National Security in Focus as NBC Meets Broadcast Stations’ CEOs

Samuel Ajayi reports on recent meeting the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, had with station CEOs on need to keep national security in mind when doing their jobs.

The National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, had a rough one with a section of Nigerians when it recently wrote to stations on the need to exercise caution when discussing issues that bothered on national security during their early morning newspaper review shows.

The memo, signed by the Director of Monitoring and Operations, Franca Aiyetan, had cautioned stations to ensure that, when discussing news headlines, care must be taken not to give undue exposure to bandits and in such a way that one section of the country was not set against the other.

Against the backdrop of this development, the Commission decided to organise a meeting with chief executive officers of broadcast stations in all the six geopolitical zones of the country. The Southwest edition was held at Providence Hotel, GRA, Ikeja and the Commission could not have chosen any other person to deliver the keynote address other than the Director of Public Relations of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet.

Speaking on what he described as the ‘new Nigerian Air Force’, the one-star general listed those things that have positively changed in the Air Force since the appointment of Air Marshal Oladayo Amao as the new Chief of Air Staff.

The high point of his address was the fact that the three services-Army, Navy and Air Force-now collaborate which had made the job of fighting bandits and insurgents more easier.

“It might not be what you want to hear or what you will agree with, but things are improving security wise in the country in the last six months since the change of service chiefs by President Mohammadu Buhari”, Gabtwet said.

Now delving into relationship between the security agencies and the media, especially broadcast stations, the Air Force spokesman said the urge to be the first to break a particular news has made professionalism being sacrificed on the altar of expediency.

He lamented that at times, the job of security agencies is being made difficult going by the way certain operations are being reported by the media. To him, at times, security agencies are being accused of killing innocent civilians when that case is direct opposite. To him, the media, especially broadcast stations needed to do more to put some bloggers and online news platforms that usually report take news out of business.

“My door is open twenty-four hours and seven days of the week. My lines are always open and you can call me any time and I will pick your call. All you need is to take the extra step to get in touch”, the Air Commodore stated.

Earlier, the Director-General of the Commission, Mallam Balarabe Shehu Ilelah, while welcoming participants to the meeting said the Commission was not out to intimidate nor suppress popular voice of gag anyone. He added that the aim of the meeting was for the Commission to listen to CEOs of broadcast organisations in the Southwest and forge a way forward for the benefit of their viewers and listeners and development of the nation.

“NBC is not meant to suppress or gag anyone. We are partners with you and we are here to listen to you as a family. We are here to listen to you as a family. We are not here to give you instructions or tell you what to do. But your duty is to protect the country and also protect the country’s national security,” Ilelah said.

He added that the media, especially broadcast media, has become tools for politics, entertainment and sports. He, however, lamented the menace of fake news in the polity.

“The spread of fake news and hate speech is becoming rampant. Your duty is to make sure you don’t become tools in the hands of those who peddle lies,” the NBC boss advised.

Just as the Southwest edition of the meeting was being rounded off, the NBC team headed for Enugu, the Enugu State capital for the Southeast edition of the meeting with CEOs of stations. There, broadcast stations in all the five states of the Southeast would be expected at the meeting. Earlier, the Northwest edition had been held in Kano.

Organising this meeting was clearly a proactive move by the Commission going by the clear misrepresentation that trailed its recent letter to broadcast stations over how their newspaper review programmes were being handled vis-a-vis the need to keep at the back of their minds the need to bear in mind the security implications of some issues.

Gloria Makinde, head of public affairs of the Commission, told THISDAY that NBC has always meant well and would always do.

“Our job is to ensure that people have rights to quality broadcasting and also to protect the industry and ensure that broadcast stations have level playing ground and not seeing NBC as being against their progress. We indeed want their progress. But we must also bear in mind that we have no other country. Therefore, we must be mindful of contents that might be inimical to our growth and national security.”