Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has charged mass media practitioners to be objective in reporting security issues so as to reduce pubic fear in the nation’s body polity.
Ugwuanyi who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Professor Simon Ortuanya, said this at the opening of a 2-day Civil-Media-Military Relations Summit, held in Enugu on Thursday.
According to him, the media practitioners must be careful at all times to ensure that the information they publish is meant to enhance national security as information wrongly served and portrayed will surely have negative consequences on the nation and her citizens.
“I enjoin the mass media and its practitioners to be objective, fair and patriot at all times in order to contribute their quota to national safety, peace and development,’’ he said.
Ugwuanyi promised that the state government would continue to support security agencies in the state to enable them to carry out their enormous task and improve on them.
He lauded the Nigeria Army for organising the summit, adding that the Army authorities made no mistake in choosing Enugu as the host since “it is the most peaceful state in the country’’.
Earlier, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, said that the summit was a prelude to the official flag-off of “Exercise Atilogwu Udo 1’’, which means Peaceful Dance 1.
Buratai, represented by the Chief of Training and Operations, Maj.-Gen. Enobong Udoh, said that the summit was organised to further enhance the civil-media-military relationship and foster understanding on army operations, especially in the South-East.
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He urged the media to ensure adequate and well-packaged coverage of all army exercise as well as explain the laudable rationale behind these exercises.
“It is also meant to galvanise citizens’ support for military exercises in Nigeria through the media and ensure that the media and civil populace are carried along in all Army exercises.
“The summit will also help to fashion out a new and better way to deal with security issues and elicit the necessary feedback from the civil populace on army training exercises in the zone.
“However, it should be noted that Army exercises are also used by the Nigeria Army to carry out needful community services and positive impact on the citizens,’’ he said.
Brig.-Gen. Lasisi Adegboye, General Officer Commanding, GOC, 82 Division, noted that “Exercise Atilogwu Udo 1’’ was not meant to witch-hunt anybody, but a means to improve the security and physical environment of the zone.
Adegboye said the exercise was primarily meant to check kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism and other heinous crime in the zone, adding that the exercise would also carry out some community social works.
“In the exercise, there will be sanitation, clearing of drains, medical outreaches, road construction, educational support and other social works carried out in selected communities in the South-East and 82 Division Area of Responsibility,’’ he said.
Dr Ifeanyi Didiugwu during the paper presentation on the “Military, media, peace and national development”, commended the military and organisers of the summit for their bold steps to partner with media and stakeholders in ensuring a successful exercise Atilogwu Udo 1.
He urged the populace to support the Atilogwu Udo 1, adding that the exercise is not targeted at anybody but for the peace and security of lives and properties.
The theme of the summit entitled: “Galvanizing Citizens Support for Military Operations in Nigeria through the media” was attended by selected journalists from South-East and Cross River State.
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