Faith; as it brings refreshing transformation, creativity and generating fruitfulness. The task lies in inculturating values to nurture and sustain a mature African civilization for brighter prospects of a happy and progressive people of today and tomorrow. Keywords: Agenda of Theology, Education, Learning, Peace, Harmony, Transformation, Peace Introduction The act of serenity and illumination bequeathed through the instrument of education is a purpose driven life that sharpens the intellect and create vision to meet a quest for excellence. For a human person to receive good education, more efforts must be put to invest in a sound and beautiful experiential process that must transmit and utilize this investment for effective leadership. By it, the power of education changes the status of the person from ignorance to enlightenment, from naivety to interactions, from aloofness to warm-heartedness. The clear reasons the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria taught that: "Nigeria like any nations of the world, gives priority to education IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 11. No. 1, (2025) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Dept of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University Umunya Indexed: Academic Journals Online, Google Scholar, Igwebuike Research Institute 101 in the blueprint for national development." (Arogundade: 2015: V). It confirms that the task, aim and mission of education are enormous as these are wholistic vehicle of integrated development and most of all a guide leading to fruitfulness, as this is beautifully illustrated by Kennedy (Quoted by Abegunrin: 2002: 13) in these lucid words: Of those to whom much is given, much is required. And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment of each of us ... recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state ... our success or failure, in whatever office we may hold, will be measured by the answer to four questions: Were we truly men (women) of courage... Were we truly men (women) of judgment... Were we truly men (women) of integrity... Were we truly men (women) of dedication… If actually these golden questions are asked by the right persons and in the right places, it will show that we need to apply the cause, effect and reaction to self by every man or woman, every young boy or girl, every Religious or Civil Leader in Africa as we walk into the early hours and years of the 21st century. African Religious leaders must work hard to carve a niche on the sand of time and to equally develop a fruitful educational module that must motivate, transform and translate the gains of ingenious culture creatively. For gladiators who fight against ignorance, for scholars who research and work hard to carve a niche for an African enviable leadership in all strata of society - Nelson Mandela, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Kwame Nkruma, Julius Nyerere, Kofi Anan, Emmanuel Cardinal Walligo, Francis Cardinal Arinze, Christian Cardinal Tumi, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Tafawa Balewa, Sheik Shehu Lemo, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah et al; the dire has just been cast. To truly enrich African religious space, leadership and culture in the twenty-first century, a qualitative education is a most desired good and is an inestimable value of great worth. Even though the price for excellence is high and expensive; the greater-end good propels development, making the continent dynamic to bear abundant fruits, to scores of developmental projects. The researcher bears in mind Claude Ake’s definition of development: development as ‘the process by which people create and recreate themselves and their life circumstances to realise higher levels of civilisation in accordance with their own choices and values – development is something that people must do for themselves’ (1996: 125). This sensory initiative and guidance can best be achieved if Christian or Muslim leaders communicate this eternal truth, as they share in context and content the riches of varied Scriptural Teachings in their places of worship daily and weekly basis. The extreme need to carve this vision therefore requires continuous and relentless commitment to education that leads to excellence; the task of evolving this brand, texture and quality of education that set human conscience on fire, shapes morality. It deliberately makes leaders to grow a culture that must serve as the agenda that proposes the roadmap to grow a strong African civilization. All leaders in Africa, in all strata of life: political, social, economic, cultural and especially within the ambient of the religious index; must ensure and be ready to embark or IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 11. No. 1, (2025) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Dept of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University Umunya Indexed: Academic Journals Online, Google Scholar, Igwebuike Research Institute 102 drive an enriching conscious ethics targeting at qualitative community life to build a healthy conscience. In Africa, the task and vision of Religious Leaders in Christianity or Islam must be to distinguish by their chose vocation, to acquire a deep God-driven conscience that is healthy, interactive and democratic, so that they can form the basis of faith. The end desire is for one to aim at becoming a legend of truth, justice, love and dialogue geared towards development like Jesus Christ or Prophet Muhammad. The motif of responding to the popular expression that "a spoon of honey attracts more flies than a bucket of vinegar," becomes more desirable venture for the mentoring act of youths in our African society. Thus, making resolute effort, searching for constructive platforms to promote truth in order to intensify the quest for eternal salvation by religious leaders of conscience is an existential contest that continues to bedeviled the continent by hunger, leaves more to be desired. We need an all-embracing education in Africa in order to go pass the endemic and catastrophe curse of being a negatively perceived black people in the continent. If not what are we going to bequeath to the world and the next generation of Africans? It is quite obvious that physically the geographical landscape of Africa is the same, but other indices and elements are fast expanding as we journey into the 21st century in terms of demography (with more than 1.2 billion inhabitants, https:www.worldometers.info/world-population). In Africa, the inadequacies in policies and implementations of economic, education, health and urban development, cultural and religious programmes leave much to be desired. Enlow wrote that: "Christianity is declining in its former territorial heartlands but spreading such that it is now a predominantly non-Western religion-and it seems poised to continue this demographic and cultural reorientation for some time to come." (Enlow: 2006:1). The integrated education that liberates to fruitfulness is all encompassing as it eliminates gross ignorance to build and guarantee enduring developmental spirit of cultural sensibility and nurturing. Theological Education in Africa in the 21st Century is essential for Growth In the African continent, the focus for theological education in all formation units centres and institutions of higher learning (Seminaries and Universities) and specifically on the pulpit must be decisive, progressive and culturally illuminative. The efforts must orient on examining existential and cultural issues, leading to liberation, illumination and geared towards salvation of souls. Africans must deconstruct Western paradigm and select relevant issues in order to focus on theological education, the erudite Ralph E. Enlow pointed out illustratively the quest and the contentious agenda of theological education in these provocative words, (Enlow: 2006:2): ...too much of what passes for theological education in the West and, through its pervasive residual influence upon emerging majority world churches, the educational philosophies and curricula of non-Western schools characteristically consist of transmission of intellectual content and theological dogma that is heavily Enlightenment-laden. Simply put, too often theology poses and answers questions that are irrelevant to constituent churches in many areas of the world while at the same time failing to address biblically urgent questions with which their constituent believers are confronted. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 11. No. 1, (2025) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Dept of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University Umunya Indexed: Academic Journals Online, Google Scholar, Igwebuike Research Institute 103 Africa, since the early mid-1960s begun a soul-searching project to indigenalize, inculturate and contextualize theological thoughts to meet existential realities of political freedom, to eradicate illiteracy, poverty, hunger and examine the consequences of urbanization. Craving, generating or articulating an all inclusive theological agenda based on cultural sensibilities and squaring the template of genuine application of biblical text to threatening issues. "Professor Walls calls for awakening of theological schools to the true task of theology, namely, to bring the whole of Scripture to bear upon the questions and choices with which ordinary believers are confronted in their calling to live out the Gospel in their native context." (Walls in Enlow: 2006:3). The clear focus and the hallmark of Theological Education in Africa cut across religion, creed and class must serve the human dignity, building a transparent personality geared towards the task of forming a conscious character of a person for the good of society. A sound theological education "engages and shapes the mind, to a more relevant and biblical notion of theology that forms the person and facilitates his (her) living in and through Christ in community." (Enlow: 2006:1). Introspectively, Theological Education must address, "Essentially, the socio-economic development that the African continent needs should be informed by thought leadership, thought liberation, and critical consciousness. The three ‘instruments’– the trio – should be pursued jointly, for thought leadership without critical consciousness is not helpful." (Gumede: 2015:95). There is no gainsaying that in the continent of Africa, wide spectrum and inclusiveness of Theological Education cannot be over emphasized. Even though Theological Education is not a magic wand, yet it is expected to play in Africa the decisive role of being prophetic and focusing on the Messianic character of Christ's mission (cf. Lk 4: 18); to be the voice of the voiceless, speaking and addressing issues of injustice, oppression, economic slavery and manipulations. The research sets to propose and place on record the features, agendas and issues needing urgent attention and treatment within the opportune platform of theological education, in order to wake up and conscientized the weak, to set awoken and set aright the demoralized and over beaten conscience of Religious Leaders in Africa, which might be due to over reliance on foreign donor agencies, theories of relativism, religious bigotry and fanaticism that have occupied the centre stage, thus give room for poor delivery of divine truth on the pulpit, podium or lecture rooms. The Agenda for Theological Education in Africa must be natural and ancestrally It is truism that every human person, community, society and continent is unique and important based on the recorded positive indices of the growth and development. The current world population in (https:www.worldometers.info/world-population) 2018 stood at 7, 632,819,315 billion, with the African continent being the second most populated after Asia, with a total of 1, 037, 524, 088 constituting 14 percentage of the global family. This mind-blowing record requires not only planning, but building a conscious and responsible leadership cadre in Africa cut across the two dominant religions. This is tenable because there is will to grow, expand, develop and scale over natural disasters of cruelty, violence and terrorism. Based on the index of violence and war raging at different locations on the African continent, Religious Leaders' catechesis and spiritual engineering must be focus on peace-building and harmonious accommodation of one IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 11. No. 1, (2025) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Dept of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University Umunya Indexed: Academic Journals Online, Google Scholar, Igwebuike Research Institute 104 another. The capacity to accept people for who they are which marks that trade-mark created by God, makes people to be different from the actuality of who their nature than us brings. A purposeful and useful engagement on a direction to follow in life points out that a journey has a location of departure and an anticipated destiny of arrival. Setting an integrated vision oriented and all inclusive agenda that maintains the obvious fact that all human persons, cultures, creed or class are created equal by God and are expected to live in peace, justice and harmony in the world; must be the brain child of the task of Theological Education. Idowu (1969: 3) had already noted with clarity that: "Africans are notoriously spiritual and religious by nature," is a positive affirmation that religious and spiritual goods, elements of worship and faith are already inert in the psyche of the African person be they Christians or Muslims. That must prompt the urge to seek paths that lead to actualization of dialogue of spirit, ethics, faith and factual realities where both practice love in the day-to-day struggle life in Africa in order to grow the economy, education and culture to promote the psychological well being of a homogeneous people. Africans are lively, progressive, communitarian by nature and dependable people. It is on record that in the African continent, there are many political, socio-economic or cultural disparities amongst its teeming population of over 1.2 billion inhabitants. Feuds, armed conflicts and sometimes wars arise due to inefficiency of management or lack of coordination of natural resources; these are the clear lines drawn where the Religious Leaders of Christians or Muslims are called to exercise ethical leadership to mentor, correct and calm the situation. According to Ackerman (2004:448), ethical leadership ‘is the result of a tough and often conflict-ridden process of institutional design’. There is neither a mechanical formula nor an independent theory to respond to the crisis of leadership on the African continent. There is no magic in ethical leadership, rather than it is given, it is taught, it is exercise by the team as they correlate to the followership in Churches or in the Mosques. Ethical leadership does not emerge spontaneously, out of natural goodness or nobleness of heart of charismatic bureaucrats, especially in some notorious crime- ridden communities. The task towards "strengthening ethical political and (religious) leadership entails a peaceful ‘mental and structural revolution’ (Ngwane 2003:1), to alter the system that enables unethical people to assume political leadership (Mutibwa 1992). This is explicitly the continuency by which Theological Education has relevance and mandate. In the twenty-first century, 'urgently needed are short and long-term strategies for inculcating ethical leadership values from childhood,' these are congruent realities. Furthermore, Maathai (2009:111) asserts that ‘unless Africans from all levels of society recognize and embrace the challenge of leadership, Africa will not move forward’. The business of producing corrupt-free leaders in the African society must be the task, mandate and mission of preachers of social ethics, social justice and equitable life of accountability on the high pedestal of the Church or Mosque. Crucial is the breaking of the chain of self-serving, self-subservient and egoistic political leaders, while focusing on sustainable structural transformation (Hampson and Mendeloff 2007). Until we as African people are able to draw a line that the sanctuary of ethical leadership is the platform of the human contingency and freedom of expression. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 11. No. 1, (2025) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Dept of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University Umunya Indexed: Academic Journals Online, Google Scholar, Igwebuike Research Institute 105 We endeavour below to explore the varied efforts made by scholars in the two main religions in Africa - Christianity or Islam - to establish a solid foundation that brings up building a fortified character were our strengths can be measured by upholding sound ethical teachings by our Religious Leaders on promoting dialogue that will generate love against hate amongst adherents of different faith. This initiative comes with introducing an inculturated God-driven faith that has empathy on the destitute and IDPs persons, charity and missionary presence to orphans, widows and widowers, justice, equity and compensation to the marginalized in society. Focus more on Contextual and Inculturation of Theological Education At the Incarnation, God became a human being in Jesus Christ, by taking our nature (but sin) to educate us to be humble, holy, serviceable and literate. In the current dispensation, in Africa, the teaching holds ever, that the doctrine and dogma of the Incarnation (cf. John 1: 1-3; esp. 14) sets the tune and platform of engaging on the quest for an interactive theological education that liberates people from the shackles of colonial, military dictatorship and the malady of bad civil democratic rule. We intent to explore specific agenda, reformation and renewal of theological education embarked by the Roman Catholic Church, other Main Line Churches and the Pentecostal Churches, to demonstrate the relevance of theological education. A deep introspective reading and examination of the agenda of the Roman Catholic Theological Education before the Second Vatican Council reveals that it was tedious, deliberate and useful methods to transit from what was to what is currently in vogue. Stephen Bevans (2010: 9) wrote: "In the extensive reformation of the Roman Catholic Church called for by the Council of Trent, one of its most significant decisions was an outstanding achievement in advancing theological education." The 19th Ecumenical Council of Trent (1545-1563) teaches that "all cathedrals, metropolitan, and other churches greater than these, shall be bound.... to educate religiously, and to train in ecclesiastical disciple, a certain number of youths of their city and diocese" for the priesthood in what the Council called "seminaries." (1990: 750:753). In the Catholic Church, the decisive journey to affirm the important principles that will guide Theological Education was set in motion by the 21st Ecumenical Council of the Second Vatican (1962-1965). The incisive and progressive manner by which development was recorded in the spade of acquiring a wholistic theological education was impressive. Vatican II teaches that: "In the light of the shape and tenor of Catholic theology after Trent, Vatican II's theology was revolutionary. At the center of the Council's concern was the development of a new theology of the church... Vatican II's was the church as the People of God, a community of equals by virtue of Baptism." (Bevans: 1990: 753). This being said, there is a greater need to facilitate and coordinate the dynamics by which theological education amongst Catholic members need to be properly transmitted in the spirit and in the mind of the Council Fathers of the Second Vatican Council. What must be are proper biblical and doctrinal education, by which we need to reflect on essential modern ethical character that must reflect a greater spirit of the integration of humanity more than egoistic tendency that leads to destruction. For the task of 'strengthening ethical leadership necessitates the application of transformation tools (Curle:1990), coupled with the ‘moral IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 11. No. 1, (2025) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Dept of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University Umunya Indexed: Academic Journals Online, Google Scholar, Igwebuike Research Institute 106 imagination, the capacity to imagine something rooted in the challenges of the real world yet capable of giving birth to that which does not yet exist' (Lederach:2005:ix). Mediation, reconciliation, justice, and peacemaking are benchmarks to transforming the crisis (Curle 1990; Lederach 1997). "The trend, (like in Most African communities) of not involving women, children and youth in decision-making needs to change, given that the mother is the primary educator of every person." (Byrne & Senehi: 2009). Thus, the Catholic Church set through her sixteen documents released by Vatican II, explicit and extensive catechesis on proper biblically based faith and further strengthen that by specifying the centrality of her sacramental life. By the efforts of the World Council of Churches, formed in 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, numerous proposals and emphasizes were placed on biblically based theological education that most be focused on practical and contextual cultural challenges devoid of heavy reliance on doctrine, dogma and creedal faith expression as the case with Catholic theological education. Dr. Carver Yu "claims that, while it is theology's duty to examine the extent to which the church truly lives as the eschatological, charismatic, covenantal, eucharistic community of saints, these matters are mostly absent from or perverted with theological curricula" (Carver: 2006: 4). Christian ministers outside the Catholic circle propound theories for theological education on personal agenda, learning and experience, not from a centralist position of having a magisterial organ or body to authorize, stamp and articulate the firmness of a teaching. Modern Pentecostal scholars seem to fashion out a cutting edge for new agenda of theological education that is devoid of following the long tradition of maintaining the two sources of revelation to be Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition built over the ages of Christendom. It is based on these new radical departures from the status quo that Yu makes what seem to be new proposals, but radical and wide agenda for theological education the world over. He further "argues that the theological school fails if it does not help the church to maintain a prophetic edge with reference to these attributes. His examples of theological school failure included, (a) the sterile way in which church history is typically taught in theological schools as a series of church events in contrast to the compelling drama of the eschaton; (b) the preoccupation of biblical and theological studies with individualistic rather than communal understanding and application; and (c) the emphasis upon professional competence at the expense of calls to sacrificial service to Christ. (Carver: 2006: 4). The focus dwells on theological education's contents, application and the psychology of delivery of the minister to the congregation; in between the minister and the congregation, there must be ability to proof that he/she can unravel the rich ethical teachings of Jesus Christ to the curious listeners. The Landscape of exercising Theological Education in Africa is Complex From onset, the tough task requires dealing with the truth and theological themes are not ordinary societal or cultural issues, these are basically issues of doctrine and faith, mystery and evangelization. So it is obvious that the drive in the twenty-first century to explicate the content of theological education in Africa and Asia is to be more focus on contextualizing and inculturating biblical literature to accommodate cultural sensibilities of the listeners cannot be over emphasized. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 11. No. 1, (2025) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Dept of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University Umunya Indexed: Academic Journals Online, Google Scholar, Igwebuike Research Institute 107 On forming World Christians, "Pinto commended Colossians 1: 24-29 as an appropriate meditation and model. Specifically, verse 28 summarizes Paul's relentless quest to, "present every man (woman) complete in Christ." The context for the task of forming world Christians is a globalization network itself, concerning which Pinto proffered Hesselgrave's threefold definition: connectivity between cultures, conflict of paradigms, and context of flux." (Pinto: 2006: 6). Upon further examination of the agenda of theological education that might arise from the North/South Issues, in addressing the Global Divide, Dr. Chris Wright's captured major issues that x-tray the contentions: Wright observed biblically that the issue of resource disparity has been a factor in the life of the church since its inception. Citing numerous New Testament references, he illustrated that the principle of reciprocity is imbedded in Christian theology. Gross disparity is a biblical and theological scandal... Citing the polyphonic nature of New Testament theology (that is, (surveying) theological and ethical problems and errors addressed prophetically across cultures). Wright called for charitable but faithful prophetic North-South address of such errors as sexual ethics, prosperity, and Christian citizenship responsibility." (2010: 5). From the foregoing, be that as it may be, these are concrete and real issues the extremely rich Northern Hemisphere is refusing to discuss in order to appreciate the economic hard times of the Southern Hemisphere as regard the brand of theological education that can lead to empowerment, development and transformation. The initiative needed to handle socio-economic issues in the new agenda of theological education gearing towards a global Christian faith that embraces people in their socio-political network being expressed in their cultural sensibilities. Another segment by which theological education flourished in the context of inculturating the contents of faith by ecumenical faith dialogue is in the continent of Africa. African Ecumenical theologian taught extensively on this subject. For instance, Njoroge has provided us with the rationale for ecumenical theological education. According to Njoroge, "there is a need to equip every Christian with basic Christian knowledge. The people of God need to understand what they believe in and that it is important to be properly rooted and grounded in God who is love before one can witness to the Good News of Christ" (2008: 64). In another explicit the quest to drive home the motif of theological education, Peter Penner in his book Theological education as mission has described the goal of ecumenical theology in the following in the twenty-first century in these captivating words: Ecumenical theological education and ministerial formation is not an end in itself but is a means of systematically and intentionally enlightening and educating those called to ministry in its various manifestations for lay and ordained persons. The process of training women and men to interpret scripture and understand the faith of the church so that they can follow Jesus in God’s mission in preaching, teaching, healing and feeding is inevitable. Because of the many evil challenges we face in society, every generation of theological educators must discern how best to equip those who receive the call to ministry so that in due course they can return to the churches and society to equip the saints for the work of IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 11. No. 1, (2025) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Dept of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University Umunya Indexed: Academic Journals Online, Google Scholar, Igwebuike Research Institute 108 ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith. (Penner: 2005: 58). The principle of engagement in the wide mission of propagating and directing the content based on the context of the African socio-economic, politico-cultural sensibilities and most of all oriented by the multifaceted nature of native religious parlavar; all scholars and ministers, think tanks and missionary energy must be focus on proper ethical and dynamic education. The Christians and the able leadership can never achieve these feats without the cooperation, team work and dialogue with Islamic and Quranic religious leaders. The common good is the ultimate quest, formation and aspiration of leadership and followership in the entire continent. Muslims need to focus more on the Universality of God as Love Objectively all Muslims believe that God is love, peace, merciful and just. The characteristics and attributes of God (Allah) as Merciful, Love, Peace or Just are content in the Holy and Glorious Qur'an and the Hadith are unquantifiable. The ethical teaching in Islam is core-terminus to the belief in One God - Allah. This cannot be separated or be argued against. Thus, we point out clearly that the "assertion of God's unity (tawhid) counts as the primary theological proposition in the Qur'an. In Islamic faith, classic ethical teaching originally came from the mouth of the Prophet Mohammad, subsequently, these espoused in the Qur'an, by acknowledging the existence of other spiritual beings; such as angels, demons, and jinn, the Qur'an uncompromisingly maintains that "There is no god but God"(37: 35 and passim). Assimilating, interpreting, teaching and applying these eternal virtues of Allah in the life of a new convert to Islam, so as to become human virtues require the doggedness and sincerity of purpose, vision and courage of the Islamic Sheik and Imam to execute this divine mandate in the human society. Theological Education in Islam is an integral process of Quranic recitation from cradle to the grave; it is more so a wholistic patterns of life that most is followed in the daily exercise and practice of Islamic faith. The complex ladder one need to ascent the moral staircase to attain proper ethical teachings in the Islamic Religion is mostly associated with Prophet Muhammad as content in the core values of socio-ethical teachings in the Qur'an, the Sunna and sometimes as found in the Hadith. There are many and varied theories and traditions that render classic teachings on morality, ethics and the rule of law (Sharia) to be basic principles and mandatory roles a genuine Muslim is called to observed. We can examine the categories below as follows: The subsequent development of Islamic ethics rests in large part on the relationships between falsafa, kalam, and fiqh that developed during the classical period. For Sunni Muslims the textualist tendencies exemplified in Asharite kalam and in fiqh became primary. Much of Sunni thought came to regard practical judgment as a matter of obedience to God's commands, made known in specific, revealed texts as interpreted by recognized scholars of fiqh, whose discussions came to carry so much weight what their work alone became associated with the term Sharia (law). By comparison, kalam and falsafa retained IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 11. No. 1, (2025) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Dept of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University Umunya Indexed: Academic Journals Online, Google Scholar, Igwebuike Research Institute 109 a more central role among the Shia, as did ilm al-akhlaq. (Dictionary of Religions: 1998: 45) From the foregoing however, ethical teachings in Islamic Religion, taught by parents and Quranic Teachers are obligatory and mandatory. Nevertheless, occasions of the yearly Ramadan Fast, provides ample provisions of bequeathing endlessly the standard ethical practices expected of every Muslims, because, it is a period of grace, prayer, arms-giving, mercy and practical demonstration of charity and love. Theological Education as a variable tool of evolving conscientious leaders in Africa Ministry and leadership in the Lord's vineyard and amongst the Muslim Ummah in Christianity and Islam respectively are valuable assets of power. These are exercise in the most sacred space of conscience that elicit joy, love, unity, peace and brings transformation of human society. The explicit high quality of exercising religious leadership in Africa can produce a healthy religious and interreligious culture of love between persons and persons; and more so between multi religious divide. Trading on the objective line of nurturing healthy conscience guides and directs African religious leaders to speak truth to power, authority devoid of gender bias. The most notable and qualify persons to address issues of injustice, abuse of political power due to corruption and child and the girl-child sex trade visibly are Religious Leaders as men and women of power. Acquisition of theological knowledge renders higher the quality of service, to improve the quality of love and to ease out the quest of freedom, in order elevate the quality of human dignity and improve its equality. It further illustrates that wholistic education is an engagement of the human person that directs a quest in freedom to responsibility measured by the engine of sacrifice; above all it is an effort that leads to salvation in fulfilling a desire for a destination to eternity with God in heaven. The task of religion in the world does not just end with emotional fulfilment of observing religious rites and rituals, prayers and devotions, paying monetary obligations and ministerial mandate; but is an urge that has much bigger value and worth. What an elite, enlightened and educated religious leader in Christianity and Islam does at the place of worship, at home and in the society in general must be based on freedom of conscience that have liberated him/her, now transmitted to a larger human society in love and service. The Task of creating Formation of Leaders of Conscience The continent of Africa is made of 54 countries and four islands, with an overwhelming population of over 1.2 billion inhabitants, mostly young people who are under 25 years constituting more than 50 percent is a gift of God (Population of Africa: ). It has a vast geographical landscape, arable land and is gifted with enormous rich mineral and human resources, yet with the least industrialization, reasons why it is less developed and wallowing in poverty, disease and hunger. Pictures and antecedents of woeful record of political and economic development in almost all the Post-Independent African countries has shown that we need to develop a virile, democratic and spiritual platform for the formation of our religious leaders in Christianity and Islam. In Africa, IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 11. No. 1, (2025) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Dept of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University Umunya Indexed: Academic Journals Online, Google Scholar, Igwebuike Research Institute 110 we are not a child of necessity, but a God-given independent people, with rich spiritual and cultural history. We are a proud and homogenous people, were the practice of religious beliefs is enshrined in our DNA. Theological Education is essential in the formation of its leaders and the calibration of its citizens in the science of God, promoting justice, sustaining love and envisioning the dynamics of salvation. Ed Stetzer (2016) teaches that "It is important to understand that theological education is genuinely essential - not as the engine of the church, but in some ways as the steering wheel of the church. The engine of the church has to be the mission, the passion of God's people who are engaging faithfully and fruitfully in Gospel work, that advances the work of the Kingdom." This statement underscores the relevance of bequeathing theological education to both leaders and members of the Christian mission for sustainable development, growth and expansion of various ministries in Christendom. The relevance of theological education in promoting and developing the Kingdom of God cannot be over emphasized, as it is "the engine that provides the power; the steering wheel helps guide the forward motion... We want the engine to be God's people saying yes to the Lord and engaging in mission. The steering wheel of theological education, when done right can help guide in the right way." (Stetzer: 2016). General Conclusion -The Way Forward The relevance of theological education cannot be over emphasized in this exposition, nevertheless it surface to state the obvious: it registers God's presence in direct life of the Religious Leader; it forms character in leaders; it sharpens qualitative and conscientious leaders in society. Christian or Islamic theology is a complex mystery that cannot be understood easily by exploring the use of reason alone. Ordinarily, metaphysical realities and not mathematical neither are they only intellectual properties, even more, their complexity are theological truths that can be approach by the dispositions of faith made accessible by the instrument of the Holy Spirit to discern the ways of God. To bequeath theological education on appreciable quantum to baptize Christians or professed Muslims during the Month of Ramadan and more so, to would-be ministers and Imans (must be based on basic Islamic belief) have been the Christocentric mission drawn from the methodology of Jesus Christ during his public ministry leading to the paschal mystery that encapsulated the totality of salvific mission of God on earth. Therefore, the pedagogy, principle, method and modality of bequeathing and transmitting the deposit of Christian faith from Apostolic Epoch to the twenty-first century has been tasking, difficult and tedious. Both Christian and Islamic theological education are not only necessity, but are rooted on the quality and enlightenment of the minister or religious leaders in our socio-cultural setting. The presence and the gift of the Holy Spirit couple with the skills of missionary experience centred on continuous catechesis leads to appreciable progress in the quality of life at the human society. References ACKERMAN, John 2004. Co-Governance for accountability: Beyond ‘Exit’ and ‘Voice’, World Development, 32 (3), See also, Handbook of Theological Education in World Christianity, Theological Perspectives – Regional Surveys – Ecumenical Trends, IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 11. 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