Curriculum

At the heart of the Citadel School of Government is a dynamic curriculum designed to prepare public leaders for real-world governance challenges. Drawing from a foundational pool of 12 courses and 120 modules, we customise and adapt each programme in collaboration with key institutional partners to address the leadership and administrative needs of emerging and established public servants.

Advanced Diploma in Public Leadership and Statecraft

The curriculum for the Advanced Diploma in Public Leadership and Statecraft has been jointly developed by the Citadel School of Government and the University of Lagos Business School (ULBS). It offers a strategic blend of foundational theory, applied knowledge, and leadership practice across twelve comprehensive courses:

1. Principles of Public Leadership – Examining the essential qualities, styles, and behaviours of effective leadership in public service.
2. Governance and Statecraft – Exploring the architecture of modern governance, state functionality, and nation-building processes.
3. Public Policy Design and Analysis – Equipping participants with frameworks for crafting, analysing, and evaluating impactful policy solutions.
4. Ethics and Accountability in Governance – Addressing integrity, transparency, and ethical responsibility as pillars of effective leadership.
5. Strategic Management in the Public Sector – Introducing tools for organisational planning, performance optimisation, and institutional reform.
6. Political Economy and Development – Unpacking the relationship between political systems, economic choices, and national development.
7. Security, Diplomacy and National Interest – Offering insights into the interplay between domestic security, foreign policy, and global engagement.
8. Digital Governance and E-Government – Preparing leaders for the evolving digital demands of governance, public service delivery, and citizen engagement.
9. Electives – Participants choose from relevant modules such as:
   • Party Politics and Election Management
   • Civic and Social Enterprise
   • Leadership in Crisis and Emergency Management
   • Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding
10. Constitutionalism and Rule of Law – Focusing on legal principles, constitutional order, and democratic accountability.
11. Capstone Leadership Project / Practicum – A culminating project that applies learning to real-world policy, political, public management or administrative challenges.
12. Seminar Series – Public dialogues, masterclasses, peer learnings and fireside chats facilitated by top-rated resource persons drawn from our rich pool of Local and International Facilitators and Trainers (LIFT) and our Senior and Outstanding Academic Resources (SOAR). These guest engagement sessions reinforce core concepts and introduce cutting-edge leadership thought.

This intensive, practice-based curriculum supports participants in gaining technical, political, and administrative competencies across seven spheres of governance: public policy entrepreneurship, public administration, legislative governance, partisan politics, civic leadership, corporate governance, and social enterprise.

Curricula for Certificate Programmes

Our certificate courses are designed using tailored and modular curricula built on the same foundational course pool. Each programme is developed through rigorous needs assessments to ensure relevance to the realities and challenges of public institutions and leadership roles.

These curricula are developed in collaboration with institutions such as the University of Lagos Business School, and delivered through both institutional partnerships and individual enrolment pathways.

Programmes are designed as solution laboratories, where participants work through real governance challenges with the support of expert facilitators, practitioners, and peer collaboration. The structure enables officials and executives to not only gain insight but implement measurable impact within their jurisdictions or organisations.

Each certificate curriculum is constructed to:

• Respond to the functional challenges public leaders face in their portfolios.
• Offer bespoke content that varies across sectors and institutional types.
• Blend conceptual instruction with practical applications and case-based learning.

Whether you’re a local government executive, a senior civil servant, or a private sector leader looking to transition into governance, our curricular model ensures that you leave not just informed—but equipped.