Faith-Based and Community Organizations as Human Security Actors: Bridging Governance Gaps in Kwara North

Abstract

This study investigates the role of faith-based and community organizations in advancing human security through poverty alleviation initiatives in Kwara North, Nigeria. Situated within the broader discourse on non-state actors and governance, it examines how these organizations bridge state capacity gaps in three critical human security dimensions: health as protection from disease insecurity, education as protection from radicalization and exclusion, and livelihoods as protection from economic shocks. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines structured community surveys, key informant interviews, and field observations across selected Local Government Areas, the study develops sectoral indices and analyzes community perception data to measure impact and sustainability. The findings demonstrate that non-state actors provide frontline protection where state presence is weak, reducing vulnerabilities and enhancing resilience, though their interventions remain constrained by funding fragility, weak coordination, and limited policy integration. By framing poverty alleviation as a human security imperative, the study highlights the potential of non-state actors not merely as gap-fillers but as co-architects of local security and development systems in Northern Nigeria.