The Social Science Academy of Nigeria (SSAN) has faulted the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, for recently claiming that Nigeria has produced too many social science graduates.
The association insisted that social science disciplines are vital to addressing the country’s deep-rooted economic, political, and social challenges.
The Minister, had while presenting provisional licences to 11 newly approved private universities in Abuja on April 30, 2025, lamented that Nigeria has produced more than enough graduates who studied social science-related courses and have saturated the labour market, urging universities to shift focus to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education.
According to the minister, the country needs problem solvers now, not graduates who will become job seekers in the already saturated labour market.
But President of the SSAN, Professor Chike Okolocha, in a statement, described the Minister’s remarks as “a violent negation of the Universities Autonomy Law” and an example of “anti-intellectualism” by public officials.
He said, “The position of the Minister is not guided by facts. He was silent on the current number of social science graduates in the country and the quantum deemed desirable.
“Nigerians challenged a similar unproven statement on the surplus of medical doctors in Nigeria by Dr. Chris Ngige, former Minister of Labour. We verily believe that Dr. Alausa’s statement does not reflect public policy.
“Social sciences were birthed out of the quest and intellectual introspection to find solutions to the social problems that arose from the Industrial, American and French Revolutions and latterly, World War I and II. In the 21st century, these social problems have multiplied by leaps and bounds.
“Nigeria is currently in the throes of poverty, social and political exclusion, economic downturn, underdevelopment and unwieldy dependency, insurgency, terrorism, ethnic irredentism, gender exclusion and social inequality, crime and delinquency and violence, illegal migration and human trafficking, over-urbanisation and rural decay, agricultural atavism, religious intolerance, insecurity and instability among others.
“The social sciences were created to tackle these difficulties. Indeed, the subject matter of the social sciences and humanities are the foundation of societal development.
“We therefore require more social scientists, not less. A nation that has no social scientific and humanistic enquiries into its values, structures, political and socio-economic relations cannot achieve sustainable development and security.”
Citing leading Nigerian figures such as Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, and top bankers Jim Ovia and Tony Elumelu, who all studied social science disciplines, SSAN argued that Nigeria’s most successful entrepreneurs and public administrators are products of social science education.
SSAN also said the problem is not the number of social science graduates, but the persistent failure of the government to invest in quality education and create meaningful job opportunities.
He said, “While SSAN agrees that Nigeria should produce more graduates in the (pure) sciences, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEM), this cannot be exclusive of the social sciences and humanities.”
