Why do some societies build resilient institutions while others falter under the weight of concentrated power? The answer may lie not only in constitutional reforms but also in enduring governance traditions that distribute authority and cultivate public accountability. Despite extensive scholarship on Exodus 18:19–22 and African indigenous governance, these two traditions have seldom been examined together as complementary sources of political thought. This article addresses that gap by undertaking a comparative analysis of delegated authority in Exodus 18:19–22 and indigenous Ogoni governance. Drawing on African inculturation hermeneutics, epistemic justice, and decolonial political thought within a comparative historical framework, the study argues that delegated authority is more than an administrative arrangement; it functions as a form of structural resistance that diffuses power, strengthens institutional legitimacy, and promotes communal resilience. A close reading of the biblical narrative alongside an examination of Ogoni political organisation demonstrates that both traditions intentionally distributed public responsibility across multiple levels of leadership in order to enhance accountability, widen participation, and preserve justice. Rather than treating indigenous Ogoni governance as a cultural illustration of biblical leadership, the article positions it as an interpretive partner that broadens the understanding of Exodus 18 while contributing original insights to governance scholarship. In doing so, the study advances the wider project of epistemic justice by affirming African indigenous political traditions as legitimate sources of theory for comparative biblical interpretation and governance studies. It concludes that resilient political communities are sustained less by the concentration of power than by its deliberate distribution through morally accountable institutions, a principle that remains profoundly relevant to governance debates across the Global South.
