By KATO P. LADAN, Kaduna
In ensuring that the present security challenges bedeviling the country is nipped in the bud, all hands, including that of media practitioners have to be on deck collectively and in unity with that of security agencies.
The Kaduna State Commandant, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Mr. Babangida Abdullahi Mustapha made the appeal in a goodwill message at a One-Day Capacity Building Workshop for Journalists with theme, ” News Reporting For National Stability ” held on Saturday August 31, 2019 in Kaduna.
“We should all know that security is everybody’s business and we should ensure we write to make Nigeria remain an indivisible nation,” he said.
Represented by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Ondir Terzungwe, he said that there is difference of having knowledge from books and putting them into practice.
“As a young reporter then with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), I was told that as a reporter, you have to put Nigeria first, because without Nigeria, you cannot practice.
“I believe all of us mean well for this country. Today I wear uniform however, I was trained as a writer.
“What I have noticed us that most Nigerians are ready to write what will destabilize Nigeria. I observe that when correspondents come to ask questions and you try to put them on patriotic part, they tend to disagree,” he pointed out.
Speaking further, he said so many security operatives through. Such unpatriotic writings even have lost their lives.
“Some of us have even paid the supreme price,” he stressed.
He explained that with timely information from members of the public criminal elements operating from communities would be checked and crime reduced to barest minimum.
“In Kaduna when talking about challenges like kidnapping, armed bandits and the recent Sara Suka, we are finding it difficult to nip in the bud because members of public are not giving us timely information about the culprits,” he lamented.
Citing an example, he said, “We got a call about such an incidence in Kabala, which is a short distance from our office at the State Secretariat but before we got there, they disappeared and no one cane fourth with information to trace them,” he submitted.
He commended the organisers of the workshop, adding that it had come at the right time.
He also commended President Muhammadu Buhari for confronting insurgency and Governor Nasir el-Rufai for his dedication at tackling security challenges in the state.
“For us to gather here today, I want to appeal that we have a role to play. Instead of writing negative about Nigerian project, we should instead make Nigerians key into the fight against such,” he appealed.
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