The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, has announced that the Armed Forces of Nigeria is now employing a non-kinetic approach in the battle against insurgency.
The decision to shift away from traditional kinetic options, such as bullets, stems from the realization that solely relying on these methods is no longer a realistic strategy to win the war.
Speaking at an event organized by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) in Abuja, where he delivered a keynote address on “Psychological Operations and Strategic Communication for National Security,” Musa emphasized the shift towards non-kinetic actions, including diplomacy.
The forum, themed “Winning Hearts and Minds for National Cohesion and Development,” aimed to explore strategies that go beyond conventional warfare.
Rear Admiral Matthew Daupreye, representing Gen. Christopher Musa at the event, highlighted the significance of adopting a non-kinetic approach in the fight against insurgency.
“Non-kinetic approach is the use of informational, psychological, diplomatic, economic, social and civil-military cooperation as part of instruments of national power to pursue national interests,” he said.
“It involves collaborations between the military and civil actors to achieve national interest through the application of non-lethal force or means that are sub-lethal or not intended to be lethal to dispose of the enemy.”
He emphasized the need for greater inter-agency collaboration, combining psychological operations and strategic communication to minimize acts of insurgency.
The Chief of Defence Intelligence, Maj Gen Emmanuel Undiandeye, also underscored the importance of psychological operations in the overall strategy to combat insurgency.
The five-day program, facilitated by the Defence Intelligence Agency and the Safe Neighbourhood Initiative, provided a unique platform for understanding the dynamics of psychological operations and strategic communications in the context of national security.
Source: Newsdesk