THE LEADERSHIP OF NEHEMIAH (NEHEMIAH 2:17 – 20) AS A TEMPLATE FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA

Abstract

Nehemiah is a continuation of accounts in 1 & 2 Chronicles and Ezra. While Ezra focuses on the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem through King Cyrus’ decree, Nehemiah accounted for the destruction of the homeland of the Israelites and their walls by the Babylonians. Permitted by the Persian King, Artaxerxes I, the book discussed the intervention of Nehemiah in rebuilding the ruined walls of Jerusalem and the reformation of moral and liturgical practices of the people. Nehemiah demonstrated a model of prayerful, action-oriented and resilient servant leadership, focused on rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. He demonstrated a blend of vision, careful planning and active engagement in working alongside his team to efficiently achieve his goals in rebuilding the walls in 52 days. Jeremiah faced significant leadership challenges while rebuilding Jerusalem walls, primarily dealing with intense external opposition (intimidation, mockery and threats from Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem), and internal strife including the social injustice of wealthy citizens exploiting the poor with high interest and debt slavery. Despite these, he managed exhaustion, discouragement and accusation of treason through prayer and perseverance. The questions are, “how many of our contemporary Nigerian political leaders can face similar challenges of threat, opposition and mockery and still remain committed to selfless humanitarian services without pursuing personal interest? What lessons can Nigerian leaders learn from Nehemiah’s leadership to help their governance?” These are questions this paper hopes to address using historical-critical and theological approaches. Findings are obtained from the exegesis of Nehemiah 2:17 – 20 and discussions.