We Can’t Keep Doing Things The Old Way, Says Galadima, NIPSS DG, As He Signs Strategic MoU

The Director General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Professor Habu Shuaibu Galadima, has said the challenges facing the country and Africa require new and innovative thinking.

Professor Shuaibu made this statement at a virtual ceremony on Wednesday to mark the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between NIPSS; the Dantiye Centre for Good Leadership and Journalism (DCLJ) and the JS Centre for Governance and Security Policy Initiative (CGPSI).

He said, “We must dig deep within ourselves and reach beyond our comfort zones for useful, practical and beneficial solutions.”

Listing the challenges facing the country and the sub-region, he said, “With the insurgency in the Sahel impacting parts of Nigeria and a number of other countries in the region; political tensions, often related to elections; disputes over trade and regional protocols; significant climate changes affecting the largely agrarian economies of the region; not to mention the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and its ramifications for public policy, particularly public health, safety and the economy, the world is indeed going through a period that tasks the creative energy, innovative spirit and imagination of institutions such as NIPSS.”

He said the problems confronting the world also presented unique opportunities, adding that the MoU would provide the framework for the National Institute to seize the opportunities.

Galadima said the focal objective of the MoU is to promote, establish and maintain cooperation and mutual assistance in the provision of training and strategic policy research and advisory support in the field of regional (Africa) and global issues.

He said, “We are confident that this partnership will also assist Nigeria and other countries in the sub-region in the quest to promote collaborative politics; the ECOWAS protocols on good governance; the African Union Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) and the African Union Agenda 2063; the United Nations Agenda 2030; and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

Also present at the signing was the Chairman of the Dantiye Centre, Emeritus Professor Munzali Jibril and the Chairman of the CGPSI, Dr. Jonathan Sandy, represented by Dr. Tony Karbo.

Jibril and Karbo praised the leadership and foresight of NIPSS and expressed confidence that the MoU will open a new frontier in collaborative problem-solving on the continent.

The ceremony was witnessed by senior management of NIPSS; members of the Board of Trustees of the Dantiye Centre; affiliates of the CGPSI from Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Malawi, Kenya, Rwanda, UK, USA and Australia; and members of the AU-Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), Lusaka.

Background on the partners:

• The Dantiye Centre based in Kano, Nigeria, brings to the table some of the most versatile and illustrious experts in public policy and management, including Emeritus Professor Munzali Jibril (Chairman), former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), and former Provost of the Nigerian Defence Academy; and Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman, former Minister of National Planning, who has just been appointed Honorary Economic and Regional Development Adviser to DCLJ, among others.

• The Centre for Governance and Security Policy (CGPSI) with headquarters in Freetown, Sierra Leone, is a regional consortium accredited to the African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council (AU-ECOSOCC) and is headed by Dr. Jonathan Sandy, a former national security adviser in his country and a widely sought-after expert in political and economic governance, stabilization, peace safety, security and leadership.