Biodata of Speaker:

(RTD) LIEUTENANT GENERAL ABDULRAHMAN B. DAMBAZAU

Military Training and Appointments

Born on 14th March 1954, Lt Gen Abdulrahman B. Dambazau was commissioned into the Nigerian Army Infantry in June 1977, at the end of his Cadet Training at the Nigerian Defence Academy from December 1974 to June 1977. While in service, he held various instructional, staff and command appointments, which included Registrar, Nigerian Defence Academy; Principal General Staff Officer (PGSO) to Minister of Defence; Chief Instructor, Support Weapons, Nigerian Army Infantry Centre; Chief of Army Standards and Evaluation (CASE); Directing Staff (DS) National War College, Nigeria; Director, Higher Military Organization (DHMO), National War College; and General Officer Commanding (GOC), 2nd Infantry Division, Nigerian Army, culminating into his appointment as the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) in August 2008, until his disengagement in September, 2010.

For further military training, he attended the Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Jaji for Surveillance Platoon Commander, and later Commanding Officers’ Course; US Army Military Police School, Fort McLelan, Alabama for Military Officers Police Basic, Course ;  Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji for Junior Division Staff Course; Course 14^th Senior Staff Course, Ghana Armed Forces Staff College, Teshie; and 43^rd Course, National Defence College, New Delhi, India.

Educational Qualifications

A product of Barewa College, Zaria where he graduated with the West African School Certificate in 1974, between 1980 and 1984, he attended Kent State University, Ohio, USA where he earned BSc Criminal Justice Studies, MA Political Science and M.Ed Higher Educational Administration (Personnel Management), and later in 1989 earned PhD in Criminology from the University of Keele, Staffordshire, UK.

Political Appointments

After his disengagement from military service in 2010, Gen Dambazau joined the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in 2011 and became its Director, Security for the presidential elections same year. In 2014 he joined the mega opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and subsequently was appointed the APC Director, Security, APC Presidential Campaign Council for the 2015 presidential elections. He was also Director of Security of the APC Presidential Campaign Council during the 2019 presidential elections. He was appointed Minister of Interior, Federal Republic of Nigeria, from 11^th November 2015 to 28^th May 2019, a period he successfully carried out reforms in the Prisons, Immigration, Civil Defence and the Federal Fire Services.

Fellowship and Boards

In 2012 he proceeded to the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University for fellowship program, and subsequently remained as an Associate of the Center throughout 2013. Gen Dambazau is currently a Senior Fellow at the Center for Peace, Democracy and Development, University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA; Fellow, Society for Peace Studies and Practice; Board Chairman, University Advancement Centre, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; Co-Chair, African Peace Fellows International Board, Center for African Peace & Conflict Resolution, California State University, Sacramento, USA; and Member, Board of Trustees, Nigerian Army Resource Centre. He is also a Member, International Society of Criminology and World Society of Victimology, respectively. He is a Director in the International Police Executive Symposium, a New York based not-for-profit educational corporation for the encouragement of police educational endeavors and providing educational service to the police of the world.

Honors and Awards

The General is a recipient of National Awards, Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) and National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM). Military awards of Distinguished Service Star, Forces Service Star, and General Service Star. A 2018 Hall of Fame Awardee of the College of Education, Health and Human Service, Kent State University, Ohio, USA. Awarded the Colonel Pyar Lal Memorial Gold Medal for Best Thesis at the National Defence College, New Delhi, India. Ankrah Hall distinguished award at the Ghana Armed Forces Staff College, Teshie, Ghana (14^th Course, 1991/92).

Publications and Research Interests

General Abdulrahman Dambazau has authored books on Criminology, Criminal Justice and Crime Prevention and Control. Current Research interests are on African Regional Security, Borders Security Management and Transnational or Cross-Border Crimes. Gen Dambazau was also a part-time Lecturer I (gratis), Criminology, in the Faculty of Law, Ahmadu Bello University between 1995 and 1999.

General Dambazau is married with children. Hobbies include listening to music, watching documentaries, golf, and scholarly research. He holds the traditional title of Baraden Kano.

Synopsis of Lecture:

The Title for this conversation is adapted from a piece of article I wrote in the Harvard International Review, Vol. 35, No. 4 (SPRING 2014), pp. 65-70.  Security challenges in Nigeria are multidimensional, complex, uncertain and in many instances, volatile. While some of the challenges are as old as Nigeria itself, others are emerging security challenges. There are existential threats to Nigeria’s National Security. What are they? And what are the causes? What are the possible solutions to Nigeria’s security challenges? Due to the complex nature of threats, tackling them would require Holistic approach.