Faith-Based Organizations and Development: Prospects and Constraints

The failure of development as expressed in the high level of poverty in African states and the consequent emphasis of bilateral and multilateral aid agencies on participatory development and decentralization has brought to the fore the role of Non-governmental organization, of which Faith-based organizations (FBOs) are among the most useful, in the development process in Africa. Not much is known about FBOs and their development activities. This paper explores the various forms and dimensions of FBO engagement with development in Nigeria and their interaction with other development aid actors in Nigeria. Most importantly, it examines their interaction with donors and the Nigerian state. It concludes that FBOs are important but silent actors in development whose success is closely tied to their religious nature and whose activities can be further enhances if the constraints arising out of their religious nature can be reconciled with the logic of the state.