Abstract

Nigeria is reputed for having a teeming population of deeply religious men and women. Religion permeates all aspects of its life and existence, thus exercising an enormous influence and control on its social, political, and cultural life. It has become a thriving enterprise, even to the point of being commercialized. However, rarely has research on religion in the country been directed to critically question the relationship between religious leadership and power, whether as “soft” or “hard” power. Nevertheless, religious leadership cannot be divorced from the issue of power. The palpability of power exercised over the populace by religious leaders is glaring. It could and has been used to good effect, as well as for fueling crisis and impoverishment of the masses. This article examines Christianity and interrogates the relationship between Christian leadership and power in Nigeria. It investigates how Christian leaders have understood and utilized their power not for empowerment of their followers but mainly as a manipulative instrument, thus validating the popular Marxist view of religion being the opiate of the masses The author works on the hypothesis that proper management of power by religious leaders has a long way to go before it can influence development in Nigeria at the personal, social, political, or economic levels. The article discusses how Christian religious leadership could be steered toward service-oriented ministry, anchored on social prophecy and mutual empowerment. The methodologies employed include participant observation and hermeneutical–critical analysis of existing literature relevant to the subject matter.