PARADOX OF FOREIGN AID AND STATE FAILURE IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Foreign aid is a multifaceted channel to state capacity building in developing countries. It is assumed to catalyse economic and infrastructural developments as well as rebuilding socio-political trust among countries. This assumption has taken deep root in the development discourse of countries. Despite decades of substantial foreign assistance aimed at fostering development, strengthening institutions, and alleviating poverty, Nigeria continues to exhibit core symptoms of state failure. This paper interrogates the paradox of foreign aid in the context of persistent state failure in Nigeria. The paper is a descriptive research study that adopts a qualitative method of data collection. The data collected from secondary sources were analysed using content analysis. The paper is guided by one research question: a) Are there local factors that undermined the goal of foreign aid in the development of Nigeria? The paper adopts dependency theory as its theoretical framework of analysis. The theory argues that foreign aid enthrone state failure by enabling the elite to undermine the principle of accountability, thereby instituting a culture of external reliance. The paper revealed that corruption, insecurity, and poor governance, along with ethnic cleavages, undermine the goals of foreign aid in Nigeria's development. The paper concludes that foreign intervention robs the Nigerian state of the capacity to address its internal problems and uphold the principle of state sovereignty. The paper recommended that there should be horizontal and vertical monitoring of international interventions on specific projects and programs in Nigeria.