The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Olufemi Oluyede, has charged stakeholders across government and society to adopt a coordinated approach toward strengthening national resilience, as the Defence Headquarters concluded a two-day Psychological Operations Workshop in Abuja.
Represented by the Chief of Defence Training, Rear Admiral Abolade Ogunleye, the CDS emphasised that tackling Nigeria’s complex security challenges requires a “whole-of-government and whole-of-society” strategy involving security agencies, government institutions, traditional and religious leaders, civil society, the media and local communities.
Speaking on the theme, “Building National Resilience: The Role of Influence Operations in Conflict Prevention and Stabilization,” Oluyede described the workshop as timely, noting that psychological and influence operations have become critical tools in addressing the root causes of conflict, countering misinformation and disinformation, and fostering public trust and peaceful coexistence.
He reaffirmed the Armed Forces of Nigeria’s commitment to deploying influence operations as strategic instruments for conflict prevention, national stabilisation and sustainable peace.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Dr. Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos, represented by the Director of News, Hajiya Halima Musa, underscored the importance of strategic communication in countering adversarial narratives and safeguarding national unity.
In his keynote address, the Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mallam Jibrin Baba Ndace, stressed that credible communication and sustained public engagement are essential to achieving lasting peace. He noted that influence operations remain vital in promoting trust, national cohesion and resilience.
At the end of the workshop, participants drawn from the Armed Forces, intelligence and security agencies, government institutions, academia, civil society organisations and the media adopted key recommendations to strengthen national resilience through enhanced strategic communication and coordinated influence operations.
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They called for deeper inter-agency collaboration, improved institutional capacity, greater public engagement and the integration of influence operations into national conflict prevention and stabilisation frameworks.
The workshop concluded with a renewed commitment by stakeholders to sustain collaboration in countering misinformation, preventing violent extremism, strengthening public confidence in state institutions and promoting lasting peace, unity and national development across the country.
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