The Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Gen. Lucky Irabor, has stated that the media are the best people to keep the country safe.
The CDS said this earlier today during a media parley, during which he engaged top executives and editors of major media organisations to solicit support for the operations of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
TheFact Nigeria notes that at the meeting themed, “Role of Media Executives and Editors in National Security and Conflict Sensitive Communication”, the Defense Chief intimated that the meeting was informed by the fact that both the military and the media pursued common cause of freedom and liberty, adding that the engagement would help the military and the media to be on the same page.
“All along, it is we versus them but I am hopeful that at the end of this parley today, you will no longer see yourself as we versus them.
“Rather, it will be an engagement about us and engagement about what binds us, which is Nigeria”, Irabor said.
The Director, Defence Information, DDI, Maj.-Gen. Jimmy Akpor, noted that the CDS considered media executives as most worthy to interface with, considering their standing in the spectrum of the media space. He added that the media had the cardinal role to play in advancing the cause of national security.
Akpor further stated that the leadership of the armed forces viewed media executives, editors and bureau chiefs as critical stakeholders that could not be ignored.
Commenting on the purpose of the meeting, Akpor said the meeting was conceptualised to build sustainable trust and confidence of the media as the military conduct its operations and engagements.
“At the end of the deliberations, media executives, editors, bureau chiefs are in better position to set right the agenda for public discourse on issues of national security and conflict sensitive management are generating debate,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer, Media Today, Charles Odenigbo, gave assurances that the interface would mark a new beginning for military and media relationship in Nigeria.
He said further that a road map would be developed at the end of the parley for clear understanding of the roles of the media in national security matters and conflict sensitive communication.
He said that the editors or media would have to contend with the code of ethics because the functions of the armed forces the media are very clear.
His words: “The media is constantly looking for information backed by concrete evidence, concrete facts and they must be time bound because time is the oxygen of the Newsroom”.
Attendees at the meeting include top executives from both government owned and private media organisations.
