In the quest for universities to effectively inculcate sound knowledge and proffer perspectives towards meeting the needs of societies the world over, it is commonplace to seek personalities who have attained significant renown in particular fields of intellectual endeavours. Ancient universities like the University of Oxford, established in 1639, or the University of Padua in present day Italy coveted ancient scholarships with distinctive intellectual backgrounds. The ancient institutions that have stuck around are significant not only for their historic legacies, but also for proving their ability to adapt to contemporary contexts, one of which is to attract leading lights in the intelligentsia, and remain relevant in the long run.
This intense competition amongst many universities, who aspire to leave indelible academic legacies for erudite scholarship, situates the recent appointment of Tunji Olaopa as professor of Public Administration by the Senate of the Lead City University, Ibadan. Coming from a robust background in civil service after an earlier stint in the academia, Professor Olaopa holds a lot of prospects for a budding citadel of higher instruction. As a development journalist with keen interest in the reforms-oriented endeavours of the renowned public servant, one could confidently report that Lead City University, indeed, caught a very big fish.
A peep into the exquisite resume of Professor Olaopa illuminates Lead City University’s intelligent catch. The evidently knowledge-seeking individual took a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science from Nigeria’s premier university, the reputable University of Ibadan in 1984. A master’s degree in Political Theory from same university in 1987 had prepared the younger Olaopa for a formidable career in Nigeria’s civil service bureaucracy. He was to crown his academic effort later with a Doctorate in Public Administration from the Commonwealth Open University in the United Kingdom in 2006. One could make bold to say that the academic blend of political theories and practice of public administration was the requisite crucible that churned out the versatility embodied in Tunji Olaopa, and that civil service was the practical context for putting the theories to practice.
As a civil servant with a knack for distinctions, Olaopa was in the league of the Adebos and the Udojis before him; a stellar career which saw the ushering of reforms aimed at improving service delivery and oiling the engine room of governance- the civil service. Earlier on his career path, the scholar-practitioner identified the most crucial challenge facing the Nigerian Civil Service as that of “how to overcome a number of process, capacity, resource, policy and performance gap that support a workforce structure in which too many people do too little, too few people do too much, and too many do nothing. Having diagnosed this immediate challenge, Olaopa conceived his professional pursuit around a question: “If this is not the best that the Nigerian Civil Service can be, how then can it be reformed and transformed, by leveraging world-class benchmarks, for efficiency and effectiveness?” For Olaopa, a civil servant who rose through the ranks to the pinnacle of Nigerian Civil Service, a recalibrated productivity framework in Nigeria would be built on a professional productivity and a reform strategy that should engender structural and behavioural changes across the spectrum of the civil service in Nigeria. Undoubtedly, this is exactly what he set out to do in the lifetime of his career in the federal civil service with commendable results.
Another important milestone in Tunji Olaopa’s insatiable quest for reforms saw the berthing of the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (ISGPP), shortly after his retirement from civil service in 2015. Writing in his popular book, “Reforming the Reformable: Post Retirement Reflections on the Nigerian Civil Service,” he stated that “ISGPP has been conceived to have a strong foundation in theory and practice, the capacity to align governance reality with policy imperatives..”Boasting of an intimidating board which includes the popular polemist, Odia Ofeimum, the renowned Professor Akin Mabogunje and other reputable intellectuals, ISGPP is another standing landmark to the scholar’s preparedness for further strides.
With his acceptance of professorial honours in recognition of his giant strides in expanding the frontiers of knowledge in public administration and institutional leadership in Nigeria by the academic board of the Lead City University, the stage is further set for a more encompassing discourse in the ivory towers by the venerable Tunji Olaopa. He comes to the job prepared with the requisite academic qualifications and numerous academic qualifications, several publications and numerous papers published in journals to his credit.
As Professor Olaopa delivered the 10th Inaugural Lecture of the Lead City University under the title “BIG BAD BUREAUCRACY? REINVENTING THE BUREAUCRACY AS A NEW PUBLIC SERVICE IN NIGERIA,” on November 20, 2018 in the rustic city of Ibadan, the stage sets for further focus on new approaches to public service in Nigeria. This scholar-practitioner would reveal his deep understanding of how to reform an outdated public service mechanism to boost governance effectiveness which is badly needed in present day Nigeria. His convictions that the academic-practitioner model of research should be the basis for the future and continual relevance and external efficiency of university education in Nigeria as panacea for the chasm between graduates’ training and the requirement of the workplace, is a huge perspective to reforms in instructions for higher productivity.
While introducing the inaugural lecturer to the audience, Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Aderemi Adeyomo, attested to the comparative advantages the erudite scholar portends for a university aspiring to higher heights. The lavish dinner that ensued at the International Conference Centre of the Lead City University with a retinue of academics from across Nigeria was a testimony from every indication, that the Inaugural Lecture was a great academic exercise, and that Professor Olaopa has carved a conspicuous niche for himself in intellectual discourse
Abonu is a development journalist and writes from Asokoro, Abuja.
