The Commander, 13 Amphibious Brigade, Nigerian Army, Calabar, Brigadier General Muftau Owodiran Ibrahim (2nd L), NUJ Chairman, Comrade Archibong Bassey (2nd R) and others during the courtesy visit.
By Ita Williams, Calabar
The Commander, 13 Amphibious Brigade, Nigerian Army, Calabar, Cross River State, Brigadier General Muftau Owodiran Ibrahim has called for a greater patriotism and cooperation among the Nigerian populace to improve the country’s image, and to overcome security challenges face the nation.
Brig. Gen. Ibrahim also called on the media to always shade light on the activities and the successes of the military and other security agencies to prevent misinformation and promote peace and security.
The Commander made the call on Wednesday during a courtesy visit by the newly constituted Executive Council, led by Comrade Archibong Bassey and some members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Cross River State Council.
In his words Commander Ibrahim said “it is important that we love, secure and be patriotic towards our nation; I don’t believe anything is wrong with Nigeria, the citizens are just the ones who give the nation a bad image, when in reality, this nation is blessed”.
He also stated that no militancy or insurgency can exist in any nation without the support of the local populace.
He acknowledged the existence of security challenges in every geo-political zone of Nigeria but noted that Cross River State “is relatively peaceful due to the peace-loving nature of its people”.
Brigadier General expressed his appreciation for the media’s role in the nation’s development and urged them to focus more on reporting the accomplishments of the military rather than the activities of criminal elements.
“Without the media beaming light on the activities and wins of the Nigerian Army, it will not be known and there would be a lot of misinformation”
“Sometimes, we take action that the civil populace don’t understand and sometimes, there are accidents but our intentions at the end of it all is the peace and security of Nigeria” , he stressed.
While criminal elements may win once and receive extensive media coverage, the victories of the Nigerian military often go unnoticed, he said, noting, “all that the criminal elements need is to win once and they are all over the media while the Nigerian military wins everyday, yet no one notices”.
The Commander also expressed concern about the growing influence of the social media, where individuals make inciting and provocative statements that can potentially harm the nation, stressing that some of these individuals have little knowledge of Nigeria or its security challenges, and yet they continue to spread harmful content abroad.
Ibrahim used the occasion to enumerate the essence of loving and securing the nation, reminding the audience that Nigeria is a blessed country that often suffer from a negative image due due to the actions of a few misguided citizens.
In her response, Comrade Bassey, commended the Nigerian Army for its enormous, contributions to the nation’s security challenges.
She acknowledged that the Army’s heroic achievements are not often recognized, with the exception of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day and expressed the union’s willingness to partner with the army to ensure that its activities are properly showcased and appreciated.
The NUJ also visited the Cross State Headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS) to promote mutual working relationship.
