IT is unthinkable that any one individual will go through a 10-month course and not pick up vital lessons that will guide him/her not only on the job but in life generally, so as to be a more productive citizen.

Besides the courses of instruction, seminars and excursions, every participant is required to submit a well-researched thesis, as a condition for the award of the certificate of graduation. The list of projects written since 1979 is available on the website of the alumni association, www.aani.org.

It is a treasure trove of information and ideas, and is freely available to those who are keen on advancing the fortunes of our society.

The research studies of members of the Alumni Association led to the following policy initiatives:

Creation of States                                      –               S. O Adesuyi (SEC2 /1980)
Establishment of NDLEA        –               Brig. A Rimi and CP Emuren  (SEC3/1981)
Establishment of  Culture Ministry                                                 –               S. Olusola (SEC4/1982)

Establishment of DFFRI                           –               M. C. Abubakar (SEC4/1982)
Establishment of OMPADEC                –               F. D. Ikegwuani (SEC5/1983)
Establishment of FRSC                            –               CP A. R. Laleye (SEC6/1984)
Establishment of Ministry of  Women Affairs –        Mrs. A. Taire (SEC9/1987)

Establishment of FEPA –          B. Abdullahi (SEC6/1984) and Girei (SEC8/1986)
Also, the concluding seminars of SEC28/2006 and SEC30/2008 presented to the Presidency proffered solutions to resource control and development of the Niger Delta.  In fact, the concluding seminars of SEC32/2010 presented to the President in November 2010 is a first class thesis whose implementation will clear the augean stable in our polity.

It is in furtherance of the goals of the Institute that AANI itself was formed so that, participants do not simply graduate and disperse to their various posts and stations.   We opted to create a forum that serves principally as a think tank for both the Federal and state governments in Nigeria.

This is in addition to contributing objectively to national discourse on the positive development of Nigeria as well as proffering appropriate recommendations and implementation strategies to the government.

Considering the quantum of investment in their training, it is also incumbent on government, at whatever level, to seek to tap into the rich experience and talent of graduates of the Institute. AANI is in the process of setting up a research and development centre in Abuja , which will ultimately serve as a NIPSS satellite resource centre, providing access to the vast resources and intellectual output at Kuru. We are also planning an AANI Strategy Centre in Lagos , along with AANI Policy Centre in Port Harcourt .

However, not all of our activities are publicized. But a few months ago, while responding to the unacceptable climb in the rate and incidence of kidnapping across the country, AANI in conjunction with the Nigeria Police organized a one-day brain storming session at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, at which strategies were formulated, some of which have begun to yield results as gangs of kidnappers are smashed in various locations, even though challenges remain. Interestingly, among the participants at that session were members of the police high command, who had attended the SEC programme sometime in their career.

If their careers had been interred at NIPSS, as Hardball suggests the Institute has become, they could hardly have been around to make useful contributions to ideas for the enhancement of our collective security.