A recent debate has reignited an enduring ethical dilemma in media circles: what should or should not be published?

By its very nature, journalism thrives on controversy, and many media outlets consider sensitive or even classified information the holy grail, often labelling it as Breaking News or exclusive investigative reporting. However, communication scholars and public relations professionals have long advocated for responsible journalismespecially when national interests are at stakethrough dialogue, discretion, and, in some cases, confidentiality.

There are indeed circumstances where a better understanding between the media and security services is crucial, particularly when the information in question has the potential to endanger lives or undermine national stability. I have both witnessed and facilitated engagements where critical institutions found it necessary to confidentially brief trusted and responsible editors on highly sensitive matterswhether relating to security operations or economic stability.

I recall such instances vividly during the era of Mr. Femi Adesina as President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and Major General Chris Olukolade as Chairman of the Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA). As Editor-in-Chief of The Sun Newspapers and Director of Defence Information, respectively, they led frank, transparent, and impactful sessions where editors were shown visual and documentary evidence of national security challenges. Some editors were visibly shakensome even shed tearsat the disturbing footage of atrocities committed by terrorists. At other times, they celebrated triumphs of the Nigerian military with equal emotion. Yet, not once was such sensitive information leaked or published in breach of trust.

Today, the current National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, similarly acknowledges the strategic role of the media and encourages security chiefs to engage top editors in private, interactive sessions.

In such sessions, the editors have been discreetly briefedoften with graphic evidenceon successful counterterrorism operations and the ultimate sacrifices of fallen troops. The meetings underscore the essential bond of trust between the media and security institutions.

Meanwhile, these engagements are often conducted under mutually agreed-upon conditionseither off the record, under the Chatham House Rules, or with a confidentiality clause. These protocols help maintain the delicate balance between press freedom and national security.

To clarify: when a conversation is off the record, the information shared is not to be published or attributed under any circumstances. The Chatham House Rule permits the use of shared information but forbids identifying speakers or their affiliations. Unfortunately, even senior officials sometimes fail to understand these distinctions.

A confidentiality clause, in more formal terms, is a legal agreement that prohibits the disclosure of certain information. Journalists, as custodians of public trust, are often expected to protect confidential sources and sensitive information.

That is why the recent suspension of veteran editor Steve Osuji by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has sparked significant concern. Osuji was suspended for one year for allegedly breaching the off the record rule by publishing an article based on a keynote address delivered by the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr. Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, at the NGEs 25th Biennial National Convention in Enugu.

According to Eze Anaba, the President of NGE, there was a clear understanding that the DGs address was not to be made public. Nevertheless, Osuji reportedly published content from the session on his social media handles. The NGE apologised to the DSS and its DG for the breach and reiterated its commitment to ethical standards, while allowing Osuji the right to appeal the decision.

Though the Revised Code of Ethics for Nigerian Journalists (2022)dealing with Sources/Privilege/Non-Disclosuredoes not mention off the record explicitly, it affirms the universally accepted principle of confidentiality in journalism.

In response, Osuji challenged the NGE’s decision, stating that DSS operatives had allowed journalists to attend and that a compre only announced the address as confidential after it had commenced. Expressing concern over what he called unprecedented gagging, he published an article questioning the DSSs approach and broader issues around insecurity. When asked by an NGE executive to delete the article, Osuji refused, claiming national security must be questioned when necessary. He accused the Guild of allowing the convention to be hijacked and declared that he would rather be suspended than remain part of what he called an efulefu Guild, which, in his view, had failed in its watchdog role.

In fairness to all partiesespecially the DG DSS and the editorsthe matter could have been resolved internally, with dialogue rather than disciplinary action. If anything, the DG DSS has shown professionalism and restraint in his conduct and approach to media relations since his appointment about two years ago. He has also emphasised due process, discouraged arbitrary arrests, and encouraged transparency, even allowing other agencies to take credit for joint successes.

While the DSS may not publicly outline its communication policy, its leadership has repeatedly demonstrated an intention to build mutual trust with media stakeholders. Private editor briefings, such as the one in Enugu, are intended to foster understanding, not confrontation. The aim is to offer highly sensitive, sometimes exclusive, briefings to responsible media professionals who appreciate the gravity of the information shared.

This culture of behind-the-scenes media engagement dates back to the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, when then-NSA Sambo Dasuki supported media-security cooperation. Under his directive, editors were shown live video footage of terrorist atrocities and strategic military preparationsso they could responsibly shape their reporting and avoid unnecessary public panic.

While I wish my senior colleague had taken down the article in the national interest when requested, I believe a one-year suspension is overly harsh. I hope this issue can still be resolved amicably. Our security services are becoming more professional and collaborative with members of the Fourth Estate. They needand deserveconstructive support.

Finally, for any engagement that requires confidentiality, all parties must be informed beforehand about the terms: whether it is off the record, under the Chatham House Rules, or subject to a confidentiality clause. These distinctions matter, not just for ethics, but for the integrity of public discourse and national security.

Yushau A. Shuaib is the author of Award-Winning Crisis Communication Strategies. yashuaib@yashuaib.com

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Recently when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced his Special Advisers and named Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as the adviser on security, many were confused if this designation would be the same as that of the National Security Adviser (NSA).

In my previous article titled, The person needed as President Tinubus NSA, I mentioned that while most past holders of the position were retired Army officers, national security issues are actually beyond the exclusive ken of the military. Security has evolved to largely encompass developmental issues, which now involves more holistic approaches that could be non-kinetic and essentially strategic in nature, beyond the mere prosecution of armed solutions and deployment of boots on the ground in counter-attack operations.

On the nomenclature of Ribadus designation, whether this is as a Special Adviser, a National Adviser or Presidential Adviser, there has only been one Security Adviser in the country, who is also a member of the National Security Council.

Born on 21 November 1960, Nuhu Ribadu was an intelligence police operative, who came to the national limelight as a star prosecutor at the Oputa Panel which was created to investigate human rights abuse during the military era.

He was thereafter Chairman of the Petroleum Special Revenue Task Force (PRSTF) before he became the pioneer Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the agency of the Federal Government tasked with countering corruption and fraud in the country.

Ribadus pragmatic approach to intelligence gathering and crime-fighting while in EFCC earned him global recognition and awards, leading to the de-listing of Nigeria from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) List of Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories, its admission into the prestigious Egmont Group, and the withdrawal of the US Treasurys Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) Advisory on Nigeria.

Once a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development, a TED Fellow, and a Senior Fellow in St. Antonys College, University of Oxford, UK, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu was in exile during President YarAduas administration, before he returned to the country in 2010 and declared his intention to run for President of Nigeria under the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). In 2011, the retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) was adopted as the presidential candidate of the ACN, a party sponsored by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Before Ribadus recent appointment, other former retired police officers had been appointed as National Security Advisers in the country. They included Gambo Jimeta from Adamawa State, during the tenure of Military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, and Alhaji Ismaila Gwarzo (also first DG DSS/SSS) from Kano State, during the period of and then Chief Ernest Shonekan and General Sani Abacha.

Yet, a number of retired officers of the Nigerian Army though never from the Navy or Airforce have equally held this post, from General Aliyu M. Gusau, to Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (who functioned in the capacity briefly), General Abdullahi Mohammed, General Sarki Mukhtar, General Owoye Andrew Azazi, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, and currently General Mohammed Babagana Monguno.

Unlike many who easily construe the remit of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) as one coordinating a fighting force on behalf of the government, its essential mandate however consists of intelligence gathering, processing and dissemination towards warding off threats to the wellbeing of the nation. These the NSA does while harnessing the potential of the various intelligence agencies of the country to work together in attaining national security objectives.

It is necessary to point out that the National Security Agencies Act (CAP 278) established three principal agencies: the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the State Security Service (now known as the Department of State Services (DSS).

Section 4 of the National Security Agencies Act, 1986, which disbanded the erstwhile Nigerian Security Organisation and created these three intelligence agencies in its place, specifically empowered the President, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, to appoint a Coordinator on National Security. Section 4(2) of the Act states that: The Coordinator on National Security shall be a Principal Staff Officer in the Office of the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

Similarly, Section 4(3) of the Act defines the roles of the Coordinator on National Security to include advising the President on matters concerning the intelligence activities of the (created) agencies; making recommendations in relation to the activities of the agencies to the President as contingencies may warrant.. and doing such other things in connection with the foregoing provisions of this section, as the President may determine.

Section 1 of the National Security Agencies Decree, 1986 (INSTRUMENT NO. NSA 1) specifically transfers the functions of the Coordinator on National Security to the National Security Adviser.

Therefore, from the foregoing, the primary responsibility of the NSA, who is a statutory member of the Presidency, the National Security Council and the Federal Executive Council is to advise the president on matters concerning intelligence activities and making recommendations to him on issues of national security.

Meanwhile, in response to the challenges of Boko Haram terrorism, the Terrorism Prevention Act 2011, as amended in 2013, was signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan. The document in its Part I, Section 2(1) states that, The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) shall be the coordinating body for all security and law enforcement agencies and under this act shall (a) provide support to all relevant security, intelligence, law enforcement agencies and military services to prevent and combat acts of terrorism in Nigeria, among other tasks.

The Act also gives ONSA the mandate to ensure the formulation and implementation of a comprehensive Counter-Terrorism Strategy and build capacity for the effective discharge of the functions of relevant security, intelligence, law enforcement and military services.

In line with the foregoing, the former NSA Sambo Dasuki established the Counter Terrorism Centre (CTC) in 2012, which is located in the ONSA and he followed this up with the unveiling of the National Counter Terrorism Strategy Document (NACTEST) in 2014. The soft approach document details the national strategy for the fight against terrorism while allotting tasks to every intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies in the country, alongside other government bodies having any role to play in this battle.

The non-military strategy to counter-insurgency was to complement, not replace efforts of troops in fighting terrorism. The soft approach strategy identifies poverty, social injustice, isolation and sectarianism are among the causes of insurgency, while the solutions included prison reform, economic development, peace talks and educating the public.

It is necessary to reaffirm the fact that inter-agency cooperation and synergy are central to the objectives of the ONSA. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CRFN) 1999, as amended, spells out the roles of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), the Police and other security and paramilitary agencies in assisting the civil authority to maintain law and order. The Nigeria Police Force is recognised as the lead agency in the maintenance of internal security in Nigeria, as enshrined in CFRN 1999, Section 214. However, the AFN is usually invited to restore law and order where the NPF is overwhelmed.

The Armed Forces Act, the Nigeria Police Act, National Security Agencies Act and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Act, among others, further define the roles and administration of these agencies. Therefore, these laws provide the institutional framework for inter-agency collaboration between the AFN and other agencies in internal security operations in the country.

The roles of the NSA, as contained in the National Security Agencies Act, transcends that of the mere coordination of the three major intelligence agencies, as the establishment Act for the office empowers the Adviser to act in such other matters on security as the President and Commander in Chief may deem fit.

The President is empowered by the Constitution, under Section 218 (1) to superintend over all affairs of the armed forces. He is further empowered by Section 218 (2) of the legal ground norm to delegate powers to any member of the armed forces concerning the operational use of these forces. This power, therefore, gives the Minister of Defence or Chief of Defence Staff responsibility over the armed forces on behalf of the Commander in Chief.

The Constitution equally empowers the President or any other minister he may empower, to direct the affairs of the Police in the maintenance of law and other. Therefore, at the discretion of the President, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) reports to him directly or to a minister.

In situations of national emergencies, the NSA retains the coordinating power and uses its instruments, resources and other means available to coordinate the activities of security services, including other components of government that are required to bring about stability to the situation. The NSA briefs the President on the outcomes of operations and in liaison with the various constituents of the national security architecture, advises the President on the next courses of action.

At the strategic level, inter-agency cooperation is fostered by intelligence shared at the monthly sittings of the Joint Intelligence Board (JIB) at the ONSA. It is a melting point of intelligence sharing, involving all players in our national security system. This includes the intelligence arms of the armed forces, intelligence agencies, police and other para-military agencies and indeed the heads of key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) of government that are tasked with the maintenance of law and order.

While President Ahmed Bola Tinubu has named Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who undoubtedly has acquired the wealth of experience necessary to discharge this remit, as his Special Adviser on security, it remains to be seen if the chosen nomenclature would play any significant role in enabling or restricting his ability to carry out the designated obligations of his new office.

Yushau A. Shuaib is the author of An Encounter with Spymaster and Award-winning Crisis Communication Strategies yashuaib@yahoo.com

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“Our country is bedevilled… (by) multifarious security challenges by which each agency must bring its wealth of experience and comparative advantage to compliment the effort of another”- DG DSS

The current Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi Magaji made the above remarks in his keynote address, while hosting the meeting of the Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA) on April 24.

The Forum was established in 2013 by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to enhance synergy and collaboration amongst critical institutions that deal with issues of security and its challenges in Nigeria.

As a sensitive security organ, the ONSA is statutorily empowered to coordinate the activities of military, security, intelligence and response agencies in combating terrorism, cybercrime and major issues affecting the wellbeing of the state in Nigeria. It is a known fact that during the previous administration, the ONSA hosted regular meetings of security and service chiefs in addressing issues that could create conflict in society.

While the meeting of the security chiefs was held almost every other week in ONSA, the meeting of FOSSRA was held rotationally among member-agencies every month until June 2015.

It is of utmost importance to highlight some instances when FOSSRA’s interventions doused tension and stabilised the polity within a climate of heightened agitations and security concerns in the country.

In June 2014, the then National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki officially tendered an apology to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, who was allegedly harassed by joint-security operatives at an international summit on Farmer-Herder Crisis in Kaduna. Both the former NSA and the Speaker are from the same royal family within the Sokoto sultanate, even if of different statuses. (Link: http://bit.ly/31HNERy)

Similarly, in one of the Army-Shi’ite altercations in Zaria, also in July 2014, during which some members and children of Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky were killed by Nigerian soldiers, the Chairman of FOSSRA, who was then the Director of Defence Information, General Chris Olukolade, promptly issued an empathic statement, expressing regret over the incident and announcing that a panel would be constituted to unravel the remote causes of the fracas. The statement played a magical role in nipping the controversy in the bud. (Link: http://bit.ly/2TycxMD)

The following month, the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and two operatives of the Corps were allegedly disrespected and manhandled on different occasions by the Police. As the media were feasting on the controversy, the then spokesperson of the Nigerian Customs Service, Wale Adeniyi hosted the monthly meeting of FOSSRA in September 2014, where the erstwhile Police spokesperson, Emmanuel Ojukwu walked to the NSCDC spokesperson, Emmanuel Okeh and issued a joint statement which doused the tension. (Link: http://bit.ly/31G3eNg)

Meanwhile, since the appointment of Major General Babagana Monguno (Rtd) as the National Security Adviser (NSA) by President Muhammad Buhari in 2015, he has neither shown keen commitment to nor hosted the meeting of the FOSSRA to guard against inter-agency rivalry. The meeting of the Forum, which has become occasional, is now being hosted by the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) and other security agencies that value synergy and collaboration in information management.

If FOSSRA, which is domiciled under the ONSA, is very active, the current acrimony between the Nigerian Army and the police over the killing of the Police’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT) operatives by soldiers in Taraba State could have been averted. There would most likely have been an existing synergy and a more cordial relationship between these two prominent actors within the Nigerian security architecture and system.

It was alleged that soldiers of the 93 Battalion shot the IRT operatives – including Inspector Mark Ediale, Sergeant Usman Danzumi, and Sergeant Dahiru Musa – dead after they had arrested a notorious kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala Wadume, who is now on the run. The Army claims that the police officers were shot after being mistaken for “suspected kidnappers” and blames the attack on a communication gap.

The initial statement from the Police spokesperson, DCP Frank Mba and immediate response by the Army spokesperson, Colonel Sagir Musa, would have been needless if an effective mechanism of inter-agency collaboration, as exemplified by FOSSRA, had been adhered to.

There are trending videos, audios and sponsored stories on the fracas that need to be contained before they further exacerbate the present situation and persist as drivers of tension. It is quite unfortunate that many Nigerians on the social and mainstream media have continued to react to the incident through inciting, inflammatory and embarrassing innuendoes.

It may not be surprising if the two public relations officers of the security organs involved were actually taking orders from their principals, rather than abiding by the ethics of crisis communication management, which guide professionals on their temperament, conduct and how to shape their messages during periods of high volatility.

As spokespersons of security agencies, they are expected to be courteous, restrained and conscious of the need to show great human understanding and empathy in their public communications, at this sort of time when such really matters. It is also very important that their messages, like press releases, should be clear, concise, concrete, correct and complete, without allowing for any form of ambiguity in communication.

In all these, the absence of strategic leadership in dousing the tension, beyond the critical levels of the individual service chiefs, merely escalates the inter-agency antagonism and fuels the heated debates and fury pervading the media from visible and anonymous sources.

Is it not embarrassing that different panels were allegedly constituted to investigate this incident? While one is said to be chaired by a military officer in the rank of a major general, the other is noted as being headed by a security officer in the rank of an Assistant Inspector General of Police.

As the coordinating organ of government on security matters, ONSA should step in and manage this crisis, more professionally and with experience, especially in the absence of a federal cabinet, as the Ministers of Defence or that of Interior are yet to be sworn in. The NSA can advise the Army Chief Lt General Tukuru Buratai and Police Boss IG Mohammed Adamu on the need to urge their officers to exercise restraint. In the alternative, the Presidential Media Adviser should intervene by calling on the spokespersons of the agencies to sheath their swords in this attrition and highly unfortunate media war.

Yushau A. Shuaib
Author of An Encounter with the Spymaster
yashuaib@yahoo.com

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NTA Video on Visit to Sambo Dasuki: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uhmtbqTfNs

Surprisingly, seven days after his family denied the rumours that he was dead, some people are still calling to confirm the true story on the plight of Colonel Sambo Dasuki (Rtd).

Early in the morning of February 23, 2019, when Nigerians go to the poll for Presidential and National Assembly Elections, I received several calls and messages from mostly Editors trying to confirm a rumour on purported death in security custody of the former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki.

Dasuki has been in the custody for more than three years despite being granted bails by more than five high courts while the ECOWAS Court of Justice also ordered the Federal Government of Nigeria to release him immediately from illegal detention.

He had recently berated the Government of President Muhammadu Buhari over his continued detention and disobedience to various court orders that admitted him on bails since December 2015. In a strongly worded letter dated November 12, 2018, which he personally signed and addressed to the Registrar of the Federal High Court Abuja, Dasuki had vowed to boycott any proceeding for his trial since the Federal Government had proved beyond reasonable doubt that it would not obey any order of the court even if it is in his favour.

Alarmed by some audios being spread on the social media on the rumoured death of the spymaster on the election day, I quickly called his family members including his wife and sibling for enquiry.

They expressed similar shock and that they had even received condolence messages from people on the same speculation. One of the family members also told me of their visit to Sambo Dasuki the previous night at the Department of Security Services (DSS) where he is being detained.

I put a call to the spokesperson of DSS, Mr. Peter Afunanya who told me that the ex-NSA is alive.

I was later granted approval to visit the ex-NSA that morning for confirmation.

On arrival at the DSS reception, I was a bit worried seeing a media crew from the government-owned Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), led by Talatu Ezurike at the premises of the secret service.

We were later ushered into the office of DSS spokesperson who described the news of Dasuki’s demise as fake, callous and inciting, saying: “There is no iota of truth or credibility about the rumoured death of Col. Sambo Dasuki. We make bold to state that the former NSA is very much in good health and not dead. Therefore, it behooves the general public to disbelief and condemns the atrocious online story that Dasuki has died in DSS’ custody.”

He later led us (this writer and NTA Crew) to meet the former National Security Adviser in a modest room, that looks like an office.

With a cup of tea before him, Dasuki looked relaxed and unperturbed as he welcomed us. He cracked jokes on his rumoured death.

When he noticed a Camera from NTA crew, he quickly warned against video recording of the encounter. He also said he would not grant an interview to the Television station, even though he cheerfully exchanged pleasantries and threw banters.

We chatted for a while as he expressed himself freely and courageously on how he felt about being unjustly detained after sacrifices to his fatherland.

Before we left, I suggested he should allow his photograph to be taken while he was sitting. He reluctantly agreed.

I pray that sooner than later he would be vindicated and freed from the baseless and malicious allegations against him.

We left afterward.

Since I have an agreement with DSS Spokesperson not to report our discussion, I can only confirm that Sambo Dasuki is alive, hale and hearty when we met him on that Saturday, February 23, 2019.

Yushau A. Shuaib
Author, An Encounter with the Spymaster
yashuaib@yahoo.com

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By Yushau A. Shuaib

Dear Sambo Dasuki,

It’s exactly two years ago, in the morning of December 1, 2015, when we chatted on the phone over the security operatives that had invaded your Asokoro residence and later whisked you away as the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA). I was then in Maiduguri on an assignment.

Since that day, you have remained in detention even after being granted bails by at least four separate High Court Judges. They are, Justice Adetokunbo Ademola and Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed of the Federal High Court, as well as Justice Hussein Baba- Yusuf and Justice Peter Affen of the FCT High Courts. They had considered the merit of your applications and granted you the bails. The ECOWAS Court of Justice too had ordered for your immediate release with compensation of N15 million for the unlawful and illegal detentions without legal warrant or court orders.

From all the court proceedings so far, none of the allegations against you is treasonable, while the allegations of misappropriation of funds can only be proven in the court on whether the expenditures went through the due process of official authorisations. The charge of illegal possession of firearms, by the discovery of weapons in your residence, less than 24 hours after you left office and at a time you had military and security bodyguards, is, to say the least, laughable, and can only be interpreted as witch-hunting.

While you have never stated your side of the stories in court or anywhere else since your arrest and detention two years ago, there have been so many accusations and complete falsehood through media trials. Some baseless documents were leaked without attaching originating memos and approving authorities among others. It is pathetically appalling that your image has been tarnished through sponsored and misguided media trials. It is unfortunate that many Nigerian are not aware of your antecedents when you had proven yourself as a man of integrity during your tenure as ADC to President Ibrahim Babangida as well as Managing Director Nigeria Security, Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC). In both offices, you left honourably and on principles to protect your reputation.

While your traducers would rather taint your image by making references to the alleged misappropriation of funds during your tenure as NSA, they tirelessly worked to suppress the apparent success stories of the war-against-terrorism campaign during your tenure. They don’t want Nigerians to know that during your tenure as NSA to President Goodluck Jonathan, the brave Nigerian troops, successfully liberated and recovered over two dozens big towns from Boko Haram. Those towns included; Abadam, Askira, Baga, Bama, Bara, Buni Yadi, Damboa, Dikwa, Gamboru-Ngala, Goniri, Gujba, Gulag, Gulani, Gwoza, Hong, Kala Balge, Konduga, Kukawa, Marte, Madagali, Michika, Monguno, Mubi, Vimtim among others.

Though some may be forgetful to realise that during your tenure as NSA, Nigeria spearheaded the formation of Multinational Joint Taskforce (MNJTF) where you sought the cooperation of reluctant neighbouring countries to join in the fight against terrorism. The taskforce has been sustained just as other initiatives and legacies you introduced and left behind in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

While I won’t like to talk about your past relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari, especially on 1983 Coup and others which I published in previous articles and my recent book “An Encounter with the Spymaster,” the toxic speculation and misleading information that you arrested Buhari in 1985 remain unabated. Even while you have denied the allegation, with principal actors including, retired Colonel Abdulmumini Aminu publicly admitting their involvement, the rumour is sustained for ulterior motives.

I cannot end this short memo without expressing my most profound appreciation for rescuing me from humiliation after I was unjustly retired by the government you served when the then Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had reported me to the Presidency for punishment over my harmless opinion article in 2013.

Not only did you attempt to bring me back into the public service which I politely rejected, you nevertheless accepted my condition to serve as a Consultant on Crisis Management to the same government.

Though we recruited a large number of young Nigerian graduates in ensuring the success of the campaigns, presently the workforce has reduced drastically due to lack of patronages from the system. We have nevertheless continued to sustain the services on pro bono basis, especially for the military, security, intelligence and response agencies.

Meanwhile, the good news today is that Justice David Isele of National Industrial Court has ordered my reinstatement into the public service and payment of all my salaries, allowances with interest in prevailing bank rate within 30 days. I am awaiting the Federal Government’s obedience to that court order.

While I still nurse the fear that you may spend another year in the unlawful detention as New Year 2018 is around the corner, I must commend your courage and doggedness during our recent chat in the court. You have said for the umpteenth time that you have no ill-feelings against your ‘good friends’ who are currently on the other side and other ‘people’ who cannot do anything in your case. You said: “In every Challenge, every temptation and every situation one finds himself, there are lessons to be learnt and to be thankful to Almighty Allah.”

May your days in court offer you with the opportunity you have craved for, to clear your name from malicious allegations and to enable you to provide concrete evidence of your stewardship as the National Security Adviser who ensured efficient inter-agency collaboration for national stability and national security.

As you remain in detention in the last two years against all legal procedures, even when you lost your father, Sultan Dasuki, I pray you stay fortified believing that God’s time is the best.
Yours Sincerely,

Yushau Shuaib
Author “An Encounter with the Spymaster”
yashuaib@yahoo.com

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babagana-munguno-nsa

General Monguno: Tackling the Inter-Agency Rivalry
By Yushau A. Shuaib

On July 13, 2015, General Babagana Monguno (rtd) was announced as the new National Security Adviser (NSA) by the current administration. He replaced Sambo Dasuki who had acted in that position in the new regime, for over a month after serving as substantial NSA to the regime of President Goodluck Jonathan for about three years.

General Monguno was widely known as a fine, unassuming army officer during his active service years. During occasional visits to my kind in-law, General Garba Wahab and military press officer, Mohammed Yerima at the Army Headquarters about a decade ago, soldiers and officers did refer to Monguno as a Perfect Gentleman in the military uniform. In fact, it was around that period that I learnt he married his anticipated perfect woman, Nafisah Munir while he was an Army General.

Monguno attended King’s College, Lagos and enrolled in the Nigerian Defence Academy 21st Regular Course. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Masters in International Relations.

Some of the positions he held in the military included the Chief of Logistics at the Defence headquarters, Commandant of the Nigerian Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC); Commander, Guards Brigade; Deputy Commandant, National Defence College, and Chief of Defence Intelligence. He voluntarily retired from the Nigerian Army in September 2013 at the age of 56. He left some legacies behind especially on infrastructural development.

On assumption of office as the National Security Adviser, I had the privilege of meeting him and during our encounters, he was very attentive and receptive to good ideas. He is a man that believes in positive and rapid changes on various national and security issues.

Nevertheless, it is obvious that Monguno is neither a typical Nigerian politician nor act like one, especially on issues that require diplomatic manoeuvrings and assertiveness. Probably, as a retired army officer and an architect, he may be looking at things from the precision of architectural designs and military mentality.

The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), is statutorily empowered by Terrorism Prevention Act 2011 to coordinate and support “all security, intelligence, law enforcement agencies and military services to prevent and combat acts of terrorism in Nigeria.” Therefore, the office is the most powerful after the Presidency in ensuring effective formulation and implementation of comprehensive security and counter-terrorism strategies through synergy.

There is therefore, a greater expectation that ONSA, must be at the forefront in ensuring an inter-agency collaboration. There is no reason to pretend about the prevailing inter-agency rivalries among security organs, even while they record successes on some fronts, notably the war on Boko Haram insurgency.

Some recent developments are quite worrisome: the heated arguments between the NIA and the EFCC over Ikoyi money; the arraignment in court of Air-Force Chiefs of corruption while shielding past chiefs of other security sectors; the laughable tit-for-tat public parades of members of the Police and NSCDC on flimsy excuses by the same sister agencies; the damning DSS reports on Magu among others are clear signs of intense rivalry amongst the security agencies.

Deeply concerned over the development, the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) recently called on security agencies in the country to avoid inter-agency rivalry which could damage their individual reputation and the government as a whole.

The Executive Secretary of CCC, Air Commodore Yusuf Anas (rtd), made the call at a special meeting of the Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA) in Abuja sponsored by Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP).

Anas said: “We have observed some disturbing trends, blame games and breaches in information disclosures among agencies of government in the media. We have also noticed conflicting information, disinformation and rivalries among respective organizations through the media. These developments can damage the reputation of the agencies involved and give Nigeria a bad image.”

Also, the new Chairman of FOSSRA, who doubles as the Director Defence Information, Major General John Enenche urged members of FOSSRA as the spokespersons of their respective organisations to work in harmony and handle information activities professionally and responsibly.

One fact that is of utmost importance is that spokespersons of security agencies have consistently used their meeting platforms to synergise and collaborate in harmonising security information. Through their interactions, they share professional ideas towards eliminating incidences of conflicting sensitive information released to the public by their organizations. However, and unfortunately too, at their level, there is a little they could do to eradicate the conflict.

It is an open secret that, the surest way of getting damaging and destructive information in the guise of classified information, is to look beyond the officially designated spokespersons to the bosses of the organisations who are frequently cited in the media as ‘highly reliable sources.’

For the sake of emphasis and to address this intractable rivalry, General Monguno as the National Security Adviser should devise strategies and method in bringing the leadership of the agencies to a round table for mutual understanding. It doesn’t even need to be elaborate engagements, reaching out to each agency with sincerity of purpose, can play the magic. This is a period where we need to guard against all unnecessary bickering within the security milieu.

Yushau A. Shuaib
www.YAShuaib.com
yashuaib@yahoo.com

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Dasuki-Buhari

Spymaster: A Memo to President Buhari on Sambo Dasuki
By Yushau A. Shuaib

Your Excellency, Mr. President, permit me to use this open letter as an appropriate channel to convey this message to you for the obvious reason of reliability. For fear of being misunderstood, I should state from the onset that I have been your hardened fan since the 80-90s while I was a student and contributing articles featuring the famed incorruptibility and discipline of you and your former lieutenant, the late General Tunde Idiagbon. (Link: https://yashuaib.com/1991/11/haba-governor-madaki/)

It may interest you to note that immediately after your election, I was approached by well-wishers requesting my services on communication strategies for your wife, Mrs Aisha Buhari. While I recognised the fact that such request to work with the first family is a great honour, I nevertheless politely declined for fear of conflict of interest because I had served the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) during the tenure of Sambo Dasuki which is being probed by your government.

I wish to therefore implore you to read this memo with open-mind as coming from an admirer who means well for you and the nation because of some disclosure I would make here for the record.

Immediately after I was prematurely retired from the public service for writing against a serving powerful minister during the previous administration, Sambo Dasuki invited me to serve the same government as a consultant on crisis communication and a major intermediary between the media and the critical stakeholders i.e. the military, security, intelligence and response agencies in Nigeria. The assignment was designed to counter terrorists’ propaganda and other campaigns on security consciousness which we successfully executed in the last three years. (Link: https://yashuaib.com/2014/03/sambo-dasuki-on-security-media-relations/)

In the course of my assignment not only did I relate closely with the ONSA and other security agencies, I also enjoyed interaction on valuable information about your past relationship with Sambo Dasuki. Your Excellency, you may recall my first article on his travail which I titled ‘An Encounter with the Spymaster’ in July 2015. In that article, I narrated his visit with other officers to you in Jos while you were GOC over the coup that ousted President Shehu Shagari which you later emerged as the Head of State. I also stated his denial of ever arresting you or detaining you after the Babangida coup that ousted you. In fact, few weeks after my publication, your town man, retired Colonel Abdulmumini Aminu corroborated the same story by insisting that it was him (AbdulMumini and two other officers –John Madaki and Lawan Gwadabe) and not Dasuki that arrested you (Link: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/188069-how-we-arrested-buhari-during-1985-coup-abdulmumini-aminu.html or http://bit.ly/2fK4jQv

In the same article, Dasuki whom I learnt is your in-law, narrated his brotherly supports for your candidacy for the Presidency in 2003, 2007 and 2011 before he was later appointed the NSA by Goodluck Jonathan. Apart from mentioning names of people privy to those efforts in that article who are still alive, he also mentioned how he pleaded with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande on your behalf to allow you fly the joint ticket of the Presidential candidate of the then CPC and ACN in 2011. (Link: https://yashuaib.com/2015/07/sambo-dasuki-an-encounter-with-spymaster/)

Your excellency, from the foregoing, I can say that Sambo Dasuki is an honourable man who respected you and can do no harm. In fact, he confided in me when he was acting as your NSA that many people were asking him to run away because you would deal with him. He said “I can never be a fugitive after past Abacha’s attempt on my life in the 90s. I will remain in Nigeria and face any consequences.”

While serving as the consultant to ONSA and other security agencies, we created a most cohesive and organised platform for top security spokespersons under the platform of Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA) to counter the narratives and propaganada machinery of the insurgents and their sympathizers. We succeeded in establishing and sustaining mutual understanding and synergy among all the agencies, especially in coherent and coordinated interface with the media. We also eliminated inter-agency rivalry and dichotomy as we also checked and controlled embarrassing information leakages that might be injurious to national security. (Link: https://prnigeria.com/2014/08/fossra-foster-interagency-security-collaboration/)

It should be stated here that during the critical period of the war on terror, the western powers deliberately refused to sell required weapons and armaments to Nigeria to prosecute the war on flimsy excuses of human right abuses. When they embargoed the supply, the then government had to resort to Eastern Block for required arms and ammunition. Though the arrival of the equipment were late which necessitated the postponement of the 2015 election, the subsequent operations were successful. In fact, Your Excellency, some of the acquisitions arrived after you came into office. (Link: https://prnigeria.com/2015/04/military-to-liberate-sambisa-forest-may-29-nsa/)

Dasuki also confirmed the acquisitions of Alpha jets, Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, advanced artillery pieces, assorted arms and ammunition, sophisticated surveillance drones, T72 Battle Tanks and modification of F7 supersonic jet fighters. (Link: https://prnigeria.com/2015/08/we-acquire-sophisticated-weapons-against-terrorism-ex-nsa-sambo-dasuki/)

Your Excellency, you may be aware that the military during Jonathan’s administration also secured the cooperation of reluctant neighboring countries to confront terrorists after funding the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF). You may also be aware about other strategies that were deployed to tackle the Boko Haram menace when Special Technical Advisers from friendly countries intelligently assisted our air powers to clear the occupied territories from the sky while the ground troops moved in to consolidate the clearance of the remnant of terrorists. (Link: https://prnigeria.com/2015/03/so-called-mercenaries-are-technical-advisers/)

Your Excellency, as you may probably know, average Nigerians can be forgetful. Before the handover to you as the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria on May 29, 2015, when Sambo Dasuki was still the NSA under the Jonathan administration, Nigerian military had successfully liberated dozens of towns and cities from terrorists in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe State. Some of the liberated towns including these 24 towns: Abadam, Askira, Baga, Bama, Bara, Buni Yadi, Damboa, Dikwa, Gamboru-Ngala, Goniri, Gujba, Gulag, Gulani, Gwoza, Hong, Kala Balge, Konduga, Kukawa, Marte, Madagali, Michika, Monguno, Mubi, Vimtim among other communities with pictorial and video evidences provided by the Defence Headquarters. In one day alone April 30, 2015, at least 234 abductees (Women and Children) were rescued by the military who had stormed sections of the Sambisa Forest. (Link: https://prnigeria.com/2015/05/another-set-of-234-women-and-children-freed/)

Some of the finest and courageous military commanders who led our troops to recover those territories are still in active service and can bear witness to those great moment of the military’s accomplishments. I must commend your Excellency for assigning some of them to higher responsibility and for providing the nation with the current courageous Service Chiefs who have performed exceeding well in the mopping and clearance exercise.

You may also be aware that it was Sambo Dasuki as the NSA who introduced the Soft-Approach programme that gave birth to Presidential Initiative on North-East (PINE), which later metamorphosed into Presidential Committee on North-East (PCNI) which you recently inaugurated. In fact Dasuki also launched and implemented the National Counter Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST) which your Vice President Osinbajo and current humble NSA Mohammed Monguno relaunched recently too. These are obvious facts your excellency. (Link: https://yashuaib.com/2016/09/nactest-osinbajo-and-the-revised-counter-insurgency-campaign/)

Mr. President, I raised some of these issues to let you know that there are a lot of alarming and toxic misleading information in the public domain. You may recall my alarm over the AVM Jon Ode Panel on arms procurement and advise I gave you to always conduct thorough and due diligence search on those to be appointed into any organisation, committee or panel to ensure their incorruptibility in line with the change mantra of your administration. I warned that wrong people in sensitive positions may capitalise on your sincerity to engage in proxy wars without your knowledge. I mean this sir. (Link: https://prnigeria.com/2016/03/yashuaib-resigns-fossra-say-jon-ode-panel-misleading-president-buhari/)

May I appeal to Your Excellency to simply review the fact that Sambo Dasuki has been granted bails by three High Courts in Nigeria and that even the ECOWAS Court has also ordered his release yet he has remained in custody. I know you can do it because you single-handedly intervened in saving careers of some senior military officers when you refused to be misled by some reports. Surprisingly, the public are not even aware of your magnanimous gesture but some of us are, as the saved security officers remain grateful to your kindness and fatherly role. (Link: https://prnigeria.com/2016/10/ecowas-court-orders-immediate-release-dasuki/)

The obvious disobedience to court order on Dasuki’s bail is quite disturbing. Since his arrest and detention on December 1, 2015, Dasuki has observed Christmas, New Year, Islamic Festivities of Ramadan, EidKabir and Moulud in captivity. In less than a month time, he will have clocked one year in detention against the law.

With consolidation of some of the charges against Dasuki, the judiciary should also be encouraged to ensure that the Court Trial is open to the public rather than through Secret Trial. Open trial may provide factual realities of stewardship against occasional imaginary fictions of media trials.

Your Excellency, as an admirer of your discipline and incorruptibility, I pray you lead the country to the path of political stability and economic recovery. I also pray that at the end of your tenure, your aides and loyalists would have the same courage to stand by you without being hypocritical ingrates as we have seen today.

I wish you success sir. Long live Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Yushau A. Shuaib
Blogger: www.YAShuaib.com
Founder: www.PRNigeria.com (The Press Release Platform)
yashuaib@yahoo.com

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Dasuki Osinbajo Monguno

By Yushau A. Shuaib

The Vice President of Federal Republic of Nigeria is not just an ordinary person. Professor Yemi Osinbajo is an accomplished scholar, award-winning legal practitioner, a respected Church Pastor and man of seeming impeccable character. He and his family have displayed enviable character of humility and simplicity.

As the second most powerful citizen in the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Osinbajo serves as the Chief Coordinator on the Economy akin to Coordinating Minister on the Nigeria’s economy. He heads the economic team and to some extent, largely endorses and appoints members into the team.

With such fantastic attributes and excessive power, especially on the economy, one should have expected that he would not behave typical of Nigerian politicians, who, rather than facing and addressing the real economic realities would accuse oppositions or previous administrations for every fault.

While representing President Buhari at the launching of the revised National Counter Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST), Professor Osinbajo repeated the blame-games, the feature of the administration by claiming that the escalation of war on terror was the handiwork of corrupt military officers and political leaders in the previous administration. (www.goo.gl/V212XF)

The blame game as usual continued as he said little in his speech about NACTEST. While castigating previous governments of sabotage, the media is currently awash with a report that a Brigade Commander and some soldiers were selling arms and ammunition to Boko Haram terrorists in the current dispensation. Such reports do not mean that the ongoing military operations are failure. (www.goo.gl/XnPdzx)

It is nevertheless interesting to note that the current National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd) went straight to the point to disclose the benefit of the revised NACTEST strategy. He explained what organisations and individuals could do to help in its implementation in order to reduce the risks of terrorism and ensure that people go about their lives freely and with confidence. (www.goo.gl/rUyQz1)

According to Monguno, “NACTEST is organised around five streams aimed to forestall, secure, identify, prepare and implement with key objectives and indicators to effectively ensure monitoring and evaluating successes at each stage.”

Also speaking, the Coordinator, Counter Terrorism Centre (CTC), Commodore Yem Musa, said that ONSA in furtherance of the national counter terrorism efforts, developed the “National Terrorism Levels” document to guide MDAs on measures to be taken on receipt of information on a likely terrorists’ attack.

Musa said that the document, which outlines the alert levels and the actions to be carried out when a terrorism alert level is declared is in 5-levels including: Critical (Red) – Attack is imminent; Severe (Orange) – Attack is highly likely; Substantial (Yellow) – Attack is a strong possibility; Moderate (Blue) – Attack is possible but not likely; and Low (Green) – Attack is unlikely.

What was not disclosed at the launching is the fact that NACTEST was a programme conceived and introduced in 2014 by the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki to counter terrorism under soft-approach programme. While unveiling NACTEST in March 2014, the then NSA Sambo Dasuki said the strategy was developed by his office in collaboration with international partners, experienced academics and selected non-state actors. He said that the strategy was developed taking into account the root causes of terrorism, adding that the approach was to understand the problem in order to apply appropriate solutions.

Dasuki added that NACTEST focused on key points including increasing the capacity of government institutions and relevant agencies in handling extremists. The strategy was developed to offer a key blueprint for law enforcement agencies to combat terrorists.

During an interaction with the media, Dasuki had said that “What we have learnt is that there is not one particular path that leads to terrorism; rather, there are many often complicated paths that led to terrorism. The NACTEST seeks to prevent attacks before they happen by preventing our people from becoming terrorists in the first place.”

The soft approach to counter terrorism developed a Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) programme that is vertical and involves the three tiers of government -federal, state and local. The programme is also horizontal, involving civil societies, academics, traditional, religious and community leaders.

The NACTEST programme utilises existing structures within and outside government to deliver targeted programmes and activities that further the overall objective of stemming the tide of radicalism. The soft approach programmes provide the country a framework that identifies roles and responsibilities of every segment of the society.

With the revised NACTEST document under current NSA Babagana Monguno, there should be a sustained monitoring and evaluation framework that would track the implementation of each stream of the CVE programme.

The revised document is a further consolidation of counter terrorism efforts. It should also ensure that the measures being adopted on counter-terrorism processes conform to dictates of the law and adhere strictly to the rules of engagement and human rights norms as was canvassed in the past.

The current Office of the National Security Adviser must be commended for not only initiating new direction in intelligence gathering and coordinating counter insurgency campaign but also for revising the content of NACTEST to ensure its effective deployment.

It is necessary to caution political office holders to be conscious of their utterances in their blame-games campaigns, especially on security issues. It is also a crime to criminalize innocent officials that are not convicted by a competent court of law. Majority of officers that served in the previous administration are also serving in the current administration diligently and responsibly unless they are recently retired. Terrorism issues should not be politicised, because history is the best judge even if some are forgetful.

Yushau A. Shuaib
yashuaib@yahoo.com
www.yashuaib.com
Abuja

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“The National Security Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, retired Col. Sambo Dasuki, is a prince of the Sokoto Caliphate… you hardly hear him or see him throw his weight around…”
-Ochereome Nnanna, Vanguard Columnist.

Within a week, last week to be precise (March1-7, 2014), the name of the National Security Adviser to President Jonathan suddenly became an item in opinions and features. Most of them actually wanted him to be visible and outspoken on security operations, especially over the barbaric atrocities being committed in a section of the country.

Some respected columnists also questioned the silence of NSA over recent security challenges.Writing under his weekly column in Thisday, Olusegun Adeniyi asked if Sambo Dasuki has a phone number of any editor in Nigeria, while Steve Osuji in his column in the Nation simply asks: “Boko Haram: Where on earth is the NSA?”

Since they are not faceless writers, their articles were well-intentioned and wakeup calls on security situation in the country though some of the assumptions on the person of the NSA were on wrong premises.

This writer has a memorable encounter with Sambo Dasuki by virtue of being a syndicate writer. Sometimes last year I honoured an invitation to speak at a Media Seminar organised by Netherlands Embassy for top security spokespersons, media practitioners and right activists. In attendance were Gen. Chris Olukolade of Defence Headquarters, Frank Mba of the Nigeria Police, Dapo Olorunyomi of Premium Times, Manir Dan Ali of Trust, online bloggers including Tolu Ogunlesi and Japheth Omojuwa among many others. Immediately after, I penned my experience in an article on Debating Government Media Relations which was widely published.

Surprisingly, a week later, I received an invitation from a top security officer to meet the NSA. Having been careful of avoiding any ‘Wahala’, I am conscious of my writings on security. While I asked for the prayers of my family for safety, I did an online search on Sambo Dasuki.

What I found out were revealing: The American trained security strategist, Dasuki was Aide-de-camp (ADC) to Military President Ibrahim Babangida. Former Military Governor of Kaduna, Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar in an interview with the Punch last year narrated how some forces aborted his attempt with Dasuki to install Chief MKO Abiola, the winner of June 12 election. He also disclosed how they jointly confronted General Sani Abacha from playing hanky-panky with Nigeria’s destiny.

Along the line, Dasuki escaped from Nigeria and lived in exile when he was hunted for his audacity and refusal to take an offer in the administration of General Sani Abacha. His millionaire father, Ibrahim Dasuki who was the Sultan of Sokoto and the most powerful traditional ruler in Northern Nigeria, was deposed by Abacha and banished to Kaduna for the ‘sin’ of his forthright son. The father, who clocked 90 year last year, is still alive.

All his life, as a royal prince, Dasuki has never been ambitious and would rather take a bow than playing dirty. He voluntarily resigned his appointment as Managing Director of Nigeria Security, Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC) when he was not comfortable with President Olusegun Obasanjo’s attempt to privatise the firm against security implications.

At the time of his appointment in June 2012 by President Goodluck Jonathan, the Boko Haram insurgency was very active in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Niger, Plateau, Kogi and most states in the North-East with attempted incursion towards Southern parts of the country. With emergence of Dasuki, the activities of the insurgents have been restricted to a few states in the North-East. An active advocate of constructive dialogue and engagement with different groups towards peaceful resolution of crises, Dasuki nevertheless believes decisive and aggressive confrontations are inevitable against rampaging and brutal undesirable elements.

After the online search, I sought the advice of members of Media and Information Committee on Emergency Management (MICEM) where I was once the Secretary. The verdict was similar: Sambo Dasuki doesn’t believe in cheap publicity; he will rather expand resources in facilitating positive public perception on other security arms who are expected to be active and visible on the field. He hosts occasional interactions with critical stakeholders including civil societies, media and politicians for better understanding on security issues. In such encounters, he sincerely expresses his positions on realities on the ground, while charging his audience to be responsible and responsive in their information against undermining national security and national interest. A stickler to time, he can never be late to any assignment. In fact most time, I learnt, he arrived long before the commencement of events.

With those information, I had the courage to honour the invitation. To my comfort I wasn’t the only person invited to the meeting. There were some activists and members of NGOs too. When he looked at me, he asked: “Why are you very critical in your write-ups?”

I responded that writing is my hobby and PR is my profession. I am therefore conscious of whatever I write. At the end, he appealed to us to be fair and kind in our comments and writings and that we should always consider the nation first. He urged us to always channel our grievances and recommendations on national issues to appropriate authorities including his office whenever necessary.

Dasuki is polished and eloquent as he talks passionately about the Office of the President which he believes “deserves the respect of every Nigerian as the symbol of our nation and integrity.” He holds the view that there is nothing wrong with opposition politics if it is geared towards the sustenance of democracy and devoid of destructive antics that may create confusion and security breaches in the land.

Since then I have interfaced with some of the NGOs and the media towards a better understanding of security operations in the country. The recent inauguration of Forum of Spokespersons in Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA) under his office has so far reduced to the barest minimum the inter-agency rivalry in information management and encouraged designated security spokespersons to be proactive and timely in providing updates on security situations.

Professional security strategists do not need to be garrulous to prove that they are working but must work behind the scene to facilitate accomplishment of tasks. In fact respected Intelligence chiefs all over the world do not make much noise in the public because of the sensitive nature of their assignments. Even in this country, only a few Nigerians know the intelligent Director General of the Department of State Security (DSS/SSS), Ekpenyong Ita who delegates a professional Public Relations expert, Marilyn Ogar to do the necessary talking with timely updates.

In this challenging period of our life, we should encourage our security officers to do their job maturely and professionally while the designated spokespersons and political office holders do the talking.

This article by Yushau A. Shuaib was published in the print edition of  Economic Confidential, Thisday, the Nation, Nigerian Tribune, Daily Trust, National Mirror, Blueprint, People’s Daily, The Sun, Leadership and Vanguard in March 2014

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The debate over whether the government and the media are friends or foes was rekindled at a recent interactive seminar on Responsibility to Report (R2R) organised by the Development Research and Project Centre with funding from the Dutch Government in Abuja.

The seminar was similar to the recently concluded National Civil-Military Dialogue, where the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki sought the cooperation and understanding of Nigerians on the ongoing military’s intervention in fighting insurgency in the country.

Unlike the Military-Civilian where former Heads of States and top public functionaries were in attendance, participants at Responsibility to Report were mostly spokespersons from emergency response agencies like the military, police, NEMA and volunteers. The media too were adequately represented with editors, producers and bloggers in attendance.

I had the privilege to be one of the facilitators that included Abdul Raufu Mustapha of Oxford University, and Ms. Femke Van Zeiji from The Netherlands.

Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye the respected Mass Communication scholar, was the Keynote Speaker who dropped the bombshell that triggered a lively interaction throughout the programme. While attempting to be neutral in his assessment of the relationship between the government and the media, the academic dwelt on the power of the media, its influence in the society and the inherent loophole in the freedom of information law among others.

The Editor-in-Chief of Premium Times, Dapo Olorunyomi, who was also a facilitator agreed with most of the arguments raised by the Professor and further echoed non-transparent nature of government and the alleged shabbiness in the implementation of freedom of information law in Nigeria.

They both reinforced the general belief that the media is powerful as the Fourth Estate of the Realm, while I also responded that the government seems to be more powerful because all the other Estates: the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary are within its realm (government.)

While the two argued that government and the Media cannot be permanent Friends but LOYAL OPPONENTS, I advanced the view that the spokespersons in government can be friends with the media on behalf of their organisations through mutual respect and dignified reciprocal relationship.

Professor Akinfeleye emphatically supported the submission of former America President, Thomas Jefferson who said that if he was to choose between a Government without a Press, or a Press without a Government, he would not hesitate to choose the latter! This submission I argued, cannot hold if every person is investigating and probing into one another as a reporter, without a law by legislators to protect the people, and the existence of the judiciary to adjudicate over disputes and the executive arm to check excesses and unethical practices. Such a society, I pointed out can only exist in a jungle, where there are no rules of law but animalistic interpersonal relationship.

There is no problem with any government. Antics of some characters in government create the negative perceptions about public institutions. Added to the unbecoming and petty behaviours of some officials in government is the reality that public information management is very weak largely due to unskilled manpower, ill-equipped departments and political interference where a seeming straightforward and truthful information is deliberately distorted for egocentric ambitions of principals. In fact the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) could not have been a necessity if the public information officers have been allowed to discharge their roles responsibly and professionally.

A study and adherence to basic principles of Public Relations could be a clear guide for spokespersons rather than the fire brigade approach and combatant posture of such image managers to simple issue management.

Therefore spokespersons, as the intermediaries between the government and the media, should not only rely on prerequisite and relevant qualifications and experiences but should have humane temperaments and friendly dispositions while discharging their responsibilities.

While a well-trained and well-behaved public officer can easily court friendship of the media and earn the respect of the public, journalists too should imbibe the PR instinct and principle by initiating cordial relationships with officers in government to minimise mutual suspicions and misgivings.

At the end of the seminar, participants issued Guidelines for Communication in Times of Conflict for Government, Media and Civil Society in which they recommended that the media should always separate facts from opinion while urging journalists to be mindful of public and national interest in providing honest, factual and accurate information at all times.

While participants agreed that there are presently neither laws nor regulatory bodies to monitor and check online and Social Media in Nigeria, they strongly recommended capacity building and training on the use of latest technology for effective communication by those in government and the media.

Public officers and spokespersons were advised to establish and sustain a mutually respectful relationship with the media, which should be professional and transparent.

On the other hand, media owners were urged to improve the working conditions of their employees, while journalists were cautioned that “regardless of the circumstances, they should not expect, accept or offer inducements to publish reports.”

The interactive session was not only lively, the active participation of Director Defence Information, Brig-General Chris Olukolade and Police Force Public Relations Officer Frank E. Mba at the event created the enablement for frank and sincere talks between the spokespersons in government and the representatives of the media that included online bloggers.

One message is clear: whether in government or out of government we must protect and promote public and national interests for the economic growth not minding the misdemeanour of few individuals in the media or in public office.

The message in all these which was also conveyed at the Civil-Military Dialogue is the need for harmonious relationship in Nigeria where the citizens live peaceful without fear of misrepresentation which could lead to hatred and unwarranted attacks.

This article by Yushau A. Shuaib has been published by online partnering media and these print media: Economic Confidential Daily Trust, National Mirror, Blueprint, People Daily, Punch, Thisday, Guardian, Nigerian Tribune and Vanguard in July 2013

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