Nigeria needs stronger institutional links between strategic think tanks, researchers and defence policymakers to improve evidence-based decision-making and strengthen national security policy.
The Deputy Director, Policy Planning and Coordination at the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Mrs Esther Terwase Ikomi, made the submission while presenting a paper titled “The Role of Strategic Think Tanks in Strengthening Defence Policy and National Development: Building Strategic Advantage for Nigeria in an Era of Complex Security Threats” to participants of Leadership and Strategic Studies Course 4/25 at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC), Abuja.
Ikomi identified the disconnect between research and policymaking, alongside weak institutional coordination, as major constraints to effective defence policy development.
She said “Nigeria’s increasingly complex security environment required stronger mechanisms for translating strategic knowledge and research into practical policy decisions.”
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As part of her recommendations, Ikomi called for the institutionalisation of a formal National Security Research-Policy Liaison Framework, supported by regional Strategic Intelligence-Policy Hubs and a National Security Foresight Hub.
She also introduced a Defence Knowledge-to-Policy Model designed to provide a practical pathway for connecting strategic research with defence decision-making, strengthening evidence-based policymaking and improving Nigeria’s strategic advantage.
The presentation formed part of the intellectual component of Leadership and Strategic Studies Course 4/25, which brought together senior military officers and other participants to examine contemporary strategic and security challenges.
The presentation was attended by the Director-General of NARC, Major General JGK Myam (rtd), CFR, members of the Centre’s faculty, invited guests and course participants comprising one Brigadier General, 32 Colonels and 11 Lieutenant Colonels.
