The Deputy Director of the National Agency for the Control of Aids(NACA), Esther Terwase Ikomi, has recommended the institutionalisation of a Formalised National Security Research-Policy Liaison Framework, supported by regional Strategic Intelligence-Policy Hubs and a National Security Foresight Hub.
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.
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.
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She identified the disconnect between research and policymaking, alongside weak institutional coordination, as major constraints to effective defence policy development.
She argued that Nigeria’s increasingly complex security environment requires stronger mechanisms for translating strategic knowledge and research into practical policy decisions.
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.
“Nigeria needs stronger institutional links between strategic think tanks, researchers and defence policymakers to improve evidence-based decision-making and strengthen national security policy.” She said.
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.
