Mal
Aminu Hamza, Prof Umar Pate,
Mal
Aminu Hamza, Prof Umar Pate, Mr. Mukhtar Surajo, Brigadier General
Sani Kukasheka and ACP Baba Mohammed at MPR BUK Dinner in Kano
Security Experts Recommend Crisis Communication for War
on Terror Campaigns
Security and communication Experts have recommended the deployment
of crisis communication tools to fight terrorism, armed banditry
and kidnapping in Nigeria.
The experts were members of a panel of discussant at a
conference/dinner organised by the 2018/2019 set of Master of
Public Relations students of Bayero University, Kano (BUK), on
crisis management in Kano.
BUK MPR Graduates and Guest Cut Cake
In an opening salvo at the event, the former spokesman of the
Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Sani Usman Kukasheka (rtd),
disclosed that the Nigerian military deployed crisis communication
strategies and aggressive public relations campaigns in countering
dirty propaganda of Boko Haram terrorists in reducing their
influence on the populace in the affected areas.
His words, “The terrorists had almost consumed the entire North
East and some parts of the country before 2015 when when they had
enjoyed all the media platforms, including radio, Youtube, twitter
and other unconventional means to their advantage. There was a
missing link: communication. The narrative was so overwhelming
that, even the troops at the theatre were largely demoralised
because the picture being painted by the terrorists through their
communication channels was as if the bandits had more than one
life.”
Kukasheka, who hails from Katsina State contended that the
military was able to counter the negative narrative of the
terrorists with the deployment of effective crisis communication
management that substantially crippled the terrorists’ channels of
communication, a paradigm shift that helped the military regain
strength and morale.
Also speaking at the occasion, an Assistant Commissioner of
Police (ACP), Baba Muhammad said the threat posed by rampant
kidnapping in northern part of the country can be tackled through
stakeholders engagement and aggressive sensitization campaign.
He revealed that the criminals are now employing news tricks by
using social media platforms for recruiting new members and
launching attacks on their victims.
“These bandits no longer engage in physical recruitment where
they used to recruit almajiris as members. They are now
sophisticated enough to recruit members through Facebook, Twitter,
WhatsApp, Instagram and others. They use these platforms to recruit
members.
“So, the only way to counter their tricks is to be knowledgeable
enough and be on those social media platforms. If they are on
Facebook, be on Facebook, if they are on Twitter, be on
Twitter.
“As a PR practitioner, you must widen your horizon and be
versatile in order to use your profession in checking the menace of
insecurity in this country,” he advised
Mr Mohammad also called on PR practitioners to contribute their
quotas in checking the menace of kidnapping and terrorism.
President of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR),
Mukhtar Surajo, who was President of Nigerian Institute of Public
Relations (NIPR), Muktar Surajo, who was special guest at the
dinner, insisted that the deployment of troops might not end the
battle against Boko Haram, which is largely rooted in ideological
creed.
Surajo, who noted that the Nigerian government had applied wrong
method for too long to manage the crisis in the North East, however
advocated strategic communication management that will address the
recruitment market for the bandits, which he identified as
unemployment.
He Special Guest at the occasion insisted that the deployment of
troops might not end the battle against Boko Haram, which is
largely rooted in the ideological creed.
Surajo, who noted that the Nigerian government had applied the
wrong method for too long to manage the crisis in the North East,
however, advocated strategic communication management that will
address the recruitment market for the bandits, which he identified
as unemployment.
Yushau Shuaib with MPR Graduates at Dinner in
Kano
The NIPR Boss also urged the MPR graduates to join the institute
to enable them to become professional PR practitioners as he
assured them of “special consideration” to those who want to
register with the NIPR.
Other members of the panel included Professor Umar Pate, Dean of
Postgraduate School and Mallam Aminu Hamza, Chairman of NIPR Kano
Chapter. Mr. Yushau Shuaib of PRNigeria[1] moderated the
session.