Military’s new communication strategy commended

Concerned Professionals’ Congress (CPC) has described the Nigerian military’s new public communication strategy as the major game-changer in the ongoing battle to minimize potential threats to national security and stability.

The new strategy has administratively collapsed all levels of disseminating information about military operations within and outside the country into one source code-named Directorate of Defence Media Operations (DDM0).

The new move is being piloted by the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) under the personal direction of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin who had drafted a former Director of Defence Information and now Director of Engineering and Technical Services in the DHQ, Maj Gen. John Enenche, as pioneer Coordinator.

It was formally unveiled to defence correspondents at a press briefing on March 18, 2020.

The Chief Media Strategist of the advocacy group, Mr. Emeka Nwankpa, in a statement he jointly issued in Abuja  with the Northern Regional Rapporteur, Kasim Baba Kasim praised the CDS for his conviction and courage in streamlining the channels of communicating military operational activities across the country into one source.

He described the new strategy as a bold and calculated move to finally resolve the crisis of confidence which he said had often jeopardised many operational accomplishments of the Armed Forces of Nigeria in the ongoing war against insurgency, terrorism, crime and other forms of criminality in the country.

The group said that the new initiative came at a time the nation’s armed forces had started to record a new cycle of successes in its various strategic operations especially the counter-terrorism war in the face of new challenges arising from the life-threatening COVID-19.

‘’We applaud the tireless CDS, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin for brilliantly introducing this new strategic communication initiative that has gradually begun to positively change the dynamics of the various critical kinetic and non-kinetic engagements of our armed forces across the country thereby repositioning the military for enhanced  effectiveness to adequately communicate with the Nigerian public. It is the game-changer’’, Nwankpa said.

While unveiling the new strategy, Maj Gen Enenche said: ‘’Our channel of communicating the operational activities of the Nigerian military to the public has been streamlined to one source. This implies that the Directorate is now the clearing house for all information relating to the operational activities of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, which will provide authentic information on all issues bothering on military operations.

‘’Additionally, the Directorate is to disseminate information on multi-agency operations of which the Nigerian military is the lead agency…The essence of this establishment is to ensure that the Armed Forces of Nigeria communicate its operational activities through one channel to the general public to achieve ‘Information Delivery for Positive Effect’ at strategic, operational, tactical and other levels of our target audience’’.

Pressed to comment on the mandate of the new unit vis-a-vis the job of the Acting Director of Defence Information (DDI), Brigadier Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, Maj Gen Enenche ruled out any possible conflict, saying that the DDMO is strictly related to communicating the core activities of the Armed Forces-led multi-agency operations while the DDI would continue to work towards promoting and enhancing the corporate image of the Defence Headquarters (DHQ).

The new DDMO is a well-honed team that has an acting Director, Brigadier General Bernard Onyeuko, assisted by officers deployed from the Public Relations units of the three services as Liaison officers. They are Colonel UM Aliyu (Army), Commander A. Sani (Navy) and Squadron Leader AE Obidike (Air Force).

The group quoted inside military sources yesterday as hinting that the new communication team has started hitting its target as the one-source communication channel of the armed forces, disclosing that in less than two weeks of operation it has conducted over seventy-five media engagements employing press releases, briefings and incident updates on military-led multi-agency operations towards enhancing control, correctness and credibility as part of the overall national security architecture.

The group urged Nigerians to see the efforts of the nation’s high military command as another call to duty and lend their support by volunteering useful, credible and timely information to the military, security and intelligence agencies to enable them to adequately curb threats to peace, unity, security, stability and the general wellbeing of the people in the country.

The advocacy group expressed confidence that the military’s new communication initiative will galvanise more support, appreciation and understanding of the various Nigerian publics, saying that the swift manner by which the team now disseminates accurate information speedily on the military’s operational activities in the country indicated that the initiative had steadily hit the ground running.

‘’It is important to emphasize that this new strategic communication initiative will not regulate the media, rather it will ensue that the channel of information on all operational activities pertaining to military operations of the Armed Forces of Nigeria is obtained more accurately, speedily, seamlessly and effectively.

‘’The initiative is an idea whose time has come. It is another spectacular way by which the charismatic leadership of the CDS, backed the service chiefs, is living up to its billing. It goes to show that our military henchmen are alive to modern best practices. The initiative is a win-win. In countries like Pakistan and other places with similar counter-terrorism experience, information dissemination and communication is an integral part of the war on terror’’, the group said.

Mr. Nwankpa restated the group’s confidence in the tenacity of the Nigerian military under the CDS, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin and the service chiefs and heads of other security and intelligence agencies to evolve practical strategies to tackle and minimize insecurity in the country.

The group particularly commended President Muhammadu Buhari for demonstrating confidence in the ability of the service chiefs to deliver on their mandate.