The Philosophy of Poverty and Social Justice: Ethical Reflections on Extreme Poverty in Sokoto State

This study applies the philosophy of social justice and poverty ethics to the conditions of extreme poverty in Sokoto State, one of Nigeria's poorest states by human development indicators, situated in the North West geopolitical zone. The philosophy of poverty addresses foundational questions about the moral permissibility of extreme inequality, the obligations of states and individuals to the poor, and the conceptual relationship between poverty and injustice. Using a descriptive philosophical design, the study engages with Peter Singer's utilitarian argument for radical altruism, Thomas Pogge's global justice framework, and African communitarian conceptions of collective responsibility, supplemented by secondary literature published between 2020 and 2024. Structured interviews with 20 community leaders, social workers, and philosophy academics in Sokoto inform the primary data. Findings reveal that the scale of poverty in Sokoto State, where the majority of residents live below internationally defined poverty lines, constitutes a philosophically compelling case of structural injustice rather than mere misfortune, because it results from identifiable policy choices about resource allocation rather than from natural scarcity. The study argues that both utilitarian and justice-based frameworks impose strong moral obligations on the Nigerian state to prioritise poverty eradication in Sokoto. Keywords: philosophy of poverty, social justice, Sokoto State, Pogge, distributive ethics.