Olaopa urges political scientists to embrace real-world relevance
The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Prof. Tunji Olaopa, has called on political science scholars to make their discipline more responsive to the realities and challenges of contemporary society.
Olaopa made the call on Wednesday while chairing the opening ceremony of the 35th Conference of the Nigerian Political Science Association (NPSA) at the University of Ibadan. The conference continues on Thursday.
According to Olaopa, there is an urgent need to rebrand political science scholarship in ways that make it more public-facing, accessible and relevant to politicians, policymakers and other stakeholders.
He said such efforts must go beyond the traditional town-and-gown relationship and foster deeper collaborations that enable the co-production of political and policy knowledge.
“Such synergy enables the political science community to engage in collaborations 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 discipline’s status, direction, relevance and legitimacy,” he said.
Speaking on the need to adapt political science curricula and teaching methods to emerging realities such as artificial intelligence (AI), Olaopa noted that AI is increasingly reshaping research, pedagogy and the practical application of scholarly work.
“AI today is increasingly challenging the way we conceive research, pedagogy and the implications of research for praxis. There is also the challenge of ensuring that political science education enables students and graduates to transition effectively from theoretical instruction to work-integrated learning,” he said.
He argued that political science curricula should incorporate practical and real-world skills that would better prepare graduates for careers in public service, non-governmental organisations, think tanks, political consulting and the private sector.
