Olaopa Calls on Scholars to Align Political Science with Contemporary Realities

The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Prof. Tunji Olaopa, called on political science scholars to align their work with the challenges of contemporary life.

Olaopa addressed the opening ceremony of the 35th Conference of the Nigerian Political Science Association (NPSA) at the University of Ibadan on Wednesday, with the conference continuing tomorrow.

Key attendees included Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Kayode O. Adebowale, who declared the conference open; NPSA President, Prof. Hassan A. Saliu, who delivered the state‑of‑the‑nation address; Professor Emeriti John Ayoade and Bayo Adekanye; Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof. Benjamin O. Ehigie; Head of the Department of Political Science, Prof. D. A. Yagboyaju, who gave the welcome address; Director‑General of the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Prof. Taiye Okoisi‑Simbine; and Professors Bayo Okunade and Remi Aiyede.

Olaopa said the discipline must be rebranded urgently so that its scholarship is more public‑facing and accessible to politicians, policymakers and other stakeholders. He stressed that this should go beyond traditional town‑and‑gown links to include deeper, critical collaborations that co‑produce political and policy knowledge.

“Such synergy enables the political science community to collaborate with civil society organisations, grassroots movements, NGOs and other non‑state actors in designing research frameworks and curriculum content for a shared understanding of the status and direction that give the discipline relevance and legitimacy,” he said.

Highlighting the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the field, Olaopa noted that AI is reshaping research, pedagogy and the practical implications of scholarship. He urged the curriculum to help students transition from theory to work‑integrated learning.

He argued that the current curriculum must embed applied, real‑world skills that prepare graduates for public service, NGOs, think tanks, political consulting and the private sector. Innovations such as internships, scenario‑based teaching, model and multidisciplinary case studies, and service‑learning would provide students with hands‑on experience, mentorship and exposure to workplace dynamics.

“These are the critical challenges that NPSA will have to mediate as a gatekeeper in the long drive toward making the discipline more relevant and accessible for understanding and mediating the postcolonial predicaments of the Nigerian state,” he said.

Olaopa recalled his 2015 address at the same venue, where he criticized the state of the discipline. He said that since then, the association has made commendable progress in repositioning and strengthening itself with enduring legacy initiatives.

He called for the discipline’s leaders to rethink the profession to prepare it for future generations of political scientists, thereby strengthening its frontiers and readiness to provide expert guidance on the challenges facing the postcolonial Nigerian state.

He warned that political science must rescue itself from theoretical preoccupations and detachment from modern realities, where people face poverty, insecurity and unemployment. “The fear expressed by well‑meaning critics that political science is mired in silo mentality and ivory‑tower isolation is real and incontestable,” he said. “This is compounded by hyper‑specialization that alienates the discipline from the politics that affect millions of ordinary Nigerians.”

He added that Nigerians often do not engage with sophisticated methodological concepts such as retrospective voting, measurement error, game theory, computational political analysis, political polarization, ideal types, motivated reasoning, policy diffusion, framing, prosocial behaviour, protectionism, transitional justice, and others. “The more sophisticated our methodology becomes, the wider the relevance and expectation gaps,” he warned. “These gaps hinder transdisciplinarity and the discipline’s capacity to contribute positively and critically to governance and public policy.”

Olaopa praised the conference theme, “26 Years of Democracy in Nigeria: Reflections on Praxis and Challenges,” noting that the trajectory of democratic governance from 1999 to the present requires continuous reflection from all quarters, especially the NPSA.

He said the theme was fitting because the NPSA is a unique stakeholder that brings together communities of practice and service dedicated to deep political reflection on the Nigerian state.

On reflecting on democratic practice in Nigeria since 1999, Olaopa asked, “What is the cogent foundation around which democratic governance can be consolidated in a plural state like Nigeria?” He said that understanding this requires a clear path toward a national consciousness of the type of nation Nigeria can and should be. “In charting that path, there is a need for politicians and political scientists to form a community of thinkers who understand what a political community like Nigeria requires to progress on its national ideals,” he said. “The agenda to deliver this construct is extremely fundamental, and I frame it around a simple question: what ideological basis ought to form the foundation of the type of politics that the Nigerian political class deploys for governance purposes?” He added that this question is crucial as Nigeria prepares for the 2027 general elections.