Adam, King Saul And Now Abba Moro

A Good leader takes responsibility for not only the successes of the organization he leads, but also for its failures. Such leaders are rare in Nigeria today. Most of our public office holders are so obsessed with the perks of public office; very few take responsibility for failure, perhaps for fear of losing the goodies attached to high office.  

But then, this treat is intrinsically human and can be traced to the beginning of mankind in Eden.

God created Eden as an eternal paradise and home for man. But even in this paradise, there were rules. God gave Adam (the first man) access to all, but one, of the wonders and sensory delights of the garden. He was forbidden from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

When Adam broke that rule, God queried him, “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? The man said, ‘The woman you put here with me, she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’" (Gen. 3:11,12 NIV)

Adam is not the only biblical example of leaders who weren't responsible enough to admit their wrongdoing and take responsibility for it. King Saul was one such leader.

To human eyes, Saul was imminently qualified to be the first king of Israel. He was a prophet of sorts and had the mien of kings. But like Adam, King Saul failed the test of obedience and responsibility.

King Saul’s true character was exposed when a large Philistine army assembled to fight Israel and a lot of his fighting men had deserted him in fear. He disobeyed the command to wait for the prophet Samuel to come and sacrifice a burnt offering to the Lord. He did the ritual himself. And when Samuel confronted him, rather than accept his wrongdoing and repent of it, he tried to justify his actions:   

"What have you done?" asked Samuel. Saul replied, "When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD's favour.' So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.

"You have done a foolish thing," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time" (1 Sam. 13:11-13 NIV).

Both Adam and King Saul suffered grave consequences for not taking responsibly for their wrongdoing. Adam was driven out of Eden, lost the chance of evading death and was condemned to toil the hard ground to eke out a living. King Saul lost his kingdom and eventually his own life.

Then comes Comrade Abba Moro, Nigeria’s Minister of Interior!

When about 15 jobseekers were crushed to death in the ill-fated Nigeria Immigration Recruitment (NIS) Exams that have been since exposed as a scam, Minister Moro shocked the world by going on National TV to heap the blame on the victims of the stampede.

Rather than take responsibility for the shambolic recruitment exercise, Abba Moro continues his futile attempt to exonerate himself. He has been blaming everybody but himself for the March 15 disaster, even blaming doctors, nurses, teachers and other professionals for gate crashing the recruitment venues and causing the stampedes that occurred.

Minister Moro should have learned from King David.

David was a man after God’s heart. Even so, he wasn't perfect. Like any other man, he had his own flaws. But he was quick to take responsibility for his wrongdoing and repent (2 Sam. 12:1-13). Till date, David is revered as Israel’s greatest king through whose lineage the Messiah came.

Abba Moro should have towed the line of honour and with the fear of God take responsibility for the NIS recruitment scam, apologise to his victims and resign. Failure to do so exposed the kind of leader he is: a callous, remorseless, irresponsible leader who should not be entrusted with the responsibilities of high office.

As God justly dealt with Adam, Saul and David, so should the Federal Government stand on the side of justice with the people of Nigeria and sack the erring minister. After all the government is instituted by God and mandated to do so:  

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience (Rom. 13: 1-7).