Overview

I count it a great privilege and it is with gratitude to the Almighty God to usher you into the Department of Political Science and International Relations of Covenant University. This compendium no doubt, represents a window to assess not only what we stand for as a Department, but also to appraise all our programmes and faculty.

The Department has witnessed interesting transitions in the last 10 years. It started at the commencement of the University in 2002, as Department of Strategic Studies. In the 2005/06 academic session, it metamorphosed into the Department of Policy and Strategic Studies. In the 2007/08 academic session however, the Department split into two, namely, Political Science, and International Relations/Strategic Studies. This was to however again change a year later, for in the 2008/2009 academic session, the two Departments were remerged and became what is currently known as the Department of Political Science and International Relations.

The pioneer Head of Department, Dr John A. Ayam, chaired the Department from 2002 to 2005, when Professor Olusola Ojo took over as Chair. In 2006, Professor Mathew Ola-Rotimi Ajayi, now Vice Chancellor of Lnadmark University, was in the saddle until 2008 when Professors Daniel Omoweh and Olusola Ojo were appointed to head the newly created Departments of International Relations/Strategic Studies and Political Science respectively. Following the merger of 2009, Professor Mathew Ola-Rotimi Ajayi was reappointed as Head of Department. Professor Kayode Soremekun took over as Chair (Head of Department) in 2010 to 2012, and by October 2012, Dr. Sheriff F. Folarin emerged as the Head of Department and has since commenced an era he has defined as that of “Visibility, Relevance and Distinction” for the Department.

The Department of PSIR (acronyms for the full name) began with a student population of twenty and six academic staff. Today, the picture has changed with over 400 students spread across the programmes of Political Science, International Relations, and Policy and Strategic Studies. The three programmes have earned full accreditation of the National Universities Commission (NUC), with Policy and Strategic Studies being the first to have such status.

In the same vein, the academic staff strength has improved tremendously. It rose from 6 at inception to 21 as of now. These include two Professors, two Senior Lecturers, two Lecturers I, two Lecturers II, twelve Assistant Lecturers and three Graduate Assistants. Also on the list of faculty are one Associate Professor and three Associate Lecturers.

The Department currently offers three different Bachelor of Science Degree programmes namely:

1. B Sc. International Relations
2. B Sc. Political Science
3. B Sc. Policy and Strategic Studies

The Political Science Degree Programme offers courses in key areas of political economy, public administration, comparative politics, federalism, Nigerian politics and civil-military relations, among several others.

In International Relations, such courses as Theories of International Relations, International Economic Relations, Theories of War and Peace, International Peace-Keeping, Nigerian Foreign Policy, International Institutions, Political Economy, and Public Policy Analysis, are offered. For Policy and Strategic Studies, the modules are centred on core issues of Leadership, Governance, Ethics, Management, Accountability and Development. The Programme also addresses the key areas of war, conflicts and global terrorism.

Indeed, we are glad to be part of the global mandate of Covenant University, which has been to inspire the world in which we live through qualitative and quantitative addition to the pool of much needed manpower that will bring our society to enviable heights.

We welcome you as you partner with the leadership, faculty, staff and students of the Department towards making our dream a reality.

Justification

The Programmes in the Department are designed to give students a firm academic and professional grasp in their area of study, and to afford them a broad intellectual background in their discipline. These areas of academic discipline will go a long way in equipping the students to scientifically appraise problems affecting society as well as offer appropriate solutions to them.