CNS says oil theft is on the decline

The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS ), Vice Adm. Dele Ezeoba, on Thursday said that the war on crude oil theft was yielding results, with a general decline.

Ezeoba, in a keynote address at the Naval Information Management Workshop in Lagos, noted that the achievements recorded could not have been possible without the unalloyed commitment of officers and ratings.

The CNS, represented by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command, Rear Adm. Ibok Ibas, said the theme of the workshop was apt, considering the unique role of the media in its support.

“Our recent efforts and the resultant gains in combating illegalities in our waters confer a duty on our friends in the media to generate the much-needed public awareness of what the service is doing in ensuring sanity in our maritime environment.

“This is also a shared responsibility on the part of the Nigerian Navy information personnel who must develop capacity for leveraging the media for all facets of the Navy operations.”

Ezeoba, however, restated the commitment of the navy to maintaining a cordial relationship with members of the press, noting that the media serves as a reinforcing multiplier in modern warfare.

He said that the Navy was undergoing a massive transformation, in terms of infrastructure development, platform acquisition, barracks rehabilitation, training and welfare.

Dr Josef Bel-Molukwu, of the Pan-Atlantic University, urged Nigerians to take advantage of the social media and social networking, in building its image.

He said this in his paper entitled: “The Social Media As A Tool of Information Management in the Nigerian Navy.”

He noted that though social tools generally lacked management capabilities that help protect identity, security, privacy and enhance compliance needs, it could be managed properly.

According to him, research indicated that there were 5.1 billion searches on the Internet daily.

Bel-Molukwu noted that it was “a social trend in which people used technologies to get the things they needed from each other, rather than from traditional institutions”.

“It’s really about the relationships and the innate human desire to connect to each other, not just the technology,” he added. (NAN