The Nigerian Army, through its Department of Civil-Military Affairs, has emphasized the need for responsible use of social media, particularly by bloggers and influencers across various channels.
This was underscored during the 33rd edition of the Nigerian Army Social Media Seminar held in Aba, Abia State on Tuesday, April 3, 2024, with the theme: ‘Enhancing National Security Through The Responsible Use of Social Media’.
In his opening remarks, the Special Guest of Honour, GOC 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Major-General Hassan Taiwo Dada bemoaned the negative effects of irresponsible use of Social Media on national security and urged social media users especially professionals and other Social Media influencers to be security-sensitive in building their contents and avoid circulating fake news. According to him, the Seminar was organized “to provide a veritable platform to keep our youths abreast of the activities of the Nigerian Army focused on ensuring safer environment for national development.”
On his part, the Director, Psychological Operations, Department of Civil-Military Affairs, Brigadier-General Bola Saheed said that the Seminar, beyond interfacing with bloggers and other social media influencers, was also organized to boost cordial relationships between the Nigerian Army and the civil populace with a view to enhancing national security. He charged participants to use their various platforms to sustain public enlightenment accordingly.
Nollywood icon and popular celebrity, Mr. Osita Iheme also known as Pawpaw, in his remarks, stressed the need for social media content creators to be mindful of the impact of their contents on society. In his words, “The obsession to build large followership on our social media handles have driven most people to post content that could compromise national security. We really don’t have to create such offensive contents and we don’t have to post everything we do on social media. Real followers are organic and they increase gradually. We should take advantage of this Seminar to enhance our knowledge and complement efforts of the military towards enhancing national security using our handles.”
The Seminar featured paper presentations by two resource persons – Dr. Ehiz Odigie who spoke on ‘Curtailing Negative Content on Social Media: Responsibilities of Users’ and Professor J.U. Ogbonna who spoke on ‘Fake News on Social Media and its Effects on National Security’.
It also featured an interactive session conducted by Lt. Col. O.I. Kolawole, during which the organizers and resource persons took questions from the participants, and threw more light on the topics and related issues.
The Dean, Combatant Support, Arms and Research, Nigerian Army, Major-General T.T. Numbere, Commander, 14 Brigade Ohafia, Brigadier-General O. O. Diya, Commandant, Nigerian Navy College of Accounts and Finance, Navy Captain O.A. Eyitayo, Professor Uwaoma Uche, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Gregory University Uturu, representatives of other security agencies as well as top government officials, were among dignitaries that graced the event.
Participants commended the initiative of the Seminar which ended with ceremonious presentation of souvenirs to dignitaries, handover of gift packs and certificates of participation, and group photographs with the organizers.
