Participants at the 22nd edition of Social Media Influencers seminar on Civil – Military Relations organised by Army Headquarters Department of Civil Military Affairs in conjunction with Security Affairs Ltd held in Benin City, the Edo State capital, participants were of the view that the Nigerian Army’s chains of achievements should always be highlighted by the media operators especially social media so as to boost the morale of the men and officers.
Participants at the seminar included members of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs); Heads of Security Agencies in Edo State; media practitioners from the print, electronics and new media(social media), and social media influencers.
Setting the tone in her paper, ‘Fake News Syndrome and Perception Management in the Nigerian Army: The Way Forward’, Flora Bossey, the Manager, News Edo Broadcasting Service(EBS), appealed for caution and observance of the ethics of the media profession in news gathering and dissemination.
She affirmed that fake news is most often tailored to deflate the morale of the victim or to cause dissafection against the person who is so talked about. She charged the media to always operate by way of fast checking their information before going to press as this will go a long way in addressing issues of malinformation and its likes.
In his own submission, Major General Marcus Kangye, Chief Of Civil Military Affairs, who represented the Chief Of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Faruk Yaya, charged that in reporting, the numerous achievements of the Nigerian Army should be given prominence so as to boost the morale of the men and officers.
According to him, “we all have our various roles to promote peace and security in our dear country.”
Speaking on ‘Leveraging the Social Media as a Non-Kinetic Tool in Joint Operations Environment. Imperatives of Civil – Military Cooperations’, Brigadier General Folusho Oyinlola refered to the different uses to which the social media can be utilised to publicise the activities of military operatives while cautioning that care should be taken not to expose military operatives and their families to unwarranted exposure which could become a threat to security operations.
Commander Operations, Whirl Stroke, Major General Kelvin Aligbe, stated that in reporting activities of the Nigerian Army, most especially its operations, effort should be geared towards not giving out any information which the enemy may use to its advantage.
Commander Nigerian Army Cyber Warfare Command, Major General Adamu admonished that the reports that tend to portray the loyal troops in bad light should be avoided so as not to give a wrong signal to them and thereby deflate their morale.
Executive Director, Security Affairs, Ambassador Austin Peacemaker, stated that the gains of the seminar would be made manifest with the setting up of social media platforms dominated by the participants where Civil Military Relations will be further deepened.
