NARC Offers Solutions to National Security Challenges

Linus Aleke in Abuja

The Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) has again expressed its commitment to deepening its research portfolio in order to continue providing solutions to national security challenges.

It aims to achieve this by leveraging academic networking opportunities and expanding the reach of the Centre.

The Centre also assured the public that it will continue to forge strategic partnerships worldwide to enhance research, development and capacity-building initiatives, which will contribute to national growth and development.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Monday to herald its tenth anniversary, the Director General of the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC), retired Major General James Myam, said: “Our role in supporting evidence-based policy formulation for the Nigerian military as well as the nation will continue to grow, as will our dedication to professional excellence and innovation.”

He noted that the Centre’s tenth-anniversary celebration is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 26 November 2025, and that a range of activities has been lined up to mark the occasion.

“In the past ten years, the Centre has recorded notable accomplishments, including extensive research and the publication of authoritative works on terrorism, insurgency, the Niger Delta agitation, religious and ethnic tensions in Nigeria, and other defence and national security matters,” he added.

However, he explained that the Centre’s successes over the past decade have not come without challenges, including the dynamic and evolving nature of security threats, which require critical thinking, extensive research and development, robust stakeholder engagement, continual adaptation and innovation.

“The budgetary constraints arising from the Centre’s status as a non-profit entity, and the need for enhanced partnerships with various national and international institutions, remain areas requiring focused improvement. Nevertheless, drawing from the past decade and looking to the future, the next ten years hold immense promise,” he said.

He continued: “We hold weekly Subject Expert Sessions in which our Senior Research Fellows, Research Fellows and Consultants analyse global events, draw inferences for Nigeria, and make insightful recommendations for policy development on critical issues bedevilling the nation. We also run a Monthly Lecture Series for members and fellows of the Centre on topical national security issues. The outcomes of these lectures are compiled into monographs. So far, 69 Monthly Lecture Series have been held. This is in addition to several conferences, round-table discussions and symposia which have enriched Nigeria’s national security and defence policy formulation.

Additionally, in terms of human-capital development, we run two courses that award Master’s degrees: the Strategic Management and Policy Studies Course, and the Leadership and Strategic Studies Course. Our accomplishments also include the conduct of the Indigenous Languages Course for Nigerian Army personnel, the Leadership Skills Development Course, and the Leadership Awareness Development Course. The Centre also runs several other courses for the military, paramilitary agencies, staff of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, as well as Civil Society Organisations.”

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