The Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Adegboyega Oyetola, the Olowu Kuta, HRH Oba Hammed Adekunle Oyelude Makama, civil society groups, social media influencers, Osun Online Media Practitioners (OOMPA) have called on the need to support the Nigerian military on the fight against insurgency and banditry in Nigeria.
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The general consensus was muted at the 10th Edition of the Social Media Influencers Seminar organized by the Army Headquarters of Civil Military Affairs in conjunction with Security Affairs Limited held at the AENON Suites and Hotels, Osogbo, Osun State on Monday, August 10, 2020.
The Special Guest of honour who doubled as the host, the Osun State Governor, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola extolled the Nigerian Army for relentless efforts to defeat and contain terrorism and banditry in Nigeria.
Speaking on the theme of the of seminar titled; Civil-Military Relations: The Evolving Role of the Social Media in Support of the Nigerian Army’s Non-Kinetic Line of Operations, Oyetola said the seminar came at a challenging time when fake news is menacingly fuelling the raging insecurity and hampering the modest efforts of the military to stem the tide of insecurity in the country.
The elated Oyetola who hosted the military to a dinner the previous day has this to say at the seminar,
“Communication is central to military and security operations. It has the capacity to make or mar security strategies and operations and consequently secure the nation or expose it to jeopardy.
“This realisation makes it expedient for the military and media practitioners to constantly collaborate to interrogate their operations in the national and the public interests.
“It is therefore gratifying that the Nigerian Army has organised this seminar to provide an avenue for it to enlighten the civil populace about its activities and to collaborate with social media practitioners to seek their cooperation and to curb the fake news syndrome that is cancerous to military operations.
“With this seminar, the Nigerian Army has proved beyond a doubt that it recognises the need for a holistic method to restore peace and security to the nation.
“The non-conventional and militia nature of the nation’s raging insecurity makes collaboration between the military and the civilian expedient, especially in a world heavily driven by technology.
I urge the Nigerian Army to make organisation of military-civilian workshops, seminars and conferences a regular occurrence in view of the strategic importance of military-civilian relations and the need for the military-social media collaborations at these challenging times.
“Beyond this seminar, efforts must also be made by the participants and the organisers to cultivate personal and institutional friendships to foster mutual trust, achieve professionalism and consequently engender national interest.”
In his opening remarks, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai who was represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Nigerian Army Headquarters, Abuja, Lt. General Hammed Adeosun lauded the continued support of the administration of Governor Oyetola for the Nigerian Army.
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He said the seminar was one of the fora the Army uses to disseminate prompt information to curb the menace of fake news syndrome.
Adeosun acknowledged the hands of fellowship that the Nigerian Army has been receiving from the civil populace, saying the seminar would further strengthen cordiality between the military and civil populace.
The Nigerian Army under my leadership is fully aware of high level of cooperation and goodwill we enjoyed from the members of the public across the country.
The Nigerian Army has therefore over the years taken deliberate efforts in ensuring it gives back to the society in the areas of corporate social responsibilities as this had engendered closer cooperation to the civil components and ultimately in providing conducive environment for the execution of our onerous tasks.
This is very much in line with our vision to have a professionally responsible Nigerian Army in discharge of its constitutional role and the need to ensure we have a good and cordial relationship with the Civil Society Organisations and the host communities where we conduct our several military operations can not be over-emphasised.
This is because the interaction forms the basis of Non-Kinetic of our operations as the seminar is very much in line with the Civil-Military cooperation drive of Nigerian Army aimed towards bridging the gap between civil populace and the Nigerian Army.
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In his commendation, the Olowu of Kuta, Oba Hammed Adekunle Makama Oyelude Tegbosun 3 called on the Army to be more media friendly and counter media onslaught.
Oba Makama advised the military to rise up for more investment in information dissemination and to relate more with the online media influencers to counter the antics of terrorism.
Oba Oyelude said the political problems confronting the Nigerian Army is enormous, adding that it’s very important the Army get those serving as saboteur arrested.
The Monarch called in Nigerians to see the Army as theirs, stating that they needed to be motivated, encouraged and supported at all times.
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