Philanthropy and humanitarian crisis in north-east Nigeria

There is a pressing need for more research on African philanthropy to fully understand its impact on development and its roles in various contexts, including humanitarian settings. This chapter is a step towards filling this knowledge gap. It significantly contributes to the understanding of the state–philanthropy relationship in planning, financing, and implementing social policy initiatives in north-east Nigeria, specifically in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) states. It underscores the crucial need for social protection in humanitarian contexts and the vital roles played by African philanthropy in these situations. The chapter demonstrates how Nigerian philanthropic foundations’ activities support and complement the government's crisis response to the humanitarian emergency by drawing upon state–philanthropy relations and the state fragility model. It argues that post-colonial states in sub-Saharan Africa's failure to provide social protections has led to non-state actors, such as philanthropic organisations, playing a key role in delivering social policies for national development.