Strategic Communications Training in Nigeria

Albany was tasked with facilitating the re-design and training of the Nigerian Security apparatuses’ approach to counter terrorism communications. Key to this was to ‘institutionalise’ strategic communications throughout their standard training, as part of the Nigerian government’s overall approach to countering violent extremism and terrorism. As such, we needed to design a course suitable for a wide variety of senior civilian and military stakeholders through a cross-section of government ministries, departments and agencies.

Led by three Albany trainers, we ran 10 one-week intensive training courses at the Nigerian Public Service Institute in Abuja. Our courses were based upon our flexible modular system for group training and were drawn from our experience across the world in counter terrorism operations and community stabilisation. Prior to the training, we carried out needs assessments in collaboration with the client to enable us to tailor training to demand and specific capability gaps. Applying a blend of methods, our interactive training covered the full suite of core counter terrorism communications skills, from propaganda analysis and media monitoring, to campaign implementation and target audience analysis. Training was complimented by a comprehensive training manual and activities handrails, facilitated by on-call trainers and remote mentoring sessions.

The course brought together 180 senior delegates (including a 33% female attendance), from 32 separate ministries, departments and agencies. Although the course was run in Abuja, 30% of delegates came from other regions. At the end of the training, delegates completed an evaluation survey demonstrating 100% positive feedback. Through this in-depth, targeted training approach and mentorship, Albany was able to fundamentally shape the strategic approach of counter terrorism in Nigeria, emphasising comprehensive communications as a core solution in countering a variety of security threats.