“The war in the North-East with Boko Haram has been fought and won. The Boko Haram elements have been routed, degraded and are being decimated.”
Boko Haram has been ‘degraded’ and their victims are being rescued throughout the North-East, according to a statement by the federal government.
This was announced by the Minister of the Interior, Lieutenant-General Abdulrahman Dambazau, at the Regional Seminar on Media Engagement in Crisis Management, an event organized by the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
“The war in the North-East with Boko Haram has been fought and won. The Boko Haram elements have been routed, degraded and are being decimated,” the minister said, adding that their victims are being rescued and rehabilitated.
“The task before us is winning the peace, as the victims are gradually returning to their homes and the government is rebuilding, reconciling, and rehabilitating the victims. And this is where crisis communication and management becomes indispensable in building confidence and consensus among the people.”
Mr. Dambazau urged the media to support the government’s peace building operations through fair coverage and reportage.
“The government and the media are partners in progress. Activities and programs of government, if not properly disseminated by the media, could create a gulf between the people and the government, therefore engendering a crisis,” he explained.
The minister also emphasized the importance of social media and modern technology in the fight against Boko Haram, saying that such technology should be utilized to facilitate communication between the government and the people.
Mr. Dambazau praised the CCC for organizing the seminars and setting a precedent for other civil society organizations to follow.
“As a partner with government in enhancing stability in the polity and growth in the socioeconomic sphere, as well as enhancing communication between and among the various stakeholders in the country, this achievement marks the Centre out as a reliable partner of government in managing crisis.”
The Centre has been providing ‘strategic support and intervention in crisis and information management’ to 17 stakeholders and the public. The seminar was one of the Centre’s initiatives aimed at improving service delivery of stakeholders in crisis.
