By Cliff Stanley
The recent appeal by Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, urging Afrobeats stars such as Davido, Burna Boy and Asake to use their wealth to lift poor Nigerians has once again ignited debate over the role of government in combating poverty. While philanthropy is commendable, the statement raises a deeper and more troubling question: Has the Nigerian state begun shifting its constitutional responsibility for social welfare onto private citizens?
This is not the first time the First Lady’s remarks have generated controversy. Her earlier suggestion that government grants could empower Nigerians through small businesses such as akara frying, roasted corn and kuli-kuli production was widely criticised as being disconnected from the economic realities facing millions of citizens. Rather than addressing structural unemployment, inflation and declining purchasing power, such comments appeared to reduce national economic aspirations to mere subsistence.
Her latest appeal to celebrities follows the same pattern. She argued that “the burden on government is huge” and encouraged wealthy entertainers to establish charitable foundations while continuing to enjoy their luxury lifestyles.
There is nothing inherently wrong with philanthropy. Indeed, across the world, influential individuals such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, MacKenzie Scott and African philanthropists including Strive Masiyiwa and Tony Elumelu have invested billions in education, healthcare and entrepreneurship. However, political theory has consistently maintained that charity is voluntary, whereas social protection is a responsibility of the state.
Political philosopher John Rawls argued in A Theory of Justice that governments have an obligation to design institutions that improve the lives of the least advantaged. Likewise, economist Amartya Sen maintained that development should expand people’s freedoms through education, healthcare, employment and effective institutions not dependence on charitable giving.
Nigeria’s Constitution equally recognises this responsibility. Section 16 of the 1999 Constitution directs the state to harness national resources to promote prosperity and provide adequate means of livelihood for citizens. Although these provisions are not directly enforceable in court, they establish the philosophical foundation of governance.
The irony is difficult to ignore. Nigeria continues to accumulate significant public debt while millions fall deeper into poverty.
According to the World Bank, about 129 million Nigerians were estimated to be living below the national poverty line in 2024, making Nigeria home to one of the world’s largest populations living in poverty. Inflation, food prices and unemployment have severely eroded household incomes in recent years.
Economic reforms, including fuel subsidy removal and exchange-rate liberalisation, were intended to stabilise public finances. Yet many Nigerians have experienced these reforms primarily through higher transport costs, rising food prices and declining purchasing power. While government has introduced social intervention programmes, critics argue that implementation has been inconsistent and insufficient relative to the scale of hardship.
This explains why many Nigerians interpreted the First Lady’s appeal less as a call for social responsibility and more as an implicit admission that government alone cannot meet citizens’ basic needs.
Celebrity philanthropy should complement not substitute for effective governance. Davido, Burna Boy and Asake have every moral right to support charitable causes, but poverty reduction cannot depend on the goodwill of entertainers. Governments exist precisely because essential public goods including education, healthcare, infrastructure, employment creation and social protection cannot be left solely to private generosity.
As former United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt observed:
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
Similarly, Nelson Mandela famously declared:
“Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice.”
Nigeria’s challenge today is therefore not a shortage of wealthy celebrities willing to help. It is the urgent need for public institutions capable of translating borrowed funds, public revenues and national resources into measurable improvements in the lives of ordinary citizens.
The burden of poverty should not be carried primarily by musicians, actors or philanthropists. It should be addressed through accountable governance, prudent fiscal management, transparent public spending and policies that create jobs, stimulate enterprise and restore citizens’ confidence in the social contract.
Until Nigerians begin to see measurable outcomes from government borrowing, economic reforms and public expenditure, calls for celebrities to rescue the poor will continue to sound less like an appeal for partnership and more like an acknowledgement that the state is struggling to fulfil one of its most fundamental responsibilities.
Cliff Stanley
Political Scientist /Public theologian.
Cliffstanley3@gmail.com
07032826319.