Why Nigeria’s defence policy needs think tanks’ expertise – Ikomi

Strategic think tanks and the intelligentsia must be more deeply integrated into Nigeria’s defence policymaking process to navigate the country’s increasingly complex security challenges.

This was the core argument made by strategic studies expert Esther Terwase Ikomi during her presentation at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) in Abuja.

She presented 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 the Leadership and Strategic Studies Course 4/25.

The participants comprised one Brigadier General, 32 Colonels and 11 Lieutenant Colonels.

Ikomi said Nigeria’s inability to translate strategic research and knowledge into policy decisions has weakened the country’s capacity to respond to emerging security threats and to build sustainable national development.

She identified the widening gap between research and policymaking, as well as weak coordination among relevant institutions, as major impediments to effective defence policy formulation.

According to her, Nigeria needs to move beyond producing strategic research to creating institutional mechanisms that ensure such knowledge directly informs national security and defence decisions.

Ikomi proposed institutionalising a Formalised National Security Research-Policy Liaison Framework as the most feasible mechanism for closing the gap.

She also recommended establishing regional Strategic Intelligence-Policy Hubs and a National Security Foresight Hub to improve intelligence analysis, anticipate emerging threats, and provide policymakers with timely evidence for decision-making.

To further strengthen the process, she introduced the Defence Knowledge-to-Policy Model, which she described as a practical framework for translating strategic knowledge into actionable defence policies.

The model, she said, would promote evidence-based decision-making, improve institutional coordination and enhance Nigeria’s strategic advantage in an increasingly unpredictable security environment.

She urged stronger collaboration between strategic research institutions and government agencies, arguing that a well-connected knowledge ecosystem would enable Nigeria to anticipate security threats rather than merely react to them.