The University of Lagos (UniLag) has appointed Maryam Omolara Quadri as a professor at the Department of Political Science. With this appointment, the scholar emerges the first female professor of Political Science in the institution’s 63-year-old history.

Quadri holds a Doctorate Degree in Political Science with specialisation in Public Administration and Public Policy. She commenced her career at the University of Lagos in 2002 as an Assistant Lecturer. Through the years, she has served as the Coordinator of the Master of Public and International Affairs (MPIA) programme (2015-2017), Coordinator of the Master of Research and Public Policy (MRPP) programme (2017-2019) and Coordinator of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) programme (2019-2021). In 2024, she assumed office as the Acting Head, Department of Political Science, representing the first female academic to head the department in any capacity.

Between 2020 and 2022, Quadri worked as the Coordinator of the South-west Region of Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows Alumni Association, Nigeria (COSFAN) as the South-west Coordinator, and served as the Secretary-General of COSFAN from April 2023 to April 2025.

Also, she served as a member of the Curriculum Development Team for The Electoral Institute (an arm of the National Independent Electoral Commission) and participated in many of the trainings and workshops organised by the Institute from 2013 to 2016.

Quadri was a Visiting Scholar to the Department of Political Science and International Affairs, Kennesaw State University, Atlanta Georgia, United States in 2011. She was a Commonwealth Professional Fellow at Roehampton University, United Kingdom in 2012, and Fellow of the American Political Science Association (APSA) Africa Workshop at Maputo, Mozambique in 2014. She is currently an associate member of the Institute of African and Diaspora Studies (IADS), University of Lagos.

Quadri’s research focus is on public policy, gender and development studies. She has participated in several research activities including working as Field Manager in the Lagos Metropolitan Development Project – Baseline Household Service Delivery Survey for the Lagos State Government and World Bank, South-West Zonal Coordinator of the National Perception Survey on Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Campaign, among others.