The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,
has urged journalists how to behave with the news when Nigeria is at
war, saying that Nigeria army has met the deadline on Boko Haram.
Lai Mohammed was speaking in Lagos on Wednesday, December 23, during the interactive session with newsmen.
He said: “Yes, you must remain professional at all times, and we
are not asking you to do anything less, but you must also act in the
national interest always.
”Acting in the national interest
means not playing up the reports of the cowardly Boko Haram attacks on
soft targets. Acting in the national interest means not regurgitating
the propaganda of Boko Haram and its fellow terrorist group,
ISIS. Acting in the national interest means extolling the bravery and
sacrifice of our gallant troops. Acting in the national interest means
not viewing the war from a partisan prism. Acting in the national
interest means rallying all Nigerians, irrespective of their political,
religious or ethnicbackground, to support the war.’‘
The minister told the journalists that the army has almost met the
Dec. 31 deadline given by President Muhammadu Buhari to defeat Boko
Haram, saying what he saw during his recent trip to the theatre of war
in Borno state and the briefings he received from the army top persuaded
him of the successes recorded by the military.
‘‘They (military) have so degraded the capability of Boko Haram
that the terrorists can no longer carry out any spectacular attacks.
Remember, gentlemen, that at the height of the war, Boko Haram
controlled 20 of the 27 local governments in Borno.
”I can hear you saying to yourself: But the terrorists are still
carrying out suicide bombings and killing people. My response to that is
that such is the nature of insurgency anywhere. Unlike a war between
two armies, an insurgency never ends with an armistice. Even in
countries like Colombia where insurgency was supposed to have ended
decades ago, attacks still happen,” Lai Mohammed said.
He cautioned that as the deadline comes, Boko Haram and ISIS have
started their propaganda, looking for discredit of the Nigerian Armed
Forces to give the impression that they are still winning.
The minister denied a report that was widely published in the
newspapers a few days ago, defining terrorists as dispersed and almost
defeated.
“The insurgents are hungry, they are sick and they are desperate and will clutch at any straw,” he said.
“Don’t let us prop them up with our reports.”
Lai Mohammed further added: ”To fill that gap, we have commenced a
national security campaign to raise awareness among Nigerians about the
war, about the sacrifice of our troops that has seen the terrorists
largely defeated and about how to finally stamp out the remnant of the
war, which is suicide bombing.
”As I speak, jingles are being played on national radio and
television as part of this campaign. Also, in order to keep the media
better informed about the war, so that they can also better inform
Nigerians, we will soon inaugurate an ad hoc committee comprising media
representatives as well as representatives of the military and
intelligence agencies. This committee will meet from time to time for
background briefings that will give the media a better perspective of
the war.”
”Gentlemen, we need peace before we can even practice our
professions. We need peace before we can meaningfully revive our
economy. We need peace for our democracy to thrive. Boko Haram is the
very antithesis of peace. Boko Haram must be wiped out not just through
military might but with the support and efforts of all of us.”
President Buhari set his army a deadline of the end of December to free all Nigerian territory currently held by the insurgents.
The military recently launched an
operation involving ground and air strikes against the sect in the
Sambisa forest, which the military views as Boko Haram’s final hideout.
The group, meanwhile, remained active in Nigeria and neighboring countries.
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