Lagos – Col. John Agim, the Commandant, Nigerian Army School of Public Relation and Information (NASPRI), on Monday urged Nigerians to take advantage of the media in the fight against insurgency.
Col. Agim made the appeal while addressing participants at the opening of the media workshop organised by NASPRI in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the three-day media workshop is titled: “Tackling Insurgency Through The Use Of The Media’’.
According to the commandant, everyone must join the vanguard in ensuring that the media must be used as an advantage to fighting insurgency.
“The fight against insurgency is not supposed to be left alone to the military in the theatre of operation.
“The media is an important stakeholder in all phases of military operations, particularly in the ongoing fight against insurgency,’’ he said.
Agim also said the workshop was to make the media to understand that they had a part to play in the fight against insurgency.
Delivering a lecture on Publicity: “A Tool for Enhancing Terrorist Self Esteem’’, Mr Femi Adeshina, represented by Funke Ekemode, said the media must ensure they have a balanced report.
“If things do not happen, please don’t report it.
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“Yes, we need to moderate if it makes the country to look bad or affects our image.
“But as long as you cannot accuse us of telling a lie, of embellishing the truth, I don’t think we have done anything wrong.
“But at some point, we must do the balancing of ensuring that our personal and commercial interest do not overshadow national interest because we have only one country,’’ she said.
Ekemode also said that giving the Boko Haram sect publicity was like being their spokesperson, adding that they tended to use the media a lot which should not be.
Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye, who also gave a lecture on “The Role of The Media in Military Operation: A Review of Activities in the North-East 2013 Till Date’’, said there should be a synergy between the military and the media.
He said team work should be paramount for any meaningful operation, adding that the media, politicians and military must work together for the nation not to perish.
Akinfeleye said that the military and the media should know the truth and also pass it to the public, noting that impunity in the military should be lessened.
He added that the military and the media should understand that they were both working toward achieving a common goal which was kicking out terrorism.
The special guest of honour, Mr Haruna Jauro, the Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), commended the commandant for the initiative.
“I am confident that this will greatly enhance the capacity of the personnel in particular and the Defence Correspondents in general.
“At NIMASA, we are also mindful of the security challenges and have committed to working agreements with the Nigerian Military towards ridding our environment of elements bent on disrupting the peace.
“This collaborative efforts have contributed in no small measure towards ensuring safety and security on Nigeria’s territorial waters,’’ he said.
He coomended the Nigerian Army for the successes achieved in the fight against insurgency in the North-Eastern Nigeria.
He said that he was confident that the deadline given by Presdent Muhammadu Buhari would be met.
Present at the lecture were senior military officers, senior police officers and defence correspondents. (NAN)