By Festus Fifen.

The Director General, Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC), Maj.-Gen. Garba Wahab (Rtd), says a Cordial Relationship between the Media, the Military, Para-Military and other security and law enforcement agencies is the bedrock of a peaceful nation.

The retired General stated this on Friday during a Media Roundtable with members of the Defence Correspondents Association of Nigeria (DECAN) in Abuja.

With the theme, “National Interest versus National Security: A Quest for Responsible Journalism”, General Wahab says the Media and other Stakeholders must clearly understand what constitutes national interest and national security in the quest to address Nigeria’s security challenges across all the tiers of Government.

He added that the media had huge responsibility in ensuring that the reportage of military activities and operations does not jeopardise national security in any way.

According to him, a nation that wants to make progress in the areas of security will never report anything that brings disrepute to their militaries or other law enforcement agencies. He therefore used the medium to urge the Nigerian media to refrain from reporting issues that would have negative impact on serving and retired personnel of the military.

While advising critical stakeholders to make sure that the level of distrust between the military and the media are amicably addressed for them to be able to work together, he emphasizes Team work as the Hallmark of success in this regard

In his words, “We must all work as a team to ensure that the system moves on.

“In a modern society like Nigeria, security is development and development is security. Without security, you can’t be developed. And without development, you can’t be secured. The two go together.

“So, we are pursuing security for us to be developed,”

Wahab debunked the belief on the part of the populace that military personnel were often hostile to civilians, saying that things had greatly changed in the military.

He explained that the current Nigerian armed forces had undergone a series of transformations since the return of democracy to the country.

According to him, all the service arms of the military have established their Department of Civil Military Affairs to be able to relate positively and harmoniously with the civil populace.

He urged the media to play an active role in changing the narratives by educating the citizens on their responsibilities in supporting the efforts of the military.

The Director General said the centre had since its establishment in 2016 as a think-tank of the Nigerian Army, played crucial roles in capacity development of officers and soldiers as well as other security personnel and stakeholders.

He called for strengthening of all the security, intelligence and paramilitary agencies to be able to address the national security challenges