Incarcerated former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki
(rtd) has spoken of the prompt intervention of the regime of President Goodluck
Jonathan in tackling the Boko-Haram menace and recovering dozens of towns and
villages which led to the smooth conduct of 2015 general elections in the
North-Eastern part of Nigeria.
Dasuki stated this from detention in his foreword to a
308-page new book titled: “Boko Haram Media War- An Encounter with the
Spymaster” written by Yushau A. Shuaib.
“In the war-front are evident success stories which Shuaib
has mentioned in some of the articles that featured in this book, especially on
media relations, self-censorship, gallantry in recovering dozens of cities and
towns among other declassified revelations,” he said.
Dasuki said: “In fact, without our intervention in ensuring the
defeat of Boko Haram, the electorates could not have had the opportunity to
exercise their franchise.
“It is a fact that we provided peace and stability that
afforded Nigerians, especially in the North-East in voting for their governors,
legislators and others in the 2015 elections.”
He noted that apart from the ‘Soft Approach Programme’
initiated for countering terrorism through de-radicalization without the use of
force, the administration also introduced and implemented programmes for
economic empowerment, education, communication, rehabilitation and counselling
in the North-East.
According to the former NSA, “Crisis Communication, as one
of the components of general campaigns, was initiated to win the heart of the
citizens, boost the morale of the troops and weaken the fighting spirit of the
terrorists.”
“On the media campaign, Yushau Shuaib who came highly
recommended had been disengaged from the public service but was immediately
re-engaged by the system to act as Chief Consultant on Crisis Communication.
“From the theories of Mass Communication, we deployed
practical aspects of Crisis Communication throughout the Campaign period,
especially between June 2013 to May 2015”.
Dasuki posited that sensitive security issues were handled
in a most professional manner, with strict adherence to confidentiality to
avoid compromising national security.
He further said that “In strategic communication for crisis
management, especially in confronting the Boko Haram, the media was a major
tool in the campaign against the insurgency.
“There was thorough, timely and responsible reportage of the
campaign. Some of the media played very strategic roles at great risk to their
lives in the successes recorded, especially by our forces in the war against
terrorism”.
He said as part of efforts in ensuring the mutual relationship with the media stakeholders, a 17member Forum of the Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA) was established with representatives from the military, security, intelligence and response agencies.
He added that through the media component of the War on
Terror, Yushau Shuaib and his team carried out various activities including
issuance over 3000 media contents including newsworthy items and publications,
exclusive news placements and editorial control of sensitive reports, hosting
of timely and regular Press briefings, social media engagements, amongt others.
Dasuki stated that while Shuaib’s narration covers only one
of the great strides in the media campaigns, he appealed to media practitioners
to embrace the challenge to examine other areas of the interventions such as
the Soft-Approach Programmes, Strategic Alliances and Military Operations that
the erstwhile regime carried out successfully.
He commended the author for his courage and boldness in the
face of the current situations in the country and for his principle and
consistency in stating the obvious and indeed the facts in the book.
Yushau Shuaib, in 2013, ran into trouble over one of his
writings and was compulsorily retired from the public service when a cabinet
minister lodged a complaint.
By Wale Odunsi
