The maiden edition of the Voice of Nigeria forum has been described as a veritable tool that helps in shaping narratives and drives positive imaging regarding the country and the activities of government in nation building.
The Former Chief of Defence Staff General Lucy Irabor in his address at the event stated the media also needs to be mindful in handling matters of institutions like the military with sensitivity and high level of responsibility.
“If there is a misnomer or if there is a misadventure of an individual that belongs to one of the security agencies, that does not constitute the image of that establishment or institution. So it’s necessary for you to understand that within various establishments there may be deviants, but that does not mean that the behaviour of that deviant is actually a character of that establishment. So it’s in that context that I would like to appeal that when you’re reporting facts and situations of the outcome, put in context the image of the country, because here we’re dealing with the image of the country, we’re dealing with the sensibilities of the citizens as that affects our day-to-day activities”
“The military establishment and various agencies are only agencies of state and so it must be said that they are doing the work for you as a state, as a part of the system of the state. (4:26) But when you want to play politics using them as an anchor, (4:30) then of course you know that you’ll be working at compromises and intentions of having an entity or a sovereignty of this nature”
General Irabor however stated emphatically that the media remains a very profound partner in national security if positive projections are given to all the activities of not just the military but the entire security architecture of the country.
Olusola Akintonde