IN NIGERIA, DEMOCRACY SURVIVES INSPITE OF POLITICAL SCIENCE OR BECAUSE OF IT?

I, (Dr. Dayo Oluyemi-Kusa) am a Political Scientist and former Head of Department of Political Science, Lagos State University (LASU), Nigeria. That is why I am particularly delighted about the seeming resuscitation of the Nigeria Political Science Association (NPSA), which has remained comatose for many years!The annual Prof. Billy Dudley lecture is the blue chip event that characterises the 'new' NPSA. The lecture was held on 17th March, 2016. The 2016 lecture was delivered by Prof. Sam Oyovbaire. But the focus of my comment is not the lecture itself, but the closing remark by Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, who asserted that:

The survival of democracy in Nigeria owes much to civil society, trade unions, the mass media (including the 'new' media) and the rise of a consciousness of citizenship among Nigerians.

In his x-ray of the event, Prof. Jibrin Ibrahim, a fellow political scientist (both of us are also Senior Fellows of the Centre for Democracy & Development - CDD, Abuja) said:

Those who have subverted democracy and elections over the decades in Nigeria are not the technicians of political science, but certain widely known individuals who have perfected the knowledge of social anthropology, of rigging and the techniques of electoral fraud (blogs.premiumtimes.com/2016/03/21/17186)

Profs. Gambari and Ibrahim tend to agree that democracy survives inspite of and NOT because of political science and indeed political scientists. I add my voice to theirs. I am hopeful that with the new determination to make NPSA vibrant, we would see more system-relevant political science taught in our Universities, which could translate to political scientists taking their rightful place in the discourse and practice of democracy in Nigeria.

Maybe we need to set up a curriculum review committee for the study and teaching of political science in our Universities via the NPSA in collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC). If the tempo is sustained, could NPSA be the viable mouthpiece for political scientists in Nigeria the way the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) is for lawyers? Could political scientists once again have a 'strong voice' in the polity? Will I see a situation where democracy survives because of political science and political scientists and NOT inspite of them in my lifetime?

14th July, 2016

*Confusion over democracy promotion    https://www.chatamhouse.org/expert/comment/chi...
*Democracy: Some small prints by Hakeem Baba-Ahmed    linkis.com/newsdiaryonline.com/3WfUv
*Modernisation theory & the 3rd wave democracy    http://jonkofas.blogspot.com/2016/05/modernisation-theory-and...
*Revisiting Downs' 'An economic theory of democracy'    http://www.yonkerstribune.com/2016/06/revisiting-nomic-theory-democracy...
*Democracy: America's deadliest export    https://www.linkedin.com/groups/147530/
*Ideological political parties promote democratic ideals    www.standardmedia.co.ke/mobile/article/.../ideological-political-parties...
*African democracy is coming of age    https://t.co/jv2bhZUONK    https://t.co/MVYOd9Z96H
*In praise of the President who offered America 8 dignified years free of sex scandals    http://qz.com/807637/in-praise-of-a-president-who-offered...
*Is democracy bringing prosperity to Africa?    https://issafrica.org/events/is-democracy-bringing...
*The 'failure of state legislatures': A view from Bayelsa    https://t.co/NUmKFYbgRM    https://t.co/s2Wng08xdF
*The 15 warning signs of tyranny    http://www.baltimore
*Sick of American democracy? The US could learn a lot from other countries    www.huffingtonpost.com/.../american-democracy-trump_us_
*Hannah Arendt explains how propaganda uses lies to erode all truth & morality: Insights from the origin of totalitarian open culture    https://t.co/sLojwSIFwg
*Non-violent action: Why & how it works    https://shar.es/10xzqf 

22nd October, 2016

*The link between democracy & economic growth    wef.ch/2dkvuib
*The future of democracy in Africa    https://www.issafrica.org/research/papers/the-future...
*Racism, conservatism & low IQ go hand-in-hand    theintellectualist.co/racism-conservatism-and-low-i-q-go-hand-in-hand...
*That it should come to this    anewscafe.com/2016/10/28/that-it-should-come-to-this/
* The banality of change     http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/opinion/the-banality-of-change
*How to disagree about politics without losing friends    http://www.realsimple.com/health/mind-mood/emotional-healing...
*Hero or tyrant? Cuba's Fidel Castro leaves a mixed legacy    f24.my/2gwRo4r?ns_mchannel...