 Well, if you're still watching it's plus politics and we're talking about Dealing with the issue of insecurity in Nigeria as we count down to the elections come 23 and 23 What should we be considering and what should be front and center as we draw draw and come face-to-face with these politicians? Well discussing with me tonight's Reverend Joseph high apples the chairman Christian Association of Nigeria Kaduna State Dennis Amakari former assistant director of the DSS and Senator Erobu who is editor-in-chief of global Sentinel and a security analyst senator Before I was on that break. I wanted to talk about security reporting. So I'll post the next question to you severly politicians and government officials have pointed fingers at the media for Either the fact that they're not properly reporting the statistics are not factual or You know the media is pointing our fingers at security agencies about them not being open and giving us the right statistics Hence the loophole How well do you think that the media has fed in terms of reporting on? terrorism in security and the likes and and what do you think the major challenge of the average Journalist in Nigeria is when it comes to reporting on these issues So it's okay. You hear me. Oh Sorry, it was muted before. Can you hear me now? Yes, I can hear you. Go ahead. Yes. I may be I Don't know if you said I'm a bias because I'm from that sector, but I want to say that Niger media have been reporting well when it comes to the issue of insecurity And the general governance issues Nigeria is one of the most proactive and vibrant I've been to other West African or African countries Compare the media and materials. I think we are doing Veritable well, but it doesn't mean that they are not challenges or One was the other where we are. They are lapses. We should do more There are some aspects where we should hold The government more accountable, but I think we are doing that then there are challenges Children of all must understand the media rule, you know the media role according to Section 2, you know of the 1999 constitution is to hold chapter 2 section 22 of 1999 constitution is to uphold the responsibility and a catamplity of Coming to the people, you know, we shall play watch talk rule. So and Niger media have been doing that There's some time government feel that um we are reporting some of the activities or exposing some of the ills to the detriment of national security and again hyping the The atrocities of terrorists, but sometimes these are issue we call catch 22 For example, yes, sometimes this report because theory they tried in media had a media reportage But sometimes case you keep quiet if people continuous continuously getting killed and you don't report it I find that government is not doing anything about it or for example if there's a danger or when Secretary jesse of government will say ah this place in all the local government is now safe The citizen should go back and a journalist, you know that that place is not really safe And it's okay for the sake that you don't want to hide that the terrorists are still operating that area Keep quiet and people go there and die You've not done your job. I said so you cannot for the sake of okay I don't want to promote the activities of Terrorists and keep quiet You know and create more state of insecurity for or dangerous state of danger for the citizen So it's a dilemma for media practitioners. So it's always challenging then the issue of citizen journalism is social media, you know, sometimes people confuses with a professional Journalism these days Even if as a media practitioner, you see some things you don't, you know You want to fact check before, you know, someone who is not in a journalist have used this video taking video snapped and posted without in any form of you know Checks and balances of fact checking and post it over there and they'll come and blame it to the media These are some of the challenges and this issue of For security Yes, because of the nature of their job Sometime they work to, you know, feed that information before is thrown out to the public And passing through the right channel. So that's their job and the media job is also to get information properly What is the sense of that information the information should be able to go comment accountable It should be able it should be for public good and interest And it should be able to enhance Governance But but there are politicians who but there are politicians and government officials who have come out to say that half the time the media has tried to You know pit the people against the government in issues of insecurity And and same for security agencies that you're over sensationalizing You know are being overly sentimental on some of these issues and and when you report them Okay, first first if gourmet is doing something good or something well I don't think they should be afraid of what the media because media writes what they see That's wrong There is is a moral statement, but there was a time there was this video that trended The current governor of Kaduna state air fire he people are asking why you so critical Of jonathan government even when he achieved this achieve this and look it's not his job to come and start Laundry the major government has an old position member He's always to point out what government do not do And even the one they do they did he saw it even said they did not do it to the maximum to the capacity That's the job of old position the job of the media is not to do PR For government officials Is to hold them accountable and say look you've not done this you've not done that And for example, look at the continuous killing in kaduna state. Secondly media as a journalist. You also a human being You also Most journalists are also members of that society a citizen of that community of the country And you see what is going on See the killings You see the barrier I see nothing is being done And those terrorists had the audacity to come again and kill no statement from government No asham from government and you say the media should keep quiet I don't think even if the media like look like uh, the pledging have said What is being reported in fact what media are reporting is not up to Less than 40 percent of what is going on Because there are killings I happen to I just came I came before christma came back from Cano there was this um dialogue and media trend a co-host is having term uh This said some political representative and there's this guy from Cassina He was shedding tears He was even a a governorship candidate of a political party of how they are so vulnerable that they are constant daily killings Every day in cassina state And this is the state of the present If if you listen to him you you can have a whip, but I can't come in and to write it There are many things media As a profession I'm not talking about cities in general Ordinary who social media who There are many things that most journalists were aware of but because of the way we are not so If the few we are writing and the politicians are complaining are they doing their job? People are people dying people are dying As some communities act they are sad. Are there a lot of ungoverned spaces there are? Are there Spate of insecurities in what's mean of persisting So if all these things you fact check it, they are true You don't care whether it makes a general Politician uncomfortable. That's why you're there That's why you elected and that's why you're taking care of and that's why you're given platter of ssps Ministers this and that and You are picked by state fund to do your job And if you are not doing it is the job of a journal to point it out that you're not doing it Are you if you cannot handle it? You step aside and allow others who can to be elected and do the job Okay My assistant about this my assistant about this please quickly Yes Now, I think I cannot understand what the worst illiterate is coming from but you see It is not an antagonistic relationship You know, especially the democracy What we are trying to remember one thing The objective of a terrorist Is to go ahead and gain publicity Now a nigerian journalist Will not even listen to security agencies to find out how many soldiers were killed Or, you know, while they are managing that situation Then you go to press because you want to be the first to bring the news And I think that relationship Has been spoiled already Because they are in support look we have a national interest to protect And the journalist can also oh, uh, it is my constitutional responsibility You know to expose What government is doing No, I think it's a symbiotic relationship Where the military, uh, the first headquarters even the dss, you know before They don't use to have a spokesman now they have a spokesman You know police have a very high profile spokesman Why can't journalists go talk to these people Before they run down there and started, you know, saying oh 20 people, remember Maybe higher and higher and has about 20 people dead They just called him, you know, and then of course before you can even verify What pressman has published it? 20 people are dead What effect do you think it gives to those people in those communities? So I think we all need to look at ourselves again And then of course try to we are not competing We are for the same country. I know that some politicians can be very funny, but Let us work together. That's what I'm saying I do I don't understand you but I'm curious because I have had I've seen myself in situations where Security agencies Hardly want to give you any information They're tight lipped and half the time even the information that you have is not good enough to run with And you know sometimes sometimes you even have the facts you have these facts You have facts on the ground you were there, but then security I understand what you're saying about national, you know national for the, you know The purpose of keeping, you know, everybody together and not, you know Sensationalizing the issue, but if there's a tight lipped Situation around security agencies, what's the journalist supposed to do? I'm not in support of any tight lipped or Fake news because we have a minister of information We will come there and tell you the opposite of what actually happened. I don't think that's the way to manage information risk communication Is a very very serious issue Whereby you take the risk and of course know how to Disseminate it to public You know, you know, you have to think of so many variables It is not a matter of I want to do my job or I want to, you know be the first You know, but you should be able to consider certain things and that is national security And there should be a regular meeting regular meeting With the security agencies and the press You know, because if you want freedom of information Good governors The rule of law these three very important areas Then you have to work together. You cannot work independently Okay, I'll give you I'll give you one minute quickly go ahead Yes, I know if you this particular issue now, even if you discuss it one hour, we may not have all the time But I want absolutely Dr. March, I'm not talking. No Actually, it's not being antagonistic and no professional journalists will report operational Issues of the military or security agency that put the life of security agents in danger. This is not what I'm saying What I'm saying is Reporting issues that are public interest. For example, you see there's issue of corruption that will even affect Both the personnel or the operational capacity of the security agency It's okay. I will not report it because it affects one or the other or there is a danger That will affect the citizens or community If you do not want them ahead and so I'm not going to know and Um Most sometimes the professional journalists and the military or the security agency the interface There's something they tell us in confidence. We don't go about reporting it And also what you don't understand is that in 24 hour information circulation If you don't if like uh, Mary Ann have noted If this institution's security agencies don't put up out correct information official information on time There are citizen journalists who will break it on their own on facebook and twitter That's what I pointed out And it doesn't mean that even if the professional journalist don't write it or waiting for they will post it They'll post the videos and that's why I find that that most of these spokesperson. They are not being proactive sometimes They're waiting for hours to to get information before they know the citizen journalists the community members Who affected have already posted this in the video or in the on the social media? So they have to be interfaced and the Correctiveness from the part of the military also. All right, set it up finally. I'm going to let Reverend Hyatt close this off 50 ionic officers have been attacked in You know in the past four years and in the past few weeks We've seen back-to-back hits most especially in the southeast burning down destroying Recently also we saw how the US government had withdrawn some of their People in fact, they were the first to sound the alarm about some terrorist You know threat in in Abuja and we saw how the government Responded to it and and how they were more confrontational as opposed to proactive Whilst we are getting ready for the elections like I always say politicians will promise us heaven and earth They will tell us all the things that we want to hear But what should be the position of the average Nigerian when we're listening to these people? And if we have an opportunity to parlay with them, what should be front and center in terms of insecurity? Let me put it this way Those who are going around burning and destroying ionic properties first person concern and look at them as criminals And the law of Nigeria should not allow them both got afraid There is no reason why We are putting the election then Some Characters will be going to ionic facility and be burning to them If you really want to change in Nigeria destroying ionic property will not bring the change If you are not happy with the way things are in Nigeria destroying ionic property will not change or correct that So you have to find a better single way of Expressing your anger than doing that But because they also take advantage of the weakness of our security system where Arresting them is always not easy And even if they are arrested tomorrow they will find their way out or the whole studio will be twisted as if they were not actually the one who committed the crime That's why they're doing that So I feel really disappointed that at this time that we are crying that things are not going well And we have an opportunity to correct it through the ballot and we are now on the same people Those some characters among us are going about destroying ionic property that is wrong But I want to encourage everyone in Nigeria to support the security agencies and ensure that whatever you see Say it out or expose it and don't allow evil people to continue to have a really big When Community and cause problem and you think it does not matter It's going to affect you tomorrow Don't forget that the money they're going to use in replacing everything that they've ever destroyed It's going to be the same money that's supposed to be used in building and developing the society So everybody should be part of this effort of securing Nigeria and that's where those in power have a lot of problems It seems not to want this Other Nigerians to be involved in Contributing to security matters as far as they are concerned. They are the go on ones. They are the ones in security. They know everything And what they are claiming to That they know we've not seen anything in the food if you have tried something one you try twice you try the third time And there's no result. Why don't you also listen to other voices? Why don't you give other people the opportunity to hear their view and also try what they are bringing to the table? Until we see this country as our country until those in authority see us as part of the stakeholders that will solve Nigeria problem Who continue to be in this cycle of problem every day? But I will not just speak without saying something about the media relationship and reporting of security matters The experience we have in Kaduna is because so many media groups seems not to be paying salary some journalists Find this security reporting as another way of getting food Either they write it in support of government or write it in support of other interests If we don't correct that Then the way we report security matters will continue to be a serious problem Because if you want to report a killing and you are Treating the facts and you are not presenting the story the way it is You are also helping to stay out of a new problem in that same community So journalists have really not they've been doing well But I must confess that some of them have not done well in Kaduna Some of us have stopped watching certain medias now because we feel their reporting is biased their reporting is inhuman They are reporting do not care about what happened as long as they are going to get some emblem from those in power Here the people are making mistakes here. The people are not caring about the lives of citizens But they want to protect those people and the fact is that to their media houses They can pull that certain groups of people in Kaduna must never be interviewed So if it is a story in Kaduna it must either be what the governor say and no other person say anything contrary So how can you Effect a change when you have such reporting we have such people among the media house Reporters so this is part of the problem that we need to holistically find a way of addressing it I always said the reason why they do that is because many media houses can open sanary and that is the truth We shouldn't deny that so some of them have to find a way of between food and sadly They are not reporting in the way it's supposed to be reported Well gentlemen, it's been a very very great conversation tonight, and I'm hoping that Nigerians who are watching Are listening not just hearing your words But reading along those lines also to make sure that we do the right thing as we get ready for the polls Reverend Joseph Hyatt, Mr. Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, Kaduna State Dennis Amakari is the former assistant director DSS and Senator Irobo is the editor-in-chief of the Global Sentinel And he's also a security analyst. Thank you so much gentlemen for being part of the conversation Thank you Thank you so much All right. Thank you all That all that's the show tonight. I am Mary Annakun But don't forget go get your pbc and get ready because this is your opportunity to make that change Don't vote across religious or ethnic lines Don't vote based on sentiments or how the person looks find out if they're right for the country to turn things around I'm Mary Annakun. Have a great evening