Major General Ibrahim Garba (Retired) and three others have been awarded Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in Policy and Strategic Studies, Public Governance and Leadership at the Abuja Leadership Centre (ALC), Yakubu Gowon University, formerly the University of Abuja.
According to Professor Philip Dahida, the Director of the Centre, the academic achievements follow the candidates’ successful completion of requirements, including the defense of their theses and dissertation on October 27, 2025.
Other recipients of the Doctoral Degree include Deputy Director, Legal Department, Ministry of Interior, Geraldine Nneoma Okafor, a retired police officer, Ibrahim Mohammed Ajia and Christopher Emmanuel Ekpeyong – the trio bagged doctoral degrees in Public Governance and Leadership.
Omalika Mark-Anthony Okolocha earned a Master’s Degree in the same field.
Speaking after the event, the Deputy Dean, Post Graduate School, University of Abuja, Prof. Rafat Abdulhamid, congratulated the recipients of the award and tasked them to give a good account of themselves in the larger society by being good representatives of the Center and the university.
Professor Abdulhamid lauded the efforts of Professor Dahida-led Abuja Leadership Centre in graduating quality candidates, as well as commended the external examiner, Professor Akongbowa Bramwell Amadasun of Federal University Wukari, Taraba State, for his exceptional display of professionalism in evaluating the doctoral and master’s candidates.
She tasked the Centre to maintain the standard and the tempo at which it is meeting with its deliverables. Emphasizing the need for excellence, the academician charged the graduating students to thoroughly effect all the corrections and observations raised in their theses and dissertation defense within the stipulated timeline.
Reacting to the academic milestone, Major General Ibrahim Garba (Retired) hailed the institution for the transfer of knowledge, vowing to impact the larger society with the knowledge gained from his doctoral thesis, which dwelt on “Social Policy implementation in the Nigerian Army”.
He advised the Federal Government to ensure effective implementation of social policies for the military if it wants to seriously address insecurity, noting that it goes beyond providing basic amenities but includes improving the standard of military readiness and national security.
“I commend the Abuja Leadership Centre and the University. I aim to use my time to improve, first of all myself and give back to the larger society. My research work was about social policy implementation in the Nigerian Army and will be beneficial to not only the military but also other stakeholders who deal with social policy implementation in Nigeria.
“My research work can also help social policy in various areas, for instance, in my paper I considered factors such as policy awareness with regards to Nigerian Armed Forces; leadership commitment, dependency on resources and bureaucratic delay; these areas I have zeroed my mind to see that they are improved.
“My advice for the government of the day is to ensure effective implementation of social policies in Nigeria, because it goes beyond just providing amenities but also includes improving the standard of military readiness and national security, because without effective social policy it will affect the morale of military personnel and by extension it will have adverse effect on security and national and development,” Garba warned.
The Abuja Leadership Centre is a TETFUND Centre of Excellence for Public Governance and Leadership, dedicated to enhancing public governance and leadership both in Nigeria and beyond.
