Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the State of Osun has observed that the statutory duties of the military and the media are complimentary as the two are central and critical to the peaceful coexistence of the peoples of Nigeria.
Governor Oyetola stated this in his address at Social Media Seminar organised in Osogbo by the Department of Civil Military Affairs,Army Headquarters in conjunction with Security Affairs Limited.
The theme of the Seminar is Civil-Military Relations: The Evolving Role of Social Media In Support of the Nigerian Army’s Non Kinetic Line of Operations.
Governor Oyetola remarked that the seminar and its theme were timely particularly at a time when fake news is menacingly stoking the ember and fire of raging insecurity,thereby hampering the efforts of the military in nipping insecurity in the bud.
According to the Governor, Communication is pivotal to military and security operations as it has the capacity to make or mar security strategies and consequently secure the nation or expose it to jeopardy.
The Governor added that it is expedient for the military and the media professionals to constantly collaborate with the social media influencers and online journalists to examine their operations in the public and national interest.
He appealed to Social Media practitioners to uphold the codes of journalism which include truth balance public trust objectivity and abstaining from unverified information. He urged them to manage information with a high sense of responsibility,putting public and national interest first.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chief of Army Staff Lt General Tukur Buratai represented by the Army Chief of Policy and Planning Lt General Lamidi Adeosun had disclosed that the seminar was necessary to bring social media practitioners, Civil Society Organisations and the Army together to curb the menace of fake news.
He regretted that the urge to break the news often push Bloggers and other online Journalists to disseminate unverified information with dire consequences for communal and national security.
General Buratai thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for his usual guidance and support,commending Governor Adegboyega Oyetola as well for always according the military its honour and warm reception.
In his opening remarks, the Chief of Civil/Military Affairs, Major General Bature disclosed that the Seminar started in 2018 in Port Harcourt as a quarterly event.
General Bature also frowned at a situation where Social Media is used to set people of different faiths and tribe against one another, and particularly using the cyberspace to promote activities of terrorists thus embolding them instead of highlighting the modest efforts and progress made by the Army in the war against insurgency.
Governor Adegboyega Oyetola treated the visiting Army Generals to a reception at the Goverment House Banquet Hall,Oke Fia Osogbo.
