Philanthropic capitalism got another symbolic endorsement in Nigeria at the weekend when Dr Kole Shettima of MacArthur Foundation was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree by the Federal University, Kashere located in Gombe State. Not being someone who would purchase such an award and having established his ranking order in the knowledge domain by obtaining a PhD from the University of Toronto, the award surely speaks to an acknowledgement of Kole (and that circle)’s insistence on raising the stakes wherever they may be found across Nigeria.
The faces of one set of activists at the event (L-R) Cde John Odah of CDD, Umar Gombe Jnr, Dr. Kole and Mallam Y Z Yáu of CITAD
The event might not have been thrown open for corresponding media language game feast on it, perhaps out of fear of getting caught up in the vulgarity industry in Nigeria. Still, Intervention‘s panoptic antenna on the event shows a heavy presence of the Yobe constituency at the occasion. Just as faces of the activists could be seen.
Literarily, Dr Kole stole the show throughout the weekend in that axis. There was not just the reception on Friday evening at which the state government was represented by the Secretary to the State Government and no less than three commissioners and the chief legal adviser who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) the state governor, Mai Mala Buni placed two separate advertisements.
Naturally, the citation on the recipient was the climax of the event on Saturday, July 5th, 2025. The moment was when the orator pronounced thus: “Mr. Chancellor, Sir, for his lifelong dedication to the public good, his unwavering belief in humanity and justice, and his distinguished contribution to philanthropy, Pan-African civic development, and the dignity of the human spirit, I respectfully present to you Dr. Kole Shettima for the conferment of Doctor of Science (D.Sc. Honoris Causa) by the Federal University of Kashere”.
A powerful presence of ‘home’ base
That crescendo had its take-off point in the early paragraphs of the citation, beginning with Dr. Kole Shettima being referred to as “one of our time’s most compelling embodiments of moral clarity, humility, and public service”, as someone grounded in deep empathy, compassion, and a fierce commitment to justice and human dignity. And someone who had, over several decades, coordinated provision of material, emotional, and intellectual support to communities across Nigeria and Niger Republic as to end up feeding hungry, clothing orphans, building places of worship, funding education, and constructing water points. His philanthropy, insisted the citation, is rooted in a deep empathy and belief in the sacred worth of every human being, what was called profound Pan-African consciousness that understands the interconnected destinies of African peoples and championing of solutions shaped by African values, leadership, and solidarity.
His Royal Highness, Alhaji (Dr.) Bashir Albishir Bukar Machinama, (OON, L’ONN), the philanthropy-sensitive Emir of Machina speaking
One outcome of the manifestations of these attributes, according to the citation, has been the appointment of Dr Kole in 2025 as the Zanna Yuroma of Machina Emirate by His Royal Highness, Alhaji (Dr.) Bashir Albishir Bukar Machinama, (OON, L’ONN). In doing so, the traditional ruler overwrote age as a criterion, having found his agemate and former primary school classmate to also have the capacity for principled counsel to the Emir that was hitherto associated with elders and as to transform Dr Kole into the category of a rashidi, dattijo.
In obvious awareness of the relative flamboyance of the citation, the script manager took time to balance the claims with the details, making it difficult to charge the citation with that allegation. No sector in which the recipient has crossed in the process of his becoming was left untouched, from his academic starting point to the domain of philanthropy.
Activists, university officials and friends all
Listeners were told that Dr Kole is fondly referred to as the Dean by his peers in that field, earned from the last 26 years as a Director of the MacArthur Foundation. The argument is that he has transformed philanthropy into a tool of empowerment and social transformation because, “Under his leadership, the Foundation has touched every facet of Nigerian life: higher education, maternal health, young people’s sexual health, media, human rights, girls’ education, youth empowerment, criminal justice reform, and civic space”. And that he has democratized philanthropy, expanding its reach to include civil society, religious groups, universities, people with disabilities, youth, and the creative industries. The constitutive outcome is that “In the last 10 years, the Foundation has made a significant difference in the lives of ordinary citizens by supporting interventions that directly impact the lives of ordinary Nigerians”.
In academia, the story is not too different. The beginning is studying Political Science at the University of Maiduguri then the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria for the graduate level before the University of Toronto, followed by a teaching stint at the University of Maiduguri, the University of Toronto, York University, Ohio University and Yobe State University, including the risk of driving there from Abuja in spite of Boko Haram or the university stood the risk of losing accreditation from the national regulator.
Dr Kole Shettima on his feet
Lastly, Dr Kole’s feminist activism and Pan-Africanist commitment, involving bridge building among civil society actors, governments, academic institutions, and philanthropic organizations across West Africa and the continent; mentoring a new generation of African civic leaders carrying the torch of justice, inclusion, and democratic renewal and all of these dovetailing into advisory services to governments across the world, specifically the governments of Ekiti, Kano, Borno, Niger and Yobe states in Nigeria. The Nigerian list extends to the Northern Governors’ Forum, the Progressive Governors’ Forum, and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
What the citation has done is to anticipate and make lighter the work of a biographer in the event that the recipient gets unto that. The gap is whether these details are being properly conveyed to the public sphere. As the discourse logic goes, the iroko tree that fell in the huge forest without anyone there to tell the story has not fallen because unless there is awareness of that fall, it cannot occupy a space in the public sphere agenda. Reality is, indeed, what human beings make of it.
