The Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai has identified some of the challenges militating against the ongoing war on insurgency, blaming negative application of information technology, prejudice against the military as some of the few things undermining the operations of the military.
He also blamed the credibility deficits of some media houses in their report on the Operational Theatre of Lafiya Dole in the North East sub-region of the country.
Buratai spoke on the challenges yesterday in Maiduguri in a paper titled: “Contemporary Warfare and War Reporting: The dilemma of military leadership,” during the Directorate of Army Public Relations third quarter Study Period, 2015 at the Maimalari Cantonment Youth Centre, Maiduguri.
He said that the huge humanitarian challenges of modern warfare, has frustrated the media’s motivation in war reporting, hence it’s difficult for them to penetrate the frontlines.
His words: “This tendency ignores military concerns for operations security and often compromise national interest.
”This often results in troops and journalists being at the crossroads despite pursuing a common goal for public safety.”
The challenge, according to him, lies in identifying a balance for exploiting the power of the media as a weapon of war; while retaining operational security before the laws of war and ethics of service.
He however noted: “One of the ways of resolving this dilemma is availability of media policy which is vital to guide all
stakeholders,” adding that the absence or non-adherence to media policies undermines war reporting.
On overcoming the challenges, he said: “ It was in recognition of this fact that I issued the Information and Psychological Operations Directive which outlined the NA’s media objectives on information management for Operation LAFIYA DOLE as alluded to earlier.
“Another way of addressing this dilemma we are facing in prosecuting this war is retaining public support for war efforts in national interest. The media must be guided by the military’s desire to win the hearts and minds of the people in its reportage and acknowledgement of military concerns for operations security.”
Comments