The National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Andrew Azazi, yesterday urged the media to rise to the challenge of complementing the efforts of security agencies in tackling the present security threats in the country.
Azazi, represented by the director of Policy and Strategy in the NSA’s office, Amb. Layiwola Shodeinde, gave the charge at the opening of an emergency session of the National Council on Information and Communication in Abuja.
The security adviser said it was time the media adopted proactive measures by educating the public on how to be conscious of happenings around them.
He said that given the spate of attacks on innocent citizens by some dissident groups, the security agencies alone could not curb the menace without the support of the public, including the media. According to him,? security is for public good.
“The security agencies, no matter how sophisticated, cannot do it alone. They will need the support of all stakeholders, especially the media, because of its potential for mass mobilisation and public enlightenment.
“What individuals need to do when in doubt of activities of certain individuals or groups should form the fulcrum of mass media messages at this critical time,” he noted.
The NSA said that a possible loss of confidence in the security agencies could only be averted through the activities of the media.
Echoing the NSA, the Minister of Information and Communications, Mr Labaran Maku, said the task before the media was enormous, and that for the much needed synergy between the media and security agencies to be achieved, there was the need for constant interaction between the two.
Maku also reiterated that the task of containing the current security challenges was not the job of the military and police alone, but a collaborative effort of all stakeholders, including ordinary Nigerians. He said the role of the media in this regard was clearly that of dousing tension through safety awareness.
The emergency meeting was reportedly convened to strategise on an all-inclusive public enlightenment campaign against terrorism, violence and disruption of public order. (NAN)
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