The Nigerian Ambassador to Benin Republic, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd), has said that putting innovative think-tank in place would aid national development in the country.
He said this at the ground breaking ceremony of Tukur Buratai Research Centre, (TBRC) in Keffi, Nasarawa State.
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The former Chief of Army Staff said the centre would fill the vacuum in the area of research and policy development, especially in the areas of security and defence, peace, conflict management, climate change, leadership and development.
Buratai explained that his passion for human capital development was borne out of his genuine desire to give back to the system and contribute his own quota.
According to him, “My simple philosophy about life is to continue to live a life of value by improving on the system that we have, and as someone coming from the military, I reckoned that the best way for me and my associates to add value to our society and make our country better and stronger is through a think-tank like this center christened Tukur Buratai Research Centre.”
“I believe that there exists a gap in our polity that TBRC as a think-tank can fill through research and policy development especially in the areas of security and defence, peace, conflict management, climate change, leadership and development,” he said.
Buratai said there can be no real development without security and peace. He said there must be economic opportunities, equity and justice for security and peace to exist which will in turn serves as the foundation of development.
He said the center would devote attention to the interplay between these critical factors taking cognisance of the environment and the peculiarities with a view to coming up with policies that can help the government.
Buratai said, “Increased productivity, improved socioeconomic well-being, increased income, infrastructure development, job creation, and improved quality of local produce for both domestic and international markets remain the hallmarks of a well-thought-out research initiative and development agenda by a prosperous nation led by a visionary/corrupt-free leader.
“The anticipated benefits of a functional research and development program include training people with the necessary capacity to conduct economic tasks with an appreciable degree of skill, hence achieving maximum production.
“This is why research centres and think-tanks like TBRC are critical to success of every leader. There is no gainsaying the fact that leadership without well-informed and fool proofed policies will lack clear vision and direction. This is the major cause of setbacks in most African nations.”
