Philosophical Reflections on Economic Philosophy and the Failure of Development in Nigeria’s North East

This study examines economic philosophy and applies its insights to understanding the persistent failure of development interventions in Nigeria's North East geopolitical zone, encompassing Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States. Economic philosophy addresses foundational questions about the nature of value, the just distribution of resources, the relationship between growth and human flourishing, and the philosophical assumptions underlying dominant development theories. Using a descriptive philosophical design, the study engages with Amartya Sen's development as freedom framework, critiques of neoliberal development philosophy, and African Ubuntu-based conceptions of communal well-being, supplemented by secondary literature published between 2020 and 2024. Structured interviews with 20 development economists, community leaders, and philosophy academics in Maiduguri and Yola inform the primary data. Findings reveal that the dominant development approach in North East Nigeria, focused primarily on economic growth metrics and physical infrastructure provision, reflects an impoverished philosophical conception of human well-being that does not account for security, dignity, cultural identity, and political participation as constitutive dimensions of a good human life. The study argues that adopting Sen's capabilities approach would transform development planning in the region by centring the philosophical question of what conditions are necessary for genuine human flourishing. Keywords: economic philosophy, development failure, North East Nigeria, capabilities approach, human flourishing.