Hottestgistnaija.com
By Tarkaa David Abuja
LEADERSHIP –
The minister of Information and Culture , Lai Mohammed has admonished the media not to break up the country with their reports . He said the media should draw a line between support or lack of it for political authority and security services .
Lai Mohammed made the charge at the Nigerian Army media conference with the theme , “Enhancing Military Media Relationship for Effective Fight against Terrorism and Insurgency in Nigeria’’ in collaboration with the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) , Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Guild of Corporate Online Publishers and Guild of Professional Bloggers of Nigeria in Abuja .
The minister who was represented by the permanent secretary, Mrs Grace Itsu Gekpe said hatred for government should not be extended to the Army or the security services in general.
He said governments may come and go but the security services remain risking their lives “for us to have peace to pursue our livelihood. ”
The minister called on the media to learn lessons from the Rwandan experience during the genocide.
“Ask yourself if any journalist was able to practice journalism while that war lasted. Yet the genocide was caused by inability of the Rwandan Media to ensure that their platforms were not used by hate merchants in propagating fake news and hate speech,” he said .
He regretted that the mainstream media in Nigeria today allow such things .
“Nigerian media must find a way to draw the line between support or lack of it for political authority , vis -à- vis the security services . If you don’t like the government of the day , for whatever reason, you should not extend that hatred to the Army or in general security services ,” he added .
In his remarks, the Chief of Army Staff ( COAS) , Lt General Tukur Buratai said the media plays a critical role which shapes public perception , adding that “there is no doubt that by your distinct position , you can stabilize or destabilize situations in any given security environment. ”
Buratai noted that the Nigerian Army is faced with challenges of reporting military operations and the concern to preserve national security.
“Therefore your roles as leading media practitioners in this fight is key in shaping public opinion by reporting what is right as at when due to avoid putting the lives of security agents in danger,” he said .
The COAS urged all the participants to be open, realistic and present issues that will lead to a better understanding of happenings in the country .
“In your capacity as editors , you have the responsibility of finding details of events , possibly by getting in touch with the military command before going to press. When this is observed it will go a long way in addressing some of the challenges faced in reporting issues affecting national security,” he said.
He further noted that the leakage of vital information on military operations like the on – going fight against the Boko Haram terrorists, is inimical to national security, adding that such will “give our position to the terrorists and give them upper hand in their psychological war against the troops . ”
He, however, maintained that not all information regarding military operations would be made available due to national security reasons.
Lt General Buratai further refuted allegations of human rights abuses and lack of equipment for the soldiers insisting that it was not true .
“Furthermore, the allegations of human rights abuses against the military by Amnesty International, allegations of lack of equipment and non- payment of allowances to troops is ill- conceived and misleading ,” he said.
He added that the war against terrorism should be a collective one and not just a war between the army and the terrorist groups.
“The war needs to be reported as it is, and the media need to enlighten the people to understand the true situation and support the military. The impact of the terrorists propaganda was one of the major challenges facing the military , by discouraging and dampening morale of the troops in the frontline,” he said.
In a keynote address , Prof Tony Iredia called on the Army to build partnership with the media for cordial working relationship.
