The widespread use of “Next Generation” in African church and civic discourse has, unintentionally, fostered a culture of postponement that delays youth leadership and diminishes their present contributions. This article proposes a paradigm shift to Generation Now (Gen Now), affirming young people as Christ's reconciling presence within contexts of systemic violence, exclusion, and fragile trust. Drawing on Eliza Filby's generational identity framework, McDowell and Wallace's call for worldview formation, and Andrew Root's pastoral realism, the study situates youth leadership at the intersection of theology, sociology, and peace studies. Engaging Emmanuel Katongole, Francis Fukuyama, and Johan Galtung, alongside Elias Opongo and Joseph Ola, it highlights reconciliation, trust, and positive peace as foundations for transformation. Biblical narratives reinforce this vision. The article contends that empowering Gen Now through mentoring, discipleship, and leadership pathways is both a theological imperative and a practical path toward justice, reconciliation, and human flourishing.
This paper examines how authoritarian regimes in Africa strategically co-opt religious leaders to legitimize their rule, suppress opposition, and control public space. Drawing on case studies from Ethiopia, Rwanda, Sudan, and Uganda, the analysis assesses how these alliances affect religious institutions, civil society, and democratic governance. Key question is: How do African authoritarian regimes co-opt religious institutions and leaders? What are the impacts on religious groups, civil society, political systems, democracy, governance, and society overall? What is the response of society to the phenomenon? The theoretical framework combines Gramscian hegemony, which explains how regimes create consent through religion; political theology, which examines the interaction between religion and politics; and neo-patrimonialism, which analyzes informal alliances and patronage.
Presently, our country is ripe for transformation in reference to matters involving socio-political liberation. Nigeria's socio-political life is bedeviled with lack of focus, unrighteousness, and lack of integrity. Religious clerics, especially prophets with divine authority, occupy a significant position in every nation to assist in making concrete efforts towards curbing these problems. In its functional relationship to social stability, prophetic ministry, as observed in ancient Israelite culture, is saddled with the responsibility of challenging and rebuking the erring members of the societies, calling them to repentance, encouraging the penitent along God's unmerited mercy, telling the impervious about the divine judgment, and unveiling the mind of God and the possible future event, among other things. However, Nigeria prophetic ministry today has been suffused with corrupt practices. It is therefore mandatory for the church today to be awake to her roles in these capacities. The Church needs to urgently enhance her effectiveness in fulfilling this aspect of her mission. Through the lens of socio critical realism, the paper explores the fact and values of prophecy, as preserved in ancient Israel, in Nigerian context. Biblical texts were the primary data. The texts were subjected to textual criticism. Historical-critical method was utilized in the interpretation of the Biblical texts; the work recommended prophetic revolution as sine qua non for attaining the desired goals.
