By Elizabeth Osayande

Lagos – James Hope University, Lagos, is pushing a new model of collaboration between academia and government to strengthen public-sector capacity in Nigeria, beginning with an exploratory meeting with the Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy.

The postgraduate-only university, the first of its kind in Lagos State, is proposing capacity-building, joint research, and thought leadership programmes for public servants as a blueprint that could be replicated across the country.

At the meeting held on Tuesday, the university’s President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olu Akinkugbe, said the institution and the ministry share a fundamental mandate despite using different tools.

“We are both in the business of shaping minds. You do it through public communication, media engagement, and strategic messaging. On our part, we do it through advanced experiential and immersive learning, specialised research, and executive development. Different tools, same purpose!” Akinkugbe told officials of the ministry.

Describing Lagos as a $260 billion economy in Purchasing Power Parity terms, accounting for about 30 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP and the fifth-largest economy in Africa, Akinkugbe said the story of the state deserves rigorous, evidence-based documentation.

“Lagos is Africa’s fifth-largest economy. The story of Lagos, its growth, its challenges, its innovations deserves rigorous, evidence-based documentation,” he said.

The Vice-Chancellor, who spoke on behalf of the Founder of the university, Mr Jim Ovia, CFR, CON, said the engagement was at Ovia’s specific instruction, noting that the partnership could become a model for how academia and government work together “not at arm’s length, but shoulder to shoulder.”

Akinkugbe disclosed that James Hope University, which started in late 2023 with a single Executive MBA programme, now runs four other specialised Master’s programmes at its Business School: Finance, FinTech and Analytics, Innovation, Intrapreneurship and Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development and Policy Analysis.

He identified the Economic Development and Policy Analysis programme as a key area for collaboration with the government.

Meanwhile, James Hope University VC presented four proposals to the ministry:

First, capacity building for public communication officers in areas such as Strategic Leadership and Change Management, Data Analytics and Business Intelligence, AI for Business Leaders, and Digital Finance Transformation, including data storytelling and AI-assisted public engagement.

Second, joint research and thought leadership to support policy communication, public perception studies, and economic development narratives, including co-hosted public lectures and policy dialogues.

Third, flexible delivery models accommodate public servants who can not leave their desks for long periods, including on-site training at the university’s Lekki campus, in-ministry faculty deployment, and fully virtual courses.

“We understand that your team cannot afford to be away from their desks for long. So, we have built flexibility into everything we do,” he said.

Fourth, a commitment to generous discounts on executive education programmes for staff of the Lagos State Public Service.

“This is not a marketing or sales pitch. This is our way of contributing to the development of the state that hosts us,” Akinkugbe added.

Responding on behalf of the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Hon. Gbenga Omotoso, the Director of Affairs, Mr Olusegun Ogundeji, commended the university for its distinctive approach and urged it to scale the initiative across the wider public service.

“I love the fact that James Hope University is doing this differently; we want you to ventilate it within the public service,” Ogundeji said, suggesting the university also engage the Ministry of Finance and the State Treasury given its finance-related programmes.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Akinkugbe disclosed that all five postgraduate programmes offered by the university have received full accreditation from the National Universities Commission, NUC, with the MBA and Finance programmes accredited in May and the remaining three in July. He said the Economic Development and Policy Analysis programme scored 98.9 per cent in the exercise.

The exploratory meeting, attended by top management of the university, including Acting University Librarian Dr Dare Shorunke, Acting Bursar Mr Babafemi Olayemi and Registrar Dr Uzomma Achugamonu, marks an initial step towards a potential framework for long-term collaboration between the university and the state government, with implications for public-sector professional development nationwide.