The Chief of Policy and Plans, Army, Lt.-Gen. Lamidi Adeosun, has charged senior officers of security agencies to strive to proffer knowledge-based solution to the nation’s security challenges.
Adeosun made the call on Wednesday in Abuja at the ceremony for participants of Strategic Management and Policy Studies Course 3/2020 of the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC).
He said that the course was conceived and developed as part of the mandate of NARC to proffer research-based study to the defence and security challenges facing the nation.
Adeosun said that human resource development was required to effectively achieve the broad mandates given to the centre, hence the need to broaden the study module of the centre.
He said that as strategic leaders, knowledge was crucial to their activities, urging them to strive to learn as no knowledge can be lost.
According to him, critical thinking and emotional intelligence packages have been included into the strategic management component of the course because of their importance to strategic leadership.
“However, emphasis is not only on the academic aspect as other factors were considered given the peculiar target audience which is the entire security architecture of the country.
“Thus, security which in itself has expanded beyond the old synthetic dimension to now cover all human endaevours is a major factor in this course.
“The programme is therefore designed to examine security through other lenses rather than the pure kinetic engagements which most of the participants are used to.
“Consequently, factors like food security, physical security and employment amongst others are given adequate attention.
“This is not done in isolation but we always commence with theoretical examination of policy formulation, interpretation and management which is referred to as grand strategy in some quarters particularly the military,’’ he said.
The Director-General, NARC, Maj.-Gen. Abdulwahab Garba (Rtd), said the course was essentially aimed at looking at security from another perspectives other than the usual kinetic angle.
Garba disclosed that the centre had made effort to get across to different parts of the world with a view to bridging the gaps in the security architecture of the nation.
He said the review of course 2 had led to increment in what was being undertaken in course 3, adding that senior officers from various services had been brought together to share knowledge.
Garba said the current course had 22 participants including five women from Nigeria Army, Navy, Air Force, Defence Intelligence Agency, Federal Road Safety Corps and Nigerian Customs Service among others.
According to him, the course 3 has five participants from the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) as against one in the last course and for the first time, Nigerian Customs Service is participating.
“These are practitioners in the defence and security architecture of Nigeria who are here to know themselves. It will go a long way in blocking the identified gaps in the defence and security of the country,’’ he said. (NAN)
