Structuring Wicked Problems in Nigeria: The Operations Research Approach

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to unravel the nature of some current problems in Nigeria as being wicked and ill structured. Since such problems are messy in nature, they cannot be handled by traditional research procedures. However, Operations Research offers dynamic models in which such squishy problems can be analyzed to reach satisfactory solutions. It is recommended in this paper that since Operations Research is an interdisciplinary scientific method for providing executives with quantitative basis for decision making; researchers in other fields of study outside mathematics should feel free to cash on this advantage to tackle wicked problems in their various fields.