Reassessing the Interface of Old Testament Leadership Narratives and African Cultural Values in Nigeria

Nigeria's long struggle with leadership has led many Christians to look to the Old Testament for models of how power should be gained, used and handed over. Yet these narratives are usually read through Western commentaries, while the African cultural values that shape how Nigerians actually think about authority are rarely brought into the conversation. This paper reassesses the interface between selected Old Testament leadership narratives and African cultural values, with special attention to the Yoruba and Igbo traditions of Nigeria. It asks what leadership values these traditions hold, how they illuminate or challenge the biblical stories, and what lessons follow for church and society in Nigeria. The study adopts a qualitative, library-based design and uses African biblical hermeneutics as its theoretical framework. Five narratives are examined: Jethro's counsel to Moses (Exodus 18:13–27), the demand for a king (1 Samuel 8), Rehoboam and the elders (1 Kings 12:1–20), Deborah's leadership (Judges 4:4–10) and Nehemiah's reforms (Nehemiah 5:1–19). The analysis shows strong agreement between the biblical texts and indigenous values such as consultation, respect for elders, communal welfare, accountability and good character. It also shows that some cultural practices, including the sacred and unquestioned status of rulers, the exclusion of women from the highest offices, the use of kinship to shield wrongdoing and hereditary succession, are challenged by the texts themselves. The paper concludes that a careful dialogue between Scripture and African culture can renew the Nigerian understanding of leadership as service under God, and recommends ways of applying this in churches, theological institutions and public life.