The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said that the Federal Government will complement the efforts of military authorities at containing insurgency by bridging the information gap between the military and the media.
Mohammed, in a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Adviser, Segun Adeyemi, said the Federal Government would soon begin a massive nationwide campaign to sensitise and enlist the support of all Nigerians for the war.
The minister said this on Saturday during a tour of the liberated towns in Borno State, along with some foreign and local journalists.
The statement said the visit was embarked on to access the scale of devastation by the terrorists and the successes achieved by the military, with a view to telling Nigerians how the war on terrorism was progressing.
Mohammed commended the military authorities for their patriotism and sacrifice for the unity and peace of the country.
“Nigerians are very proud of you for your sacrifice and love of the country,’’ Mohammed was quoted as saying while addressing troops in Bama.
The minister also inspected the construction work going on in the devastated Konduga where not a house was being occupied by the original residents who have either been displaced or killed.
He commended the Borno State Government for its efforts to ease the pains and sufferings of the affected residents.
Mohammed disclosed that Governor Kashim Shettima told him that the state government would commence the rebuilding of the first batch of 1,000 houses in Bama in January 2016.
Shettima, in his remarks, commended the minister for the visit.
He said since the war on terrorism started in 2009, no Minister of Information had ever visited the affected areas.
“We have had Ministers of Information who have been speaking about Boko Haram, including one who went to the media to cast aspersion on us last year. However, since the Boko Haram crisis began in 2009, no Minister of Information ever visited Borno State to source first-hand information and see the realities until today that we have before us Alhaji Lai Mohammed,’’ he said.
The minister had earlier on visited the Command and Control Centre of the war on terrorism at the Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri, where he was received by the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, as well as the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai.
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