Comparing religious and secular NGOs in Nigeria: are faith-based organizations distinctive?

Abstract

In Nigeria, case studies of three NGOs and four FBOs (two Christian and two Muslim) in two Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Kano State (largely Muslim) and one LGA in Lagos State (religious mixed) sought to identify whether and in what circumstances FBOs have distinctive characteristics with respect to their goals, values, organizational characteristics and activities related to the achievement of development objectives. All the organizations studied are well-established, with good reputations, and are engaged in HIV/AIDS-related work (one of the main areas of development work for which funding is currently available and in which differences between secular and religious organizations might be expected. However, the study did not find any significant differences in the development-related aims, values and activities of organizations self-identified as FBOs or NGOs.