My fear about our tomorrow
By Sam Kargbo
May our tomorrow be well.
As a Christian, my ideal vision of leadership is modeled after Jesus Christ, who exemplified servant leadership as prescribed in Mark 10:42-45: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The Nigerian Constitution reflects this principle by vesting sovereignty in the people and restricting governance to specific, enumerated powers. Recognizing humanity’s natural inclination toward self-glorification, the Constitution—much like the Bible—seeks to temper ambition and vanity. It does so by making the ballot box the mechanism for selecting and appointing public servants to the nation’s highest offices. In this way, it upholds the biblical injunction: “The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
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In this vision of leadership, I see an exemplary, accountable, and transparent figure—someone who understands that as an overseer of God’s household, he must be blameless. He should not be overbearing, quick-tempered, given to drunkenness, violent, or driven by dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, a lover of what is good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.
The looming threat to democracy
However, I fear that the world may inevitably resort to war as a means of resetting itself. Democracy, once the bedrock of governance, is waning, while tyranny flourishes with audacity and impunity. From Donald Trump’s flirtation with the notion of extending his tenure beyond constitutional limits to the blatant electoral theft and military takeovers in parts of Africa, democratic ideals are under siege. This growing contempt for democracy is not only alarming but also indicative of an unsettling political regression.
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Even more troubling is the arrogance of these power usurpers, who operate with a self-righteous conviction reminiscent of monarchical eras, where authority was justified by divine right rather than public mandate. In this climate, governance is no longer perceived as a responsibility entrusted by the people but as an entitlement seized by force or manipulation.
A socio-philosophical perspective
From a sociological standpoint, this crisis reflects a cyclical pattern in human history, where periods of democratic expansion are often followed by authoritarian retrenchment. Thinkers like Karl Marx and Antonio Gramsci have long debated the fragility of political systems, emphasizing how ruling classes entrench power through both coercion and consent. What we witness today is an erosion of the latter—leaders no longer feel compelled to maintain even the illusion of public legitimacy.
Philosophically, this shift challenges the very essence of democracy as conceived by figures like Rousseau and Locke, who envisioned governance as a social contract. If power becomes an end in itself, detached from public will, we enter an era resembling Nietzsche’s “will to power,” where governance is dictated by strength rather than justice. This descent into authoritarianism signals not only a political crisis but an existential one, where societies must choose between resisting tyranny or accepting it as the new norm.
The path forward
Ultimately, if democratic principles are to survive, they must be defended—not just at the ballot box, but in the broader sociopolitical consciousness of the people. History suggests that when peaceful resistance fails, societies often resort to more radical means to reclaim lost freedoms. The question remains: will the world correct its course peacefully, or must it first endure the turmoil of conflict?
May we have the wisdom to choose the path of justice before history compels us to take up the burdens of resistance.
- Sam Kargbo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, writes from Abuja.