The Nigerian military authorities Tuesday declared that  in line with its constitutional responsibilities as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, section 217 

 that  the re-occuring farmers-herdsmen clashes will soon be a thing of the past, as machinery have been put in place to curtail such clashes.

 The Director of Defence Information, Brig-General Rabe Abubakar spoke  while delivering a paper titled  ‘The Impact of the Media in Conflict Management’.
at a seminar organized by the Correspondents Chapel, Nigeria Union of Journalists, FCT Council, Abuja 

 Brig-Gen Abubakar who also spoke on the on going fight against insurgency affirmed that the Boko Haram terrorists had been completely decimated, and Nigerians should be proud to know that the feat was achieved by the Nigerian military without  any external support, except the regional cooperation and bilateral relations it enjoys with neighbouring African countries.

 Gen Abubakar further added that since August 2015, over 800 Boko Haram members have voluntarily surrounded themselves to the Nigerian military and are being de-radicalised in various camps spread across the Country.

 The Defence Information boss who lauded military-media relations noted that “During national crisis, all media privileges and rights ceased to exist”.

 "The military requires secrecy and professionalism, yes, it needs the media, but there are issues that cannot be discussed for 101 reasons. National security 

 is very important and no country will allow its national interests to be compromised" he said. He also dismissed insinuationds that the millitary are 
anti-media. "Security has to be taken seriously, for seven years, the Nigerian military has been engaged in this fight against insurgency, whatever we do is 
not for doing sake, it must have a colour of national interest. No security of any nation chases its citizens.

 "There is no gain saying that as a force multiplier, the Nigerian media has the capability of galvanizing public support for the security forces; this 

 capability can significantly boost the morale and increase the combat readiness of the forces and thus enhancing the probability of successful mission 
accomplishment." 
. 
The Army top brass further argued that  "Conflicts start in the minds of men. It is therefore important to know how they get into the minds of men.  Large scale conflicts mostly occur as a result of  dissatisfaction among people emanating from divergent views and experience. 

 "The images were created and spread by the media. Media play a crucial role in the escalation of conflicts. They can also play a crucial role in taming 
conflicts if we want them to do so. The positive role of media should be centered on how the media can make a constructive contribution to conflict 
prevention, how they can detect violence at an early stage and monitor peace agreements, and how they can increase social cohesion and thus contribute to 
reconciliation. A large degree of social cohesion, which would not exclude any minority group, would at the same time be the best prevention of future 
conflict.  He further said;  “All efforts should be geared towards solving national crisis like the one we are having”. he proffered

 He nonetheless maintained that the Nigerian military and the media have a long history. "In fact, their relationship is one of the critical dimensions of civil-military relations. This fact is underpinned by the fact that both institutions – media and the military- are significantly indispensable in the progressive running of any society. They  indeed play different roles and might see things from different point of view but in the matters of national security, peace and progress, they must  understand, promote, protect and appreciate each other as partners in progress and co-stakeholders in the overriding task of nation building.

 "We have been able to establish the fact that media-military relationship is very important in the fight against insurgency in Nigeria and elsewhere. The Nigerian military is diligently prosecuting the war against insurgency in line with its constitutional mandate to defend the country. However,  the military cannot do much without the valued support of critical institutions of society like the media." he submitted