By Mustapha Jallow
Ousman Sowe, the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency has said the media is not enemy, but a critical actor in national security and development.
Sowe made this statement on Friday December 28th 2018, at a press briefing held at Intelligence Headquarters in Banjul.
“It is only those who do not know the role of the media who will see them as enemies. You are not enemies, but critical actors in national security and development. We will encourage you to take your rightful roles in enlightening the country and communities in supporting and preaching peace,” he told journalists. The Intelligence Chief urged the media to participate in national development in order to maintain the peace and stability the country is known for. “The media has an important role to play in national peace, security and harmony. No one has the tools and platform that you have. Everyday someone needs information and wants to know as to what is happening where. Therefore, the roles of the media in enlightening and communicating national harmony and peace is paramount,” he said.
According to him, it is recognized that they cannot only maintain national security alone, but need others and most importantly, the media; that they have a platform to help national security.
“We all know what happened before this Government came into office. We all know how the former Government ended and this Government took over. It is just like a patient, going through an operation,” he further said.
He continued: “We want to have an Intelligence Service that everyone can look to and say yes, that is a state intelligence service that is devoid of tribe and biasness, among others.”
He disclosed that more than 200 intelligence staff are being trained on various issues ranging from investigation, crime risk analyses among others; that a lot of transformation is going on at the NIA at the moment.
