The Acting Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Olatubosun Oluyede has declared open a media workshop Organised by the Directorate of Army Public Relations/Nigerian Army School of Public Relations and Information Media at NASPRI Headquarters in Giri, Abuja on Tuesday with an emphasis on continuous and seamless collaboration between the Nigerian Army and the media which must be maintained at all times.
Lt General Oluyede, represented by the Chief of Civil Military Affairs, Major General Nosakhare Ugbo stressed that through effective media collaboration, Nigerian Army have recorded commendable successes in joint operations across the nation.
He noted that today's security environment is characterized by several security challenges such as terrorism, insurgency, banditry, separatist agitations, kidnapping amongst other contemporary security challenges and it is important to note that the war in the Twenty First Century, though fought in battlefields, are won or lost in the media domain.
He said this is why the importance of the media for a successful military operation cannot be overemphasized. The media shapes not only the public perceptions, opinions and narratives, but also influences and galvanizes public support which is a vital variable for operational success.
He therefore urged Directorate of Army Public Relations to ensure that the synergy already achieved be enhanced so as to complement each other and create the understanding of their various constitutional roles towards achieving peace and security.
Lt General Oluyede also reiterated the Nigerian Army’s commitment to defending the nation and ensuring democratic stability. He pledged to modernize the equipment and state-of-the-art facilities at the NASPRI, elevating its standards to a global level.
He expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his strategic guidance and support. General Oluyede encouraged media practitioners to consider it their responsibility to propagate the message of peace and national security.
Earlier in his remarks, the Director Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu stressed that the workshop will not only equip DAPR officers and other participants with the requisite training on how to analyze and understand their segmented publics, understand the media in a fluid and dynamic operational environment but also develop positive narratives and strategically communicate to elicit better understanding and support for the military and security agencies making inestimable sacrifices to secure the nation.
Maj. General Nwachukwu wgo lamented that the lukewarm attitude towards the military by some section of the media in recent times, said it is generating a lot of public concern and debate, not only within the military but equally in various parts and sectors of the polity.
He disclosed that the Army in recent times has employed the use of social media in telling its stories, propagating its narratives and accessing and analyzing feedback from its diverse publics.
Maj. General Nwachukwu commended the media, bloggers and online publishers for their timely reportage of the successes and achievements of the military in its operations. Nevertheless, the burning issue of inaccurate reportage of events, that more often than not, degenerate to sheer fabrication of fake news has reached an alarming rate and therefore, calls for candid attention by all for the sake of national security, peace, unity and development of our dear nation.
He pledged as the Director of Army Public Relations to continue to do his utmost to ensure that the Nigerian Army School of Public Relations and Information (NASPRI) produces qualify personnel that will continue to positively project and promote the Nigerian Army NA and the Armed Forces of Nigeria in general.
Also in his welcome remarks, the Acting Commandant NASPRI, Lieutenant Colonel AY Ngulde, said the institution has trained over 4500 students which include commissioned and non-commissioned officers drawn from the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Air Force since its inception in April 2010.
He said the workshop came to limelight having realized that in modern warfare, the media plays a pivotal role in any successful military operation. This is because the media space has become the ultimate decider of who wins or loses a war.
Therefore, the need to always collaborate with the media for a successful military operation becomes paramount for promoting the right narratives and messaging. This further necessitated the choice of the theme for this workshop. The resources persons and discussant were carefully selected based on their wealth of knowledge and experience.
He noted that the school has reviewed its curriculum to accommodate new ideas in public relations practice and information management, including collaborations with renowned professors and doctors from the University of Abuja to enhance the training and teaching of its students.
Directorate of Army public Relations study period and the Nigerian Army School of Public Relations and Information Workshop 2024, with the theme "Leveraging Digital/Social Media Influence for Effective Military Operations Within a Joint Environment" had in total 250 participants comprising Public Relations Officers of the Nigerian Army, Commanding Officers, Defence Correspondents, Media Stakeholders, as well as online publishers and PROs of various security agencies and Para-military organizations to deliberate and brainstorm on the dynamics of the digital media space in an evolving technology.
The workshop will also foster the already existing cordial relationship amongst the media, the military and the public in the interest of national security and development.
