The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission ( FCSC), Prof. Tunji Olaopa, on Wednesday gave insight into a path that could be taken for national development.

Olaopa spoke at the Department of Political Science, University of Ibadan, during the valedictory lecture and the celebration of the 70th birthday of a Professor of Political Science , Adebayo Okunade. Olaopa spoke on “Is Leadership Sufficient for National Transformation in Nigeria? (Bayo Okunade, Leadership Question and Political Science Scholarship at Ibadan)”.

The celebrant, Prof. Adebayo Okunade, during the occasion.

Prof. Tunji Olaopa having a handshake with  Prof. Adebayo Okunade.

The professor of public administration who paid glowing tribute to Prof. Okunade as his teacher with a profound influence at Olivet Baptist High School and the University of Ibadan also used the occasion to critique his theorisation about leadership, national transformation and his “arbitrary privileging of the democratic administration over other possible regimes.”

To Olaopa , rehabilitating Okunade’s theory of leadership out of what he identified as a certain “quandary” requires first the undermining of the intrinsic assumption in Okunade’s theory, about the leader as a change agent with singular capacity to make people do what is needed.

According to Olaopa, this is evident, in Okunade’s inaugural lecture, from his assessment of leadership activities from Tony Blair and George Bush to Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. To Olaopa, this understanding of political leadership stifles the significance of the relationship between leadership, social change and infrastructural development.

He said: ” Indeed, it puts a lot of over-extended pressure on a political leader in terms of the expectation of magical transformation by a wave of the leader’s wand that turns poverty to prosperity.

“We must therefore ask, legitimately, if this understanding of political leadership is sufficient for national transformation. This question is justified when we take cognisance of Nigeria’s unique political sociology and how it throws up compromised leaders who are forced to play bad politics with the commonwealth to hold on to power.

“There is a one-to-one relationship between this skewed political sociology and the construction of elite nationalism in Nigeria, making elite consensus required to craft the philosophical construct and principles underpinning the Nigeria of the future.

Participants at the event at the University of Ibadan,Oyo State on Wednesday 

“The character of the political class defined by neopatrimonialism and prebendal proclivities further compounds the dynamic making the chances of a patriotic and inclusive development social formation problematic”.

Consequently, Olaopa notes that an alternative articulation of the nature and role of leadership can be found in the change space model of leadership. To him, the change space model is founded on the point that ‘ “organizational and social change emerges when there is acceptance, authority (and accountability) and ability to allow and catalyze ongoing as well as episodic adjustments’ (Andrews et al, 2010: 3). ”

“In other words, the change space is supposed to facilitate the capability of the institutions and systems of government to encounter and engage changes while factoring in contextual pressures and circumstances. Every change requires a leader as change agent who harvests the synergy of a critical mass of other change champions and agents to bring in values such as competences, resources and contexts. One channeled to facilitate genuine and transformational change through a problem-solving approach.

“This change space model of leadership helps us to move away from the idea of a leader as a strong man with singular capacity to get things done, to catalyze the dynamics of the development process sufficiently to achieve desired national transformation.

“With the change space conceptual framework, we are also able to make sense about the relationship between ‘leader’ and ‘leadership’ as the process of influencing and mobilizing ideas, resources and acumen to deliver desired development outcomes. Within the framework of the change space model, the political leadership is given the force required to push for progress within a distributed and multi-level leadership arrangement.

“The leadership is therefore expected to: (a) build coalition for change; (b) assemble a team with sufficient IQ, wisdom and commitment to initiate, implement and deliver the change; and (c) grant required authority, incentive and support, with accountability, to this team of leaders in their own right, so they could achieve optimal productivity, performance and impact, that will deliver the change.This is how I chose to weigh in on the Okunade ‘big challenge’ of political leadership in Nigeria which raises the seminal question of how to get a leader who has the capacity to build and motivate a change space populated by a mixed multitude of political, religious, social, technocratic, bureaucratic, and civil leadership corps.

“It is therefore safe to hypothesize that while a leader is key and critical factor in a nation’s transformation journey, it does not by him or herself alone resolve the myriads of predicaments and problems that bedevil the state and society. A leader as a change agent therefore requires a leadership framework that is distributed and multilevel to be able to engage with the various dynamic and challenges that the state faces”, he said.

According to Olaopa, there is the need to deepen the conversation on leadership to enable stakeholders to appreciate the ” context of mis-governance and how to outline a way out. In thinking about leading and leadership, we must consider it a dependent variable that cannot be isolated from overall governance context.”

Olaopa noted: “Prof. Okunade’s idea aligns with the conventional sense that a leader who will achieve significant transformation will fit into the strong man theory of leadership.The point that I have been making is that every leader is situated within a context of practice, which cannot be personalized nor contextualized all around an individual no matter how charismatic and heroic. The real heroic element derives from the capacity to influence, inspire and empower others – teams and groups – to peak performance. As James McGregor Burns argued, the transformational leadership practice is one in which the leader and followers are united in the collective dynamic of influencing one another to increasingly higher levels of morality and motivation.

“Leadership in the change space is a distributed and shared functionality across teams, networks, groups, coalitions, etc. The issue is therefore not who leads but how leadership occurs in actual strategic actors. In political theory, the developmental state model provides the leverage for example for the leadership to harvest and build internal experts’ capacities with emphasis on meritocracy as the defining principle to elevate the public service bureaucracy to become a part of the game changer coalition.”

To Olaopa, “Prof. Bayo Okunade’s theory of political leadership—a systematic articulation of Chinua Achebe’s diagnosis of the Nigeria problem—unarguably presents a research outline that speaks to the need for more theoretical and practical engagement with the leadership phenomenon in a postcolonial context like Nigeria. This is a significant challenge to the political science scholarship in Nigeria; the challenge of articulating theoretically feasible and nuanced understanding of what ails the Nigerian state, her leaders and leadership and her citizens.

“In celebrating Professor Adebayo Okunade the septuagenarian, we have to situate him fully within a continuum of excellence that has at one end the scholarly genius of Billy Dudley, Essien-Udom, Peter Ekeh, Bayo Adekanye, Tunde Adeniran, John Ayoade, Larry Ekpebu, Alex Gboyega, Fred Onyeoziri, Jimi Adisa, Eghosa Osaghae, Adigun Agbaje, Rotimi Suberu, and the host of other stellar personalities and scholars that lit up the credentials of the Department of Political Science and at the other end the aspiring scholarly enthusiasm of the newer faces that are eager to take up the intellectual torch and run with the gems of political science scholarship.

“The beautiful thing about intellectual continuum is that those who have gone before, and the ‘oldies’ who are still reflecting on the political situations and circumstances of the Nigerian state, have laid down a framework of theoretical argumentations that those coming behind have a responsibility to invalidate, rehabilitate or reinforce in order to keep refreshing our understanding of Nigeria and her political processes and structures. Prof. Bayo Okunade’s body of scholarly works becomes a testament to a remarkably erudite mind that still speaks to us from the trenches of critical observations and empirical researches about Nigeria and what she could still be”.

On Wednesday, March 19th, Professor Toyin Falola, Africa’s most decorated humanity scholar and Nigeria’s most preeminent historian, will inaugurate the Founders’ Day lecture at Atiba University. When contacted, he said he considers it an honor for the privilege the Management of Atiba University, Oyo State, Nigeria, extended to him to deliver a lecture to a team of highly cerebral teachers and students. On March 19, 2025, at 10 a.m. Nigerian Time, Falola will speak on “Rethinking Tertiary Education in Nigeria through Private Universities for Sustainable Development.”

In a paper already released to the media, Falola considers inadequate finance, crammed classes, declining quality, and a widening discrepancy between graduate competency and industry standards as the most significant or major challenges plaguing Nigeria’s public tertiary education ecosystem. Against the backdrop of the faltering inability of public universities to meet the demands for their offerings, he argues that private universities offer a viable alternative or substitute. Private universities provide students with contemporary facilities, a disciplined study atmosphere, and a curriculum tailored to worldwide standards.

In this significant maiden, Falola considers how private universities may support sustainable development through innovation, increased research possibilities, and closing the talent gap, thereby fostering private institutions. He looks at how they may improve access to educational options, fix government institution inefficiencies, and help the economy grow. This major lecture further discusses policy options for enhancing the quality of education given by private universities in Nigeria. He shows how policy actions will guarantee that education is reasonably priced and encourage alliances between the public and commercial sectors to raise educational standards.

He divided his talk into six parts. He briefly overviews the challenges in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector, with private universities emerging as a viable alternative and the importance of aligning higher education with sustainable development. He then moves to Part II, where he examines Nigeria’s state of tertiary education. Here, he looks at the challenges facing tertiary education in Nigeria, such as inadequate government funding and its impact on public universities, overpopulation in public institutions, declining academic quality, and the disconnect between academic curricula and industry demands. In Part III, Falola’s lecture analyzes the role of private universities in addressing these challenges. He considers some selling points of private universities, such as smaller class sizes and better learning environments; investment in modern facilities and technology-driven education; stronger links with industries for practical training and employability; and research and innovation contributions to national development, and how these make private universities a viable alternative to their public university counterparts.

Falola situates private universities within sustainable development, looking at how they contribute to sustainable development by producing graduates with relevant skills for Nigeria’s economy, encouraging entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency, fostering innovation through research and development, and enhancing global competitiveness in education. He offers policy recommendations: the government should support private universities through favorable policies, public-private partnerships to improve access and affordability, strengthening quality assurance and accreditation system, and encouraging investment in research and development. The lecture closes by making a call to action on stakeholders, including government, educators, and investors, while emphasizing the need for a collaborative approach to redefine tertiary education for Nigeria’s sustainable future.

Professor Sunday Olawale Okeniyi, the Vice-Chancellor, has invited all the members of the public to attend the lecture.

Lead City University, Ibadan, is set to host an inaugural memorial lecture in honour of the late renowned scholar and public intellectual, Prof. Ayo Olukotun.

Olukotun, an activist, public intellectual, erudite scholar, accomplished journalist, professor of Political Science, and a dedicated columnist for The PUNCH died on January 4, 2023 at age 69.

The event, scheduled for Tuesday, March 18, 2025, will hold at Adeline Hall within the university’s premises, starting at 10:30 a.m. The lecture, themed “Ayo Olukotun and the Nigerian Nation,” will be delivered by globally acclaimed historian and professor at the University of Texas at Austin, Prof. Toyin Falola.

According to Prof. Falola, “Ayo Olukotun was the voice of our nation. He has repeatedly screamed warnings into the ears of Nigerian leaders and citizens through his pen to rouse the nation from its slumber. The symposium aims to reflect on Olukotun’s intellectual prowess and its impact on nation-building.”

Speaking about the upcoming event, the Vice-Chancellor of Lead City University, Prof. Kabiru Adeyemo, said the lecture was a way to immortalise the legacy of Prof. Olukotun, whose works shaped the discourse around governance, media, and national development in Nigeria.

“Prof. Ayo Olukotun was a towering intellectual whose writings and contributions consistently challenged leadership and society to do better. This memorial lecture is not only to honour his memory but also to inspire a new generation of scholars to follow in his footsteps,” Adeyemo stated.

The Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Olorunnimbe Mamora, a former senator and seasoned public servant, commended Lead City University for hosting the event, describing Olukotun as “a scholar who combined academic brilliance with practical engagement in national discourse.”

The Registrar of Lead City University, Dr. Ayebola Ayeni, emphasised the university’s commitment to intellectual excellence, noting that “the choice of Prof. Toyin Falola as guest lecturer reflects the high intellectual standards the university upholds.”

The Chairperson of the Organising Committee, Dr. Igho Fayomi, encouraged both students and the general public to attend physically or join via Zoom, saying, “This lecture is a valuable opportunity to reflect on the life of a man who left an indelible mark on Nigeria’s intellectual and political space.”