Isaac Labani Sambo, a Nigerian attorney and capital market consultant, is highly involved in professional circles in his nation, including the governing council of West African Theological Seminary. Sambo has authored numerous scholarly articles, papers, and pamphlets on government policy, leadership, economic development, and youth development.
The following account is excerpted from a report Darrow Miller recently received from Mr. Sambo.
“I was in Singapore for a month’s Advanced Leadership Seminar of the Haggai Institute in March/April 2005. Before coming to Singapore, I had spent sleepless nights pondering the relationship between poverty and ignorance of the Christian’s rights in Christ encapsulated in Ephesians 1.
“And so it was in that frame of mind that I entered a Christian book store and picked up (and bought) their only copy of Discipling Nations: The Power of Truth to Transform Cultures. Even as I stood there reading the back cover, I knew I had found what I was looking for. The book has had a profound impact in my Christian walk.
“Discipling Nations showed me with poignant clarity that it is impossible to effect genuine political reform without reforming individual and societal character. Attitudes are forged by spiritual forces, not by legislation. Only the Word of God can change individual attitudes, and hence, communal and national character.
“When I came back to Nigeria, I started to promote the vision with my community, the Tangale in Gombe State, Northeast Nigeria. I began by writing and publishing pamphlets that were distributed widely free of charge.
“In late 2009, I got a letter from the Chief inviting me to a Vision Conference for the community. I had not had contact with him since 2005. To say I was surprised is an understatement; but with God everything is possible. In February last year, we held our first Vision Conference.
“At the national level, I have written articles that were published in national papers, and presented papers at different forums, positing that any society bereaved of serious moral purpose is suffering from “Moral Aids,” and in such a climate, no meaningful and sustainable development is possible. In my writings I have also tried to warn about the dangers of simply importing the World Bank development blueprint, since the World Bank is the power house of the secular mindset and proffers its development solutions through the prism of materialism. To that extent I have targeted influential Christian leaders and policy makers and have personally given a number of them copies of Discipling Nations and Against All Hope: Hope for Africa.
“In 2005, I wrote to Darrow Miller to inquire how to get involved in the larger network. When that did not materialize, I just did the things I knew I could do. For example, I started posting nuggets from Discipling Nations on my Twitter and Facebook accounts.
“Africans have a double jeopardy: we are not only enslaved by mental poverty, we are also being deceived into accepting the development blueprint of the World Bank, a blueprint drawn on the tenets of secular humanism. As George Washington said to the American nation in 1796, after serving two terms as the first president, “Of all the habits that lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would man claim the tributes of patriotism who work to destroy these great pillars of human happiness”.
“By the grace of God, my objective is to give Christian leaders—whether in our National Assembly, in the halls of governance, or in the marketplace—the vision encapsulated in Discipling Nations and Against All Hope: Hope for Africa. Our policy makers need to discern the materialistic spirit behind much of today’s legislation. In their work to pass new legislation, they need to realise the relationship between spiritual and physical realms and culture.
“I commend Darrow Miller and his associates for the invaluable resources they have given us in Discipling Nations and Against All Hope: Hope for Africa. These books represent a needed understanding about how the spiritual dimension impacts the physical realm at the level of culture, and how Biblical truths can free whole societies from deception and poverty.”
Isaac Labani Sambo
Abuja, Nigeria
