Poor scholarship, over reliance on artificial intelligence generated content, and misplaced publishing priorities are among the key reasons academic papers by Nigerian scholars fail to meet international standards, a University of Edinburgh lecturer has warned.
Dr. Akin Iwilade, a Nigerian born senior lecturer and associate professor of African Studies at the School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, delivered the caution while speaking on the topic "What editors and book reviewers want from scholars" at a two day scholarship review paper workshop held at the University of Port Harcourt. The event was organised under the African University Seminar Series (AUSS Nigeria) and sponsored by the Social Sciences Research Council (SSRC) and the African Peacebuilding and Development Dynamics initiative.
Iwilade emphasised that sound scholarship remains the foundation of credible academic writing and publishing, describing publication as the final stage of an extensive research process. He cautioned academics against using artificial intelligence generated content or newspaper sources, warned against exaggerated claims in interview based research, and urged scholars to collect original empirical data while adhering to ethical research standards.
He further advised academics to build long term expertise in specific areas, noting that this deepens research quality and simplifies the process of selecting suitable journals for publication. On publishing priorities, Iwilade was direct, stating that "if your approach is wanting to publish in highly rated journals, you have already missed the point; the approach should be, how do I do good scholarship, and publishing in those supposedly highly rated journals is actually the end of good scholarship. If you do good scholarship, publishing in the desired highly rated journals will not be a problem."
The Programme Director of SSRC's African Peacebuilding and Developmental Dynamics (APDD), Dr. Cyril Obi, noted that the APDD and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa programmes have provided 840 fellowship awards to outstanding scholars and practitioners based in African universities and institutions, contributing to the professional development of Africa based scholars and supporting high quality, globally visible research.
Dr. Jimam Tilar from the University of Jos, a member of the local organising committee, noted that the workshop built on an earlier training session on writing and publishing techniques held in Abuja, adding that the focus on conflict in Nigeria was deliberate because "conflict is a major issue in society, so in diving into the topic, it has to focus on problem solving, peace building, rather than dwelling on the known facts of conflicts in the country."
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Professor Qwunari George, urged participants to focus on the training and learn from experts who are already ahead of them, noting that writing holds immense power to inform, inspire, educate and transform lives.
