The highest hierarchy of the Nigerian Army has stressed the determination of the institution to promote, protect and defend the human rights of all Nigerians without let or hindrance. It called on the media to be fair, objective and patriotic in the discharge of her duties in line with section 22 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 (as amended).

The call came on the heels of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, winning this year’s award of ‘Excellence in Transparency and Accountability’ by a coalition of 36 registered civil rights bodies led by the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA). Buratai was nominated for the award following the prompt response by the Army Chief to a Freedom of Information request by Socio-Economic and Accountability Project (SERAP) and two others.

At a media session recently to round up a nation-wide interactive meetings on promoting cordial but professionally excellent relationship between the Nigerian military and the media organised by HURIWA in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, the Director, Army Public Relations, Brg General Sani Kukesheka Usman, stated that the Nigerian Army operates in accordance with global best practices and in total compliance with constitutional provisions.

He called on the media to enlighten Nigerians on their civic duties of maintaining law and order and to keep away from tendencies that can undermine national security.

His words: “It is imperative that you always have our national security, the interest and wellbeing of the people at the back of your mind whenever you are reporting. There is no doubt that the media plays a very significant role in enhancing peaceful co-existence in any given society. This is more apparent in a heterogeneous country such as Nigeria.

“Every media practitioner has in his possession a very important instrument which is double-edged and that instrument is your pen, which if wrongly used, could cause unimaginable havoc.

“Please remember that you have the tool and the followership to either strengthen or mar the peace, tranquility of our dear nation, Nigeria.

“In a recent parley with media executives in Abuja, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Buratai, said that the war against terrorism and insurgency in Nigeria need to be reported as it is and therefore, the media needs to enlighten the people to understand the true situation and support the military. There is no doubt, given your significant role and influence over your various audiences, you can stabilise or destabilise situation.

“Therefore, it is imperative that you always have at the back of your mind the interest, wellbeing and security of our nation at the back of your mind whenever there is need to print, circulate, share or broadcast news items or programmes.”

General Usman further stressed that the media is vital in every society being the fourth estate of realm, conscience and ombudsman of the society.

“Your traditional role of informing, educating, enlightening, entertaining, investigation and drawing public attention to issues of interest, helps shape opinions and understanding of issues that enable the citizens and policymakers make informed decisions. Modern technology and social media revolution has deepened and broadened these roles.

“As professionals you need to always cross-check facts and confirm from official source(s) when reporting issues of security concern. You must first ponder on the troubling reality of how the audience/public digest, decipher and react to information. It should not be seen as a divisive instrument among the people, but rather be meant for the promotion and consolidation of national unity and integration,” he said.

The Army Spokesman urged media practitioners to always determine if their reportage could boost the strength or project the course of Nigeria’s adversaries, if it could instigate public fear and or could cause hatred amongst citizenry or against the government of the day.

He further emphasised that they endeavor to ascertain if their news output could damage the nation’s hard earned reputation or disrespect the highest office and national interest.

His words: “As you balance your stories, I urge you to endeavor to support, consider national security narratives and downplay messages from enemy of the state.

“Without a safe and secure environment, there cannot be development either economical, social, political and so on. The protection of our national security is sacrosanct to supporting national development which will in turn guarantee a social wellbeing for us all. It is therefore the responsibility of all citizens, especially the media, to ensure security of lives and properties and to also put into consideration the Nigeria’s national security in reportage. Doing so will definitely ensure a sustainable development. This could only be achieved by being patriotic and giving responsible security reporting.

“The theme, ‘Participating between the Media and Nigerian Military for Responsible Security Reporting’, is very apt at this point considering the security situations in our dear country and the upcoming general elections. It is important for us to remain patriotic and avoid subjective security related broadcast. This can only be achieved through responsible reporting. I hope this conference will inject fresh thoughts into participants about this critical issue.”

“Permit me to quote from the Head of HURIWA, Mr Emmanuel Onwubiko, who said; ‘The media must exercise the greatest discretion and report responsibly because the corporate health and existence of Nigeria is endangered and indeed we are indirectly in an era of enforced emergency created by the dared evil terrorist activities of Boko Haram Terrorists’.

“I would suggest that whatever professional sacrifices the media must give to preserve the sanctity of the territorial integrity of Nigeria and conserve national security must be done now that Nigeria faces the greatest threats against our very existence as a nation and a people. The haste to write sensational story to capture the imagination of buyers and advertisers must be mitigated by the urgency of the now to preserve our national security because if there is no Nigeria there will be no Nigerian media.”

Similarly, Professor Godwin B. Okon of the Department of Mass Communication, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, urged the media in Nigeria to abide by the time -tested and time-honoured professional ethics of journalism which are objectivity, balance, truth and adherence to the due process of the law.

Delivering a lecture titled, “Social Responsibility of the mass media; a functional appreciation” at the forum by HURIWA, Prof. Okon stated: “The cultural norms typology enjoins the mass media to give an account of the day’s events in a context that gives them meaning. In other words, the mass media ought to serve as the repertoire of information needed to advance knowledge through rational discourse. Information as contextualised above is key and central to all forms of activities in humanistic settings. Every individual needs information to adapt knowledgably to the society while reacting intelligently to the environment.

“The surveillance function of the mass media draws expression from the notions of social responsibility. Surveillance in this context relates to the constant flow of public information or news about events occurring within the country and in the world. The news and information role of the mass media make them the watch dog and sentinel of society.”

The university teacher stated that when news is properly reported in the order of the 5Ws of ‘Who, When, Where, Why, Which and H (How)’, the reader does not only stand to benefit from the on-the-spot assessment of the situation but also stands to gain a full understanding of the ultimate meaning and significance of events.

Also, a Port Harcourt based legal practitioner, Mrs. Queeneth Eremwari Kelsey, emphasised the need for media practitioners to be aware of the various ramifications of extant media laws so as to practice journalism in line with the constitutional norms and stay away from litigation that may result from libels and slanders and fake news as captured by the Anti-Cyber Crimes Act of 2015.

She said: “The issue of national security is a fundamental issue in national and international discourses. It is in recognition of this fact that this paper explores the Nigerian perspective of how the operations of the mass media and the law may encroach into each other’s domain as well as the implication of such encroachment to national security.”

On his part, the National Coordinator of HURIWA Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, announced General Buratai as winner of the civil society award for transparency for 2019. He said the award would be presented to the Army Chief in the coming days even as he called on other government officials to abide by the Freedom of information Act and become transparent in their official and private conducts.