Aleke Aleke in Abuja
The Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) has called for improved media relations with the Nigerian military to promote national interest and guarantee national security through responsible journalism.
The Centre, which observed that contemporary warfare is shifting from the battlefield to media domains and digital spaces, proposed a three-tiered approach to media engagement to dismantle the long-standing mistrust among critical stakeholders working together to promote national interest and guarantee national security.
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Speaking during a roundtable with members of the Defence Correspondents Association of Nigeria (DECAN) in Abuja on Friday, the Director General of NARC, Major General Garba Wahab (Rtd), emphasized the need for targeted engagement with three key groups; the media owners, the guild of editors, and the defence correspondents.
Responding to the barrage of questions on the theme of the media engagement, “National Interest vs National Security: The Quest for Responsible Journalism,” General Wahab stressed that effective collaboration with the media would enhance trust and improve cooperation.
The Director General emphasized the need to continually build trust between the two institutions as a practical step to bridge the gaps often observed in military-media relations.
“Both sides need to find a way to move ahead, which is why the centre is informing the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) and the tri-services of the gaps already identified by media practitioners, particularly defence correspondents.
“There is a need for them to address the gap from their side, and for the media to be mindful of their reportage by considering national security before going public,” he said.
Wahab said the military must engage with the three layers involved, stressing that the defence correspondents, the guild of editors, and media owners are the critical layers to engage with.
He said that all the layers must work in agreement with the military to project national interest and ensure national security.
“We need to keep talking to defence correspondents, but the guild of editors needs to be brought in at some point, and the owners of all the organisations need to come in as well.”
The DG said, “We will have to identify those whom we believe should be the ones dealing with each of these strata and then find a common ground for the three to regularly talk and discuss among themselves.Otherwise, if, for instance, the owners discuss with the minister or CDS, and the message is not passed down to the guild of editors, the efforts will have been wasted,” he explained.
He also emphasized the need to build the capacity of the lead agency in internal security and other paramilitary agencies to effectively discharge their constitutional mandate, allowing the military to return to the barracks and focus on their statutory duties.
He disclosed that the centre is willing and ready to build the capacity of civil security agencies, and discussions are already underway with political leaders to agree on the modalities for the training.
