Visit of Delegation from the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Nigeria

Report on the Visit of Delegation from the National Institute for 
Policy and Strategic Studies, Nigeria to USI on 08 Jun 2015

Introduction

A 14 member delegation from the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Nigeria visited USI on 08 Jun 2015.  The delegation led by Cdre (NN) MS Garba, mni, Directing Staff comprised Captain (NN) Ayo Olugbode, MSS, psc, Defence Adviser and 11 participants of Senior Executive Course No. 37, 2015 of Study Group Three on Foreign Study Tour of India. The leader of the Nigerian delegation said that the study group was on a learning mission as Nigeria had a lot to learn from the constructive role played by the Indian Armed Forces since its Independence in 1947. Two presentations were given to the visiting delegation, followed by a detailed interactive session, as under :-

(a)  Indian Armed Forces Contribution to National Human Capacity Development : Training and Infrastructure            by Lt Gen PK Singh, PVSM, AVSM (Retd), Director USI.

(b)  Transnational Terrorist Threat : Issues and Prospects by Dr Adil Rashid, Senior Research Fellow at USI.

Welcome Remarks by Director USI

Lt Gen PK Singh, PVSM, AVSM (Retd), Director USI welcomed the delegation and briefly covered the history, organisation and activities of USI. He highlighted the expertise that the USI had developed in Net Assessment, strategic gaming and simulation.

Presentation by Director, USI

The presentation by Lt Gen PK Singh on “Indian Armed Forces Contribution to National Human Capacity Development : Training and Infrastructure”  focussed on the Indian Army’s role in nation building.  He highlighted the following issues in his presentation :-

(a)  Recruitment, training policy and methodology to achieve bonding  of soldiers who join the Army with multi-ethnic and multi-religious backgrounds.

(b)  Training ethos to enhance professional competence.

(c)  Welfare activities to maintain harmonious relations and high morale.

(d)  Functioning of Army Welfare Education Society (AWES) to meet the special needs of soldiers’ families and children due to peculiar service conditions.

(e)  Directorate General Resettlement’s contribution towards resettlement of approximately 70,000 servicemen retiring annually.

(f)   Promotion of sports and adventure activities to achieve all round excellence

Presentation by Dr Adil Rashid, Senior Research Fellow at USI

Dr Adil Rashid commenced his presentation on ‘Transnational Terrorist Threat : Issue and Prospects’ by stressing that Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda were akin to a malicious idea which had the potential of becoming ‘highly contagious and very difficult to eradicate from the mind’. He covered concepts, characteristics, methodology and clandestine agenda of the extremist Islamic organisations across the world.  He explained various phases of the Global Jihadist Movement as enunciated in the book “The Second Generation of Al-Qaeda” by Fouad Hussein in which Jihadi masterminds discuss the establishment of a Global Caliphate by 2020.

Dr Rashid concluded his presentation by stressing that the Jihadist literature and terrorist discourse had been developed to ensnare young and impressionable minds into the fold of Islamic terrorism. The counter to this extremist ideology had to come from within Islam by developing a coherent and strong counter narrative based on true tenets of Islam. He stressed that the Jihadi narrative did not represent true Islam and its values.

Interactive Session

The main points discussed during the interactive session are given below :-

(a)     Funding and beneficiaries of the research work carried out by USI.

(b)     The procedure for commissioning of research work and guidance of scholars.

(c)      Safety and security in academic institutions.

(d)     Healthcare for the ex-servicemen.

(e)      Protection of the Country’s youth from being influenced by extremist ideology, especially the use of social media.

(f)      Winning the battle for hearts and minds of the people as part of counter insurgency operations.    

(g)     The role, funding and functioning of various educational institutions run by the Armed Forces.  

Remarks by Cdre MS Garba, mni, Leader of the NIPSS, Nigeria Delegation

After the interactive session, the leader of the Nigerian delegation Cdre MS Garba, mni, shared his observations and ‘the way forward’ for the two Institutions. Thereafter, he requested Dr Adamu Noma, one of the participants of the Study Group to move the Vote of Thanks on behalf of the NIPSS, Nigeria.

Vote of Thanks

Dr Adamu Noma said that the Nigerian delegation’s interaction with the USI was a good learning experience. The delegation felt honoured and was very appreciative of the two excellent presentations. They had gained many useful inputs for their study and these would surely find a place in their report which would be prepared for the President.

Conclusion

Cdre (NN) MS Garba, mni, leader of the NIPSS, Nigerian delegation thanked the USI for organising their visit and the excellent presentations.

        Lt Gen PK Singh, PVSM, AVSM (Retd), Director USI thanked the delegation for their visit to the USI and hoped that such interactions would continue in the future too. The visit ended with presentation of Mementoes by Lt Gen PK Singh to NIPSS, Nigeria and by Cdre MS Garba to USI.  Two copies of the latest Issue of the USI Journal were also presented to the visiting delegation.

Report compiled by Lt Col BS Varma, Assistant Director at USI.