ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – The Nigerian Army has disclosed how their proactive application of the Rules of Engagement (RoE) and strategic approach to crisis communication helped to ensure that the Biafran agitation in the South East and South South does not snowball into violence with a disastrous outcome.
The Director of the Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman, made this disclosure at the weekend, during the Inaugural Annual Lecture of Class 1992 Alumni of Mass Communication Department of Bayero University, Kano (BUK).
Usman who is also an old student of the Department, delivered a paper on “Crisis Communication for security Consciousness- A Case Study of Nigeria.”
He said that modern day crisis has further repositioned crisis communication as an ongoing process not relegated to the stage of post – crisis communication that plays the dominant role in risk identification where the appropriate communication of risk may spur mitigating behaviours that can reduce the risk.
He said “this approach was used by the Nigerian Army in mitigating the risk associated with on-going protest in the eastern part of the country on the Biafra State.
“The Rules of Engagement of the Nigerian Army was made public through press releases for the benefit of the protesters and the general public. I along several other renowned and respected experts also appeared on the AIT’s Kaakaki programme to press home the point in order to discourage potential protesters and further warned the leadership of the agitators of the legal and military consequences of their actions”.
With the advent of the new media and citizen journalism, he said, over 50 million Nigerians are now professional and amateur news reporters as the case maybe.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
As patriotic Nigerians, Usman added, they should avoid using this privilege granted by the social media and freedom of information to spread falsehood and other unethical practices.
“Subjective, partial, imbalance, sugar-coated, libellous or defamatory statement that puts the nation in a bad light should be avoided. During emergencies, citizen journalists should avoid spreading news or pictures that may hamper rescue operations or touch on personal security and privacy of the individuals in the society.
“In the on-going war on terror for example, the media must focus on atrocities of Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT), the monumental humanitarian crisis and promote efforts of the Nigerian Army and other security agencies in bringing the carnage to an end. This outweighs narrow compulsions of local and international media houses and individual reporters,” he said.
To this end, the DAPR urged citizens to be extra vigilant and security conscious in tackling insecurity in the country, as the Christmas and New Year seasons approach.
Usman, who insisted that the Nigerian military and intelligence operatives are virtually in every local government council in the country, said that Nigerians should not only rely on security for protection but should be security conscious and provide useful information to relevant security agencies.
He said: “With the kind of intelligence we receive regularly from the military and security operatives, the citizens need to be proactive and security conscious while the media intensify campaign on same.
“Internal security challenge is not a problem unique to Nigeria. The US, UK, France and many other countries, face similar challenges within their borders on daily basis. The difference between these countries and ours is the management of threats by the government and the citizenry, how knowledgeable they are, how patriotic and united their citizens are against threats of insecurity and crisis.
“The countries are never divided on political, ethical, religious or professional grounds when the interest of the nation is the subject. These cushion the effects of these crises on their national security and image. The fact therefore is that if Nigerians hope to build a nation of good brand, they have to work for it. It is at a time like this that all patriots must rise to the occasion and place the interest of the country above every other consideration.
“The media need to mobilise people during crisis as a cardinal element of national security effort.
They have a duty to enlighten the public on the true situation in national war effort to guarantee national security. The report must focus on national unifying factors, emphasising the desired end state of the Armed Forces, which is to safeguard public good.”
While commending the organisers of the lecture for being the first of its kind on crisis communication to be organised by alumni of that department, he observed that Bayero University is recognised as a crisis-free and cult-free university in Nigeria
In his remarks at the occasion, the Head of Department of Mass Communication, BUK, Dr. Balarabe Maikaba, who commended the Class 1992 Alumni for initiating the Annual Lecture on Crisis Communication, said that the department has been upgraded to a full-fledged faculty with a new complex for media production.
“The new Faculty of Communication and Media Studies has three Departments of Journalism, Marketing Communication and Visual Art with an ultramodern studio for media production.
“With over 15 lecturers holding PhDs including professors in the faculty, we offer various programmes and courses on communication studies, public relations, crisis communication, TV and radio production, among others,” Maikaba concluded.
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