BY EFE MODESTUS

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has called on Nigerians to  support the fight against insurgents and other criminal elements across the country, assuring that said the military, under his leadership, will be open and truthful to the citizens about its successes and challenges.

He, therefore, called for a stronger partnership with the media, in order to overcome insurgency and other security challenges bedevilling the country.

General Musa made the remarks recently while addressing media executives who paid him a courtesy visit at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja. He said he had already informed commanders in the military to embrace openness and a cordial relationship with the media.

He said: “We have taken our time to educate our commanders on the field to have good working relationships with the media. We make deliberate efforts to train our personnel on the importance of the media in our operations.

“We have occasions where we induct some of the media practitioners in our operations, so they would be able to report directly from the field. That will make them have a feel and understand what we are doing and report to the public. We let our personnel know, during such occasions, that the media is on our side to tell  Nigerians what we are doing and the challenges we are facing.”

The CDS said as partners in progress in the fight against insurgency and insecurity in the country, The Sun has used its medium in a positive way, which has gone a long way in boosting the morale of troops, who have continued to be more dedicated, loyal and determined to end insecurity in the country “with the last drop of their blood.”

He said: “The award given to late Colonel Bako and late Lieutenant Colonel Abu Ali shows that when you do something, people will recognise you, and that has gone a long way to boost the morale of our troops.

“On a personal level, I want to also appreciate The Sun for the coverage that you have been giving to the armed forces. It is the only news medium that has supported the military in virtually all its operations, as it projects the truth and that is what we truly appreciate.

“While I was in the theatre in Borno State, The Sun gave us very positive coverage. We know that without The Sun, people wouldn’t have known what we were doing and what we stand for, and the challenges we are facing. But you have used your medium to pass that information to the public and we are truly happy about that.

“As military officers, we know that the media plays a critical role in warfare, and that is why we have a civil-military department and activities to back it up. The military is not all about violence. We have a lot of things we are doing and, especially, now that we have introduced civil-military activities which go hand in hand with our kinetic efforts. I think those are the areas that we have to project.

“Gone are the days when these antagonistic and bad reports about the military were the other of the day. There are a lot of positive things that are happening in the military and even the negative things might not be deliberate, if you look at them critically.

“I have always encouraged our personnel that we should be open because that makes it a lot easier to gain the trust of the people. I always encourage the commanders not to lie. If you don’t understand something or you don’t have any information on it, don’t just say anything. Just do your findings and call back to relay the right information.

“Acting Defence spokesman, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, in his remarks, said: “I want to appeal to the media that whatever you hear from the other side, you should also make efforts to hear from us, too, before going to press. I find the media very friendly and cooperative.

“We know you are helping us to do our job by sensitising our activities, and whenever there are issues, please let us know. We also want you to use your medium to help propagate our operations in the South East to restore peace. As a newspaper with a large circulation and readership, we want to appeal to you to support our operations in the South East. We have operations currently ongoing there and The Sun has a wider circulation there.

“I believe you can use the paper to propagate our non-kinetic approach, so that they know what we are doing and, also, use it to support our operations for the citizens to embrace peace and make Nigeria a safer place for all to live in.”

Earlier, in his remarks, Ukeh acknowledged the role of the military in maintaining law and order. He also sympathised with the military over the recent loss of its officers and men in Niger and Imo states, respectively.

He said: “As a newspaper, we fully support the military and what it is doing for Nigeria. The Sun as a media organisation has continued to support the military, and whenever the need arises, we won’t hesitate to do the right thing.”

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