Stewardship of Creation: Eco theology, Church History, and Artificial Intelligence for Environmental Sustainability in Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria faces a convergence of severe environmental crises, including advancing desertification in the north, persistent oil pollution in the Niger Delta, and deadly farmer- herder conflicts intensified by climate change and shrinking natural resources. This article argues that these challenges are not merely economic or political but are fundamentally moral and spiritual, requiring a robust theological response from the Nigerian church. Employing a newly developed framework, the Creation Mandate Stewardship Theory , grounded in the Genesis mandate and enriched by African theological insights from scholars such as Mbiti and Bediako, the study examines human responsibility toward creation through three pillars: divine ownership, relational responsibility, and accountable action. Adopting a church-historical lens, the article traces the Nigerian church's trajectory from missionary-era neglect of ecological concerns through a period of prosperity-focused silence during Nigeria's most intense years of environmental exploitation to emerging but uneven engagement with creation care in contemporary mainline denominations. Biblical foundations and African ecotheological perspectives, including the contributions of Oduyoye and Kunhiyop, are presented as resources for reframing environmental stewardship as intrinsic to Christian mission rather than a foreign import. The article further explores artificial intelligence as an emerging tool for climate monitoring, agricultural extension, conflict mitigation, and multilingual environmental education while cautioning that technology must remain subordinate to theological conviction and community trust. Institutional, economic, theological, and technological barriers to church-led environmental action are identified. The article concludes with concrete recommendations for denominations, seminaries, and policymakers, urging the Nigerian church to embrace its calling as a steward, not owner, of creation and to become an active agent of ecological healing and social peace.

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