#TrackNigeria: National Security is defined as a multidisciplinary subject which ranges from core values of our society, national enterprise such as defence, internal security, economic security, food security and technological security.
The concept of National Security has become an extremely challenging task where restrictions have been introduced to state issues.
A nation is secured to the extent to which it is not in danger of having to sacrifice societal core values. However, the need to safeguard the political system, society and its people have become important to the overall national security. Consequently, national security as a concept in the contemporary structure of a Nation, is highly entwined with the ease of governance and our constitution provides the key to our national security policy. The concept of national security is theoretised into two broad classifications.(i) The recognition and Preservation of state security based on territory(ii) The societal security based on fundamental human rights, protection of life and property.
These assumptions remain interdependent on national security architecture of a nation. The media and national security policy of a nation have a strong connection in the contemporary environment and their connection is better understood by public opinions in times of war or internal and international crisis.
The Military/Armed Forces
A military or an armed force is a professional organization formally authorized by a sovereign state to use lethal or deadly force and weapons to support the intents of the state. It typically consists of branches such as Army, Navy, Air Force, and in certain countries, marines and a coastal Guard.
The task of the military is usually defined as defence of the state and its citizens, and as the prosecution of war against other states. The military may also have additional sanctioned and non-sanctioned functions within the society including the promotion of a political agenda, protecting corporate economic interests, internal population control, construction, emergency services, social ceremonies, and guarding important areas. The military may also function as a discrete subculture within a larger civil society, through the development of separate infrastructures, which may include housing, schools, utilities, logistics, health and medical, law,food production, finance and banking. (Wikipedia).
In broad usage, the terms “armed forces” and “military” are often treated as synonymous, although in technical usage, a distinction is sometimes made in which a country armed forces may include both its military and other paramilitary forces. Armed force is the use of armed forces to achieve objectives.
The Media
Media are those means of communication that reach and influence large numbers of people.
The media can be classified into few categories on the basis of major criteria. These are (1) mechanical devise or mechanism and (ii) Presumed level or degree of impact on society. Consequently, all the mass media can be grouped into two classes thus-(i) Print media which include newspapers, magazine books, pamphlets, direct mail, bill board, skywriting and other technical devices that carry a message to the masses by appealing to their sense of sight only. The second is electronic media which include radio and audio recording that appeal to the sense of sound television that is made possible by motion pictures and video recording that appeal to pictures and video recording that appeal to both sense of sound and the sense of sight.
The Responsibility of the Media
The primary focus of the media is on issues that benefit the general public. The media has a responsibility to uphold fairness, justice, national unity and international cooperation. The traditional role of the media in any society is to inform, educate. entertain, publicize and most importantly correct the excesses in any society. The media is a means of communication that reaches or influences people widely. It has a significant place in the statecraft machinery especially in the age of information revolution. It is the source of information for a society regarding any issue, be it local, regional or global. People rely and even trust what is presented to them by the media.
The Media as the Fourth estate and watchdog of the society plays crucial role in national development. The media shapes the perceptions of government and influences public opinion, promote democracy, good governance as well as influence peoples’ behaviour and support people- oriented policies. The media as a strong instrument for nation’s sovereignty is also referred to as the vanguard for political, economic and social development. The dynamics of media impact on national security varies from country and cannot be underestimated. In developed countries, the attention and support people give to issues is in direct proportion to the amount of media coverage. American government has invaded and fought several wars with different countries, for example, the media was embedded in the operation of Iraqi war. This enabled a constant flow of breaking news report to both American and international audiences through television cable channels and their internet web sites.
The integration of the media in the prosecution of the Iraqi war influenced the opinion of the Americans. It is on record that the media coverage swayed options in favour of the American Government.
Responsibility of the Military/Armed Forces to National Security
For better understanding of the role of the Armed forces to National Security, there is need to understand the concept of Good Security Sector Governance (SSG) and Security Sector Reform (SSR) particularly when this type of appraisal is being undertaken in a democracy.
Good security sector Governance describes how the principles of good governance applies to public security provision. The principles of good governance are accountability, transparency, rule of law, participation responsiveness, effectiveness and efficiency. Good SSG is thus a normative standard for how the state security sector should work in a democracy.
Under conditions of good SSG, the armed forces perform their constitutional roles effectively and accountably within a framework of democratic civilian control, rule of law and respect for human rights. Good SSG means that the armed forces have the professional skills, equipment, training and management to fulfill their missions without becoming a danger to the population of the state.
The primary purpose of the armed forces is national defence. Armed forces also have secondary mission, providing internal security and stability. The armed forces are also increasingly involved in international security. New roles and responsibilities create opportunities for the armed forces to prove their relevance while extending their competencies. However, new roles in internal and international security also create new demands on the armed forces for which they may not necessarily be adequately prepared. At the same time, new internal and international security roles also create new risks of misuse or abuse of power.
The challenges and potential risks associated with the changing roles of the armed force in many countries underline the need for good SSG. Good SSG ensures the armed forces can perform effectively and accountably within a framework of democratic civilian control, rule of law and respect for human rights.
The Dynamics of Media Impact on National Security.
The dynamics of media impact on national security are different and varying from country to country. The Nigeria media derives its functional legitimacy from chapter 22 of the 1999 constitution, which expects the media to keep a check on the routine activities of the authorities, hold government accountable for good governance and assist the citizens to evaluate the efficiency of the government.
The effective exertion of the role of the media as required by the 1999 constitution will adequately promote national security, though, the media in Nigeria is constrained by a number of factors. These include the concept of “security breach,” Corruption, Intimidation and arrest, and of Official Secret Act. Etc.
Conclusion
Media Professionals in Nigeria and the military needs to develop a common understanding of our core values and national security. For better understanding of the responsibility of the media and the military to National Security, there is need to access the concept of governance and threat reduction as part of the overall security architecture and help the media to examine the detection or gathering of intelligence, prevention and pre-emption of national security issues while covering government related stories. In the interest of the nation, security operatives must understand that media also has a constitutional role to play in nation building, and therefore should not be seen as the enemy of the country, rather, capacity building on the area of security reportage should be encouraged. There must be synergy between the media and the military in the interest of national security. The media should also rise to the expectation of the public and use its powers judiciously.
The government and security agencies, particularly the military need to understand the media, thereby treating it as a critical element in the national security architecture.
It was the patriotic stance that triggered our efforts at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) towards formulation of effective national security management style and information dissemination management policy, that we inaugurated NationalMonitoring Network on Safety of Journalists (NMNSJ) on November 3, 2014. The epoch-making event which took place in Abuja is the first of its type in Africa.
The relationship between the media and security is a complex one, as such it requires a great degree of care and cultural changes through the acceptance of the media as a stakeholder in the business of national security.
Thank you.
Being a paper presented by the National President of the NUJ, Chris Isiguzo at the Nigerian Army Media Conference in Abuja from 23 – 26 January 2019
