Unlike the $9 million paid to a Washington-based DCI Group to manage Nigeria’s international perceptions and communicate the government’s efforts to protect Christian communities, the July 10 rescue of 39 pupils and seven teachers abducted from schools in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State after spending 56 days in captivity came with a different but refreshing message.
In contracting the services of a US public relations firms said to be affiliated to President Donald Trump, the impression given was an emphasis on window dressing than substance.
Generally, governments hire image laundering firms to systematically rehabilitate, alter, or obscure a negative international reputation caused by human rights abuses, corruption, or political crises. These firms—often specialized public relations lobbying, or crisis management agencies—deploy strategic communication campaigns to shift global perception and protect the state’s geopolitical interests. Unfortunately, after hiring the services of DCI Group, cases of mass abductions and banditry deepened. The Oriire abduction was the final straw. When the perpetrators of the saga were said to have demanded the introduction of Sharia in Oyo State and the release of some of their detained leaders, the $9 million contract turned into a PR disaster.
But in Oriire, the federal government got the break it needed. The rescue showed that the situation is not as hopeless as had been portrayed by the spate of mass abductions. Oriire showed that our security agencies are capable of containing the scourge that is threatening to bring the country to its knees. What has emerged is that there are interest groups and forces fuelling the insecurity in Nigeria. Unfortunately, there are powerful people within the corridors of power or holding the levers of power that are shielding the perpetrators of the insecurity. In the Jury 10 rescue, the government showed that with strong backing for our security men and provision of requisite tools, the battle can be won.
However, it goes beyond that. The worst kept secret in the war against terror is the fact that there are moles embedded in the military. Many of them were surreptitiously brought in the security agencies under Muhammadu Buhari’s dubious rehabilitation and de-radicalisation of “repentant” Boko Haram fighters and islamist insurgents. The most dangerous scenario that will undo the path to victory now being charted is to fail to revisit the opaque conduct of rehabilitation and engagement of militants into the security agencies. There were reports that some of former militants had to work alongside professional soldiers they used to fight and kill. The damage to the psyche and morale of the regular soldiers can only be imagined. It is imperative that the so-called de-radicalisation of former insurgents be revisited. The exercise was morally offensive and akin to sabotaging the essence of law and order. Nigeria has paid a high price and continues to do so for that act of sabotage of the country. If the exercise is not reviewed and the bad eggs flushed out of the system, sooner than later, one of the former insurgents may rise to become a service chief.
The lesson from Oriire aptly demonstrates that the path to creating a positive perception for Nigeria does not lie in recruiting PR firms to paper over serious and existential security challenges. Continuing to emphasise that the security challenge facing the country is not an attempt to stifle Christianity is neither here or there. Lives are being lost with the perpetrators almost having a free and unchecked reign.
The goings-on at the US House of Representatives hearing on Nigeria shows the futility of that line of framing. In the recent House hearing, Congressman Gregory Steube advanced an amendment to suspend 100% of US foreign assistance to Nigeria until the government demonstrates effective action against terrorism and violence. It was an upward review of the earlier proposed 50%.
This follows several congressional hearings regarding what is seen as religious persecution and escalating violence in Nigeria.
If it was thought that the new big attraction – mass abduction of school children – had become intractable and overwhelming, the July 10 outcome in Oriire has debunked the notion. What had been missing is the spirit of Oriire, the willingness to take the battle to the insurgents and terrorists.
Oriire represents a turning point in Nigeria’s war against terror, insurgency and banditry. The template for the execution of the Oriire rescue should be adopted to usher a new era in the campaign. Our security agencies have proved that with adequate support, they can win the war for the country.
