The Nigerian Armed Forces is up to correct its image among the civilian populace. It recently released a footage on Facebook which demonstrated its readiness to protect Nigerians and ensure that they sleep with their two eyes closed in the night while the rugged men of the armed forces stay awake keeping the enemy at bay. The armed forces really needs to do this because there is never a time like now that the image of the military has been at a very low ebb. Half of the war against enemies of the nation is lost when the military does not have the confidence of the populace it serves. But the military must undertake this task with its conscience very clear and intact. It must face some truth about itself.
Public Relations is different from propaganda. The military is used to propaganda as instrument of victory but propaganda is usually short-lived. When the lies of propaganda are exposed, the result becomes more destructive. Public Relations does not cure a bad product; so a very first start for public relations that will work is an honest admission of faults and a determined effort to correct those faults. Communication is two ways; the receiver of any message is not passive but active bringing into that transaction a whole lot of psychological dispositions which can enhance the communication or damage it.
First, the military must change its label of the civilian populace as "bloody". I don't know the origin of this label but it communicates a non-existent superiority of the military. I met a retired major in the army who told me that a recruit who has trained for six months is far better than a university graduate. The military will have to undertake a research to determine the attitude of Nigerians to it. They also feel so superior in their educational attainment and intelligence. This excessive service pride, engineered from the side of the military is not healthy. There must be mutual respect on both sides and the military must accept that it can never succeed without the civilian populace who owns it.
Many years of involvement of the military in politics and governance have not helped the image of our soldiers at all. And the shoddy performance of the different military administrations has not helped the perception of the civil populace at all. Military is seen as an institution for public service adventurism; an institution where a group of men conspire to seize the government of the nation for very selfish reasons. Good enough, there has been some semblance of sanity since the return to civilian administration in 1999. Even at that, the current administration headed by a retired military man seems ever so afraid that it could be kicked out by a coup, a fear that has inspired the involvement of the military in some theatres that did not help its image.
Example is the Lekki Massacre. The withdrawal of the army from the Lagos panel that investigated the protest is not good public relations for the military. It might save the face of the military legally but it created an image in the heart of Nigerians that will be difficult to heal for a long time. The image of the armed forces as protectors of Nigerians does not sync with the image of the army that withdrew from a well-constituted panel. Nigerians saw that as rude and evasive. The military can be neutral in civilian politics and wranglings. In America during the Trump era, the American military was neutral. The joint chiefs rolled out a statement that it would not be involved in the resolution of the crisis and it did not.
Public comportment of the military personel must be upgraded and love for it cannot be demanded. That must be earned and earning it will depend on the perception index of Nigerians. In the past it was said that the men of the armed forces put a premium on their appearance. They saw and projected themselves as gentle men who will not renege on their promises. So when General Yakubu Gowon reneged on the promise of his administration to return power to the civilians, many officers of the armed forces were ashamed to wear their uniforms in the public. Ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo gave that loss of the gentlemanly image as one of the reasons for the coup that removed General Gowon. The situation is worse today and the perception is very low. If the armed force does not bring back that gentlemanly image, no communication will work.
Military men and women must not be seen bullying civilians on the streets. If a civilian must be arrested, the arrest must be with dignity to his person. His rights must be respected. Time has come when the civilian authorities, the executive, the legislative and even the judiciary must make determined inputs to the training of our soldiers. The armed forces must not be left to determine their orientation. Nigerians must determine what kind of military they want and the military must submit. It is only after this self-cleaning has been done that communication of the new and changed product can commence.
As it is now, all offer of promises to protect Nigerians and the call for motivation and support from Nigerians are falling on deaf ears. A comment on the footage says "the Army don dey act Hollywood". As far as that Nigerian who reposted the footage is concerned, it is no more than a Hollywood movie.
Guest Writer:
Tunde Akande is both a journalist and Pastor. He earned a Masters degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos