By Magnus Effiong
The Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mallam Jibrin Baba Ndace, has called on the Nigerian Armed Forces to forge an enhanced symbiotic relationship with the media as part of efforts to build public trust thereby promoting national security.
Speaking as a guest lecturer at the Nigerian Naval War College in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, Mallam Ndace underscored the significance of a robust relationship between the military and the Media.
He noted that misinformation about the military could become a thing of the past if the media is embedded in military activities and operations.
The VON Director-General, who spoke on the topic, ‘Strengthening Military-Media Collaboration: A Strategic Imperative for the Nigerian Navy,’ drew inferences from his decades of experience as a committed, award-winning combat Journalist.
He believed strongly that the current media space, which has expanded due to the advent of social media and citizens’ journalism, was advantageous for the Nigerian Navy and the Armed Forces in disseminating information about its activities rather than giving room to speculations.
“The military should take advantage of the media space to shape the narrative by letting the public know of the various achievements taken to ensure Nigeria and Africa as a whole enjoys peace.
“There should be layers of engagement with the media from the reporters on the field to the top media echelons in the offices. It is essential for the military to engage journalists to create a better understanding of operations of the Armed Forces,” he said.
According to him, Journalists need to have deeper knowledge of the defense beat and other military operations so as to enable them to have a better grasp of the activities and sacrifices made by the Nigerian Armed Forces for the country.
Ndace said, “the military must have a media plan, embed journalists in the combat zone, which would enable the reporter to tell the story and build trust between military and media personnel. The military in Africa must be assertive and deliberate.”
He reiterated the need for robust community engagement programmes and initiatives, joint efforts in natural disaster management, advocating for joint training programmes to strengthen and expand existing media collaborations.
In his brief remarks, Commandant of Naval War College, Nigeria, Rear Admiral Abdulahi Ahmed, charged participants of the Naval Warfare Course 8 to assimilate the lecture as future commanders.
“You have heard it all from a core professional, don’t forget to have media plan in your activities, imbed media in your operations so that they would help in blowing your trumpet for you,” he said.
