Olaopa advocates leadership reform for national development at UI lecture
The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Prof. Tunji Olaopa, has emphasized the need for a redefined leadership approach to drive national transformation in Nigeria. Speaking at the University of Ibadan’s Department of Political Science on Wednesday, he provided insights into leadership theories while celebrating the 70th birthday of Prof. Adebayo Okunade, a distinguished political scientist.
Delivering a lecture titled “Is Leadership Sufficient for National Transformation in Nigeria? (Bayo Okunade, Leadership Question and Political Science Scholarship at Ibadan),” Olaopa critically examined Okunade’s perspectives on leadership, democracy, and national development. He acknowledged Okunade as a mentor who influenced his academic and professional journey but challenged some of his assertions on leadership as the singular force for societal change.
Olaopa argued that Okunade’s theory places excessive expectations on political leaders as sole change agents. He referenced Okunade’s analysis of global and Nigerian leaders, including Tony Blair, George Bush, Olusegun Obasanjo, and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, asserting that such an approach undermines the interplay between leadership, social change, and infrastructural development. “Indeed, it puts 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,” he stated.
According to Olaopa, Nigeria’s political structure often produces compromised leaders who must navigate a system of elite consensus, prebendalism, and neopatrimonialism. He highlighted how this political sociology affects governance, making it difficult for leaders to implement inclusive and sustainable development policies. “The character of the political class further compounds the dynamic, making the chances of a patriotic and inclusive developmental social formation problematic,” he explained.
Proposing an alternative framework, Olaopa introduced the change space model of leadership, which emphasizes distributed leadership and institutional adaptability. He explained that change occurs when leaders work within a structured framework of authority, accountability, and resource mobilization. This model, he argued, shifts leadership away from the “strongman” approach toward a more collaborative, problem-solving strategy that integrates various stakeholders in governance.
Within this framework, political leadership is expected to build coalitions, assemble competent teams, and create an enabling environment for transformational change. “This change space model helps us move away from the idea of a leader as a strongman with singular capacity to get things done, to catalyzing the dynamics of the development process sufficiently to achieve desired national transformation,” Olaopa said. He emphasized that leadership is a shared responsibility, requiring a multi-level approach that engages political, social, and technocratic actors.
Reflecting on Okunade’s scholarly contributions, Olaopa underscored the need for deeper conversations on leadership and governance. He stressed that political leadership should not be isolated from broader governance contexts and must be assessed based on its ability to influence, inspire, and empower others toward collective progress. He referenced the transformational leadership concept, which promotes shared responsibility between leaders and followers to achieve national goals.
In conclusion, Olaopa lauded Okunade’s intellectual legacy, situating him within the lineage of distinguished Nigerian political scientists. He called on younger scholars to engage critically with leadership theories, refining existing models to address Nigeria’s unique governance challenges. “Prof. Okunade’s body of scholarly works remains a testament to a remarkably erudite mind, offering critical observations and empirical insights into Nigeria’s leadership and governance processes,” he remarked.
