CRISIS MANAGEMENT: COAS YAHAYA ADVOCATES CORDIALITY BETWEEN MEDIA AND ARMY • Wants Armed Forces to build trust, confidence for better Civil-Military relations
By Oki Samson, Trek Africa Newspaper
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen Faruk Yahaya wants improved and cordial media and army relationship as a way of projecting the Nigerian Army’s non-kinetic approach in resolving critical issues in the country. He stressed that the media would continue to play an indispensable role as a watch dog, especially in its reportage and perception management.
National Association of Online Security News Publishers, NAOSNP can report that the Chief of Army Staff made this known during the Army Headquarters Department of Civil-Military Affairs Third Quarter CIMIC MEDIA CHAT 2022 Tagged: “Media as a Critical Tool in Addressing Insecurity in Nigeria” which held at the Nigerian Army 81 Division Officers Mess in Marina, Lagos.
The COAS, who spoke through his representative, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 81 Division, Maj Gen Obinna Ajunwa observed that the CIMIC media chat provided a rare opportunity to engage various media practitioneers and influencers which would be beneficial to the Nigerian Army and the media, and by extension, galvanise into improved media reportage along non-kinetic lines.
Themed ‘Media as a Critical Tool in Addressing Insecurity in Nigeria’, Yahaya noted that conversation of this nature should be sustained because apart from cementing cordial relationships and keeping media practitioneers informed, it serves as a means of dispelling rumours, thereby providing accurate and timely information to the media as practiced globally, NAOSNP gathered.
He further stated that “the involvement of the Nigerian Army in statecraft and governance of the country in the past negatively impacted professionalism and resulted in suspicion and resentment by the civil populace, hence there is the need for the Armed Forces to build trust, confidence and erase the negative perception of the military among the citizenry.”
In the same vein, the Chief of Civil Military Affairs, Maj Gen Marcus Kangye said the establishment of Civil-Military Affairs has led to the reduction in frosty relationships and clashes between the media on one hand, and the civil populace on the other.
According to him, the quarterly event is in consonance with the Nigerian Army’s drive towards keeping the Media informed of its Civil-Military Cooperation and Civil-Military Relations activities as a means of eliminating rumours but provide accurate and timely information in line with global best practices. In addition, he observed, “since the formation of the Civil-Military Legal Desk under the Department in February 2016, issues relating to human rights violations and abuses by troops during Internal Security and Counter-Terrorism and Counter Insurgency operations have declined as available statistics showed that there have been a drastic reduction in litigation cases involving personnel of the Nigerian Army in recent times. Kangye added that extensive and constant Sensitization Workshops on Human Rights conducted across Nigerian Army Divisions and formations have had positive impact on the force.
Director, Defence Information, Defence Headquarters, Major General OJ Akpor (right); Chief of Civil Military Affairs, Major General MG Kangye (m); Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Nigerian Army 81 Division, Major Olaniyi Osoba (left).
On his part, the Director, Military-Civil Affairs, Major General Ahmed Taiwo disclosed that the Nigerian Army has executed 328 projects across the country and such projects covered medical rhapsody, construction of medical centres, bridges and provision of boreholes in communities spread across the geo-political zones of the country.
The Guest lecturer, Maj Gen Chris Olukolade (retd) who spoke on the topic: “The Role of the Media in Enhancing Civil-Military Cooperation in Joint Operations Environment,” emphasized that the military and the media are indispensable in running the affairs of the country. He urged the Army to intensify its sensitization programme to bridge conflict gaps.
L-R: President, National Association of Online Security News Publishers, NAOSNP, Mr. Oki Samson; Public Relations Officer, NAOSNP, Eric Elezuo; Chief of Civil Military Affairs, Major General MG Kangye and General Secretary, NAOSNP, Theresa Moses during the Army Headquarters Department of Civil-Military Affairs Third Quarter CIMIC MEDIA CHAT 2022 Tagged: “Media as a Critical Tool in Addressing Insecurity in Nigeria”
Other discussants spoke on the topic. They include Mrs Morayo Afolabi-Brown, Anchor of “Your View”, a current affairs programme on Television Continental; Gbenga Arulueba of African Independent Television (AIT); Babajide Kolade-Otitoju Director, Current Affairs, Television Continental; Dr Abubakar Alhassan of Bayero University, Kano; Maj Gen Nicholas Rogers (retd), former Theatre Commander, “Operation Lafiya Dole” in the North East and was moderated by Brig Gen Sani Kukasheka Usman. They expressed concern about the frosty relationship between the army and the media but proffered solutions on mitigating such occurrences even as they admonished the information managers in the army on the need to give prompt and timely response to Journalists inquires to reduce such frictions.
Present at the CIMIC Media chat were media practitioners and Journalists from various media organisations such as newspaper, TV, radio, and online bloggers. The delegate members from the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP) led by their President Samson Oki were also in attendance.
