International Aid and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in North East Nigeria: Effectiveness and Accountability, 2015 to 2023

This study empirically evaluates the effectiveness and accountability of international aid in post-conflict reconstruction in Nigeria's North East geopolitical zone, focusing on Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States during the period of humanitarian response and early recovery from the Boko Haram insurgency between 2015 and 2023. Nigeria's North East has received billions of dollars in international humanitarian and development assistance, yet reconstruction outcomes in areas of community infrastructure, livelihood restoration, and social services remain significantly below expectations. A mixed-methods design is employed, combining quantitative analysis of aid flow data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Financial Tracking Service with qualitative case analysis of three major reconstruction programmes implemented by bilateral donors and multilateral agencies, supplemented by 38 interviews with aid programme managers, government officials, and beneficiary community representatives. The Aid Effectiveness Theory and the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus Framework provide the analytical lenses. Findings reveal persistent coordination failures between humanitarian actors and the Nigerian federal and state governments, contributing to programme duplication, inadequate coverage of hard-to-reach communities, and limited local capacity absorption. Aid accountability mechanisms are predominantly oriented toward donor reporting requirements rather than community accountability, generating a fundamental accountability inversion. Keywords: international aid, post-conflict reconstruction, North East Nigeria, accountability, humanitarian response.