General Musa: Development Journalism Key to Enhancing Military Efforts
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, has stressed the importance of development journalism in promoting national security and defence matters.
Musa made this assertion at the Roundtable Discussion on Nigeria’s Security and National Interest, by organised for members of the Defence Correspondents’ Association of Nigeria (DECAN) at the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in Abuja.
According to him, development journalism is crucial in enhancing military efforts, as it seeks to promote public awareness and understanding of defence and security issues.
He noted that this approach allows for a more active collaboration with journalists and media organisations, enabling them to play a more effective role in promoting national cohesion and stability.
Musa stressed that national security cannot and should not solely be reliant on the strength of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, but rather be strengthened by an educated, healthy, and socially cohesive population.
He believes that development journalism can help achieve this by promoting people-centrism in the accomplishment of Nigeria’s national interest.
The CDS also highlighted the need for journalists to adopt a development journalism approach in their reporting.
”These options will engender trust and cooperation between the military, civil society and other stakeholders and enhance contextual understanding of local dynamics for enhanced social cohesion and effective collaboration.
“Today’s occasion presents me the rare opportunity to make a statement on the critical role of the media in fostering Nigeria’s national security and defence matters thus necessitating collaboration to further Nigeria’s national security interest.
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He urged them to prioritise human security, investigative reporting, and stakeholders’ engagement, and to use available data to tell stories and promote evidence-based outcomes.
In his remark, the National Coordinator of NCTC, Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka, noted that journalists were pivotal in shaping public perception and policy on critical issues of national security and interests.
Laka said that journalists had the responsibility to report with accuracy, fairness and sensitivity in an environment that was often fraught with misinformation and heightened emotions.
He promised the centre’s readiness to continue to collaborate with the media and other critical stakeholders to achieve and sustain the destruction of terrorist propaganda.
He said the objective of this roundtable discussion was to foster an open and insightful exchange of ideas.
“By sharing your experiences, observations and challenges, together we aim to enhance collective understanding of the dynamics of terrorism and its evolving tactics and discover the ethical considerations of reporting on such sensitive issues,” he said.
On his part, the Minister of Information, Muhammed Idris, urges the media to maintain responsible reporting, considering national security and national interest.
Represented by the Director-General, Voice of Nigeria (VON), Jibrin Baba-Ndace, commended the centre for organising the roundtable.
He urged the centre and the military to sustain such media engagement to be able to counter the terrorists’ narratives.
He also urged the media to maintain responsible reporting bearing in mind national security and national interest.
While presenting his paper, former Defence Spokesman, retired Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, emphasizes the importance of fact-checking in counter-terrorism reporting to avoid disseminating false or exaggerated claims.
He said that defence reporting should align with the broader goal of safeguarding national unity and security.
Olukolade added that journalists must recognise the potential impact of their stories on public perception and national stability.
By PRNigeria
