From Molly Kilete, Abuja
Mohammed Bulama, Director General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), said on Wednesday, May 14, that the military’s resilience prevented Boko Haram from completely overtaking Borno State.
Speaking at the maiden Defence Headquarters Psychological Operations Workshop in Abuja, Bulama, a former Borno State information commissioner during the height of the insurgency, praised the armed forces for liberating the state.
“I would not be far from the truth if I said that but for the efforts of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, there would have been no entity called Borno State,” Bulama stated. He commended the military’s determination to protect Nigeria’s territorial integrity despite limited resources.
On the workshop’s theme, “Defence Headquarters Influence Operations: Optimising Psychological Operations for Efficiency within a Joint Environment,” Bulama highlighted the importance of non-kinetic approaches. He listed three key roles for psychological operations: counter-radicalisation, winning hearts and minds, and managing misinformation. “The theatre of warfare is the mind,” he said, urging timely solutions to security challenges.
Bulama noted Nigerians’ growing impatience with ongoing violence. “We must find timely but workable solutions that convince Nigerians that the federal government is doing everything possible to protect lives and property,” he said.
Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa said the workshop aligns with his vision for a people-centric, collaborative military. “The prevalent threats in Nigeria’s internal security landscape will not be tackled through kinetic operations alone,” Musa stated, emphasising non-kinetic strategies like psychological operations.
Major General Adeleke Ayannuga, Commander of the Nigerian Army Cyber Warfare Command, underscored the role of psychological operations in today’s complex security environment, where social media and artificial intelligence impact effectiveness. “The most effective form of warfare consists in the destruction of the enemy’s will to resist,” he said.