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Abstract
The argument on Big Powers’ involvement with the countries of the world from the Global South has dominated debates and scholarship over the years. Central to these debates were the roles of philanthropic organisations. During the heydays of colonialism in Africa, the colonialists exerted authority on their colonies through the instrumentalities of the colonial states. This study reveals that the colonial histories of medicine and education intersects with the history of the activities of philanthropic organisations. This work analyses the efforts of an American philanthropic organization, the Rockefeller Foundation, in Nigerian history from medical research, public health initiatives, and the development of higher studies in southern Nigeria. Most importantly, this thesis emphasises African voices or agencies – that had been silent – on the efforts of the Rockefeller Foundation in southern Nigeria. This study focuses on how the Rockefeller Foundation established its presence in Nigeria with the assistance of the British colonial authorities through the erection of public health, medical services, and medical research. In sum, this study is about philanthropic organizations' factors in American foreign policy and how African agencies played vital roles in the history of the engagements of the Rockefeller Foundation with the Nigerian state, from colonial to postcolonial history. More than illuminating African roles in the engagement of Rockefeller with southern Nigeria, this work argues that African contributions in the efforts of US philanthropic organizations were beyond African participation: African efforts were pivotal, as they shaped the outcome of the Rockefeller Foundation with southern Nigeria.