DG Voice of Nigeria Calls on Media, Security Analysts to Support Military Operations

DG Voice of Nigeria Calls on Media, Security Analysts to Support Military Operations

The Director General of Voice Of Nigeria Mallam Jibrin Baba Ndace, has emphasized the crucial role security analysts and media operators play in reshaping public perception of military operations across the country.

The DG VON stated this while delivering an address at the 5th edition of the Security and Emergency Management Awards (SAEMA) in Abuja Nigeria’s capital.

Mr. Ndace who represented the Minister of Information and National Orientation Alhaji Mohammed Idris at the event,

commended the Military’s dedication and success amidst challenges across the Country.

He further encouraged the Military and other security agencies to leverage the Voice of Nigeria’s diverse language services to shape public perception of the military across the various languages.

The DG disclosed that plans are on ground to expand the outreach of VON by broadcasting in Mandarin, Bahasa, and Portuguese languages for global reach. He commended PR Nigeria and Image Merchants for sustaining the organization of SAEMA Awards over the years.

During the event, Dr Ike Neliaku, President of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), inaugurated committees for the upcoming Nigeria National Spokespersons’ Awards (NNSA) to be held in March 2024.

The six-member coordinating committee is to be chaired by Segun McMedal, with  Comptroller Joseph Attah, Mohammed Dahiru Lawal, Saad Shuaib, Mrs. Ekalome Udo, and Mr. Stanley Ogadigwu as members. While the jurist committee is to be chaired by Prof. Mabel Aworihoma, Prof. Anthony Igwefe, Dr Matins Akinam, Dr Saudat Abdulbaki, Mr Kabir Abdulsalam, and Mr Ishola Ayodele as members. Mr. Abdulrahman Abdulraheem will serve on the Committee as Secretary.

Speaking during the event, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, allayed the public’s fear of artificial intelligence in communication and national security.

This was in line with the theme of the event, “Artificial Intelligence: Effective Communication for National Security”.

In his address, the Managing Director of Image Merchants Promotion Limited, the Publisher of PRNigeria, Emergency Digest and Economic Confidential, Mal. Yushau Shuaib, pointed out that the SAEMA event recognizes outstanding gallantry contributions to Nigeria’s safety, security and emergency management.

“On the other hand, the Spokespersons’ Communication Award (SCA), which debuted in 2021, recognizes the most outstanding public relations campaigns and communication strategies by professionals, groups and institutions”

“While we shall be giving out 13 awards in the SCA category today, we received 139 entries earlier. Also, I am happy to inform you that our SAEMA has become a household name among security agencies, stakeholders, and experts. We received 171 entries this year, out of which we had to work round the clock to come up with two finalists for each of the 16 categories,” he said.

In partnership with the NIPR, Mal. Shuaib disclosed that the SCA has been renamed the National Spokespersons’ Awards, with its inaugural edition taking place in March 2024.

Security and Emergency Management Awards (SAEMA) handed a total of 29 awards to eminent Nigerian security personnel, agencies, public relations experts, public and private organisations, seasoned communicators and university students, among others.

The Director General of Voice of Nigeria, Mallam Jubrin Baba Ndace, was at the National Advertising Conference in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city with the theme: “Marketing Communication as an Enabler of National Transformation.”

During the conference, experts in the advertisement and communication industry discussed economic issues such as multiple taxation, Energy challenges, bureaucracy in doing business, and their impact on the economic development of Nigeria.

The DG VON took advantage of the opportunity to proffer solutions at the discussion sessions and also engaged with communication and advertisement experts with the intend to enhance the Voice of Nigeria’s progress through collaboration and insights gained from the conference.