Critical Issues in Communication Policies and International Security: The Laspotech School of Thought
The Lagos State Polytechnic (Laspotech), in collaboration with the Bolytag Centre for International Diplomacy and Strategic Studies (BOCIDASS), Yaba, Lagos, held a 3-day training workshop for key officers of the Laspotech and interested tertiary institutions on Editorial and Communications Diplomacy, Academic and Public Speech Writing,
from Thursday, 1st, to Saturday, 3rd November, 2018 at the lecture theatre of the polytechnic in Ikorodu. One major objective of the workshop was to investigate how to increase the capacity of the polytechnic in the promotion of not only polytechnic education but also how best to impact more positively in the technological development of Nigeria as a leader in the West-African region, in particular, and Africa, as a whole.
It is in an attempt to respond to this aspiration that the idea of examining the use of diplomacy, within the framework of Information Communication Technology was suggested by the BOCIDASS as a first step came up for consideration. It was considered that life is essentially about communications in inter-personal and inter-state relationships. There is no life without communication. In fact, it is meaningless without it. Besides, communication is about sending and receiving information. In the use of diplomacy in building a knowledge-based and technology-driven new Nigeria, the first day of the training focused attention on understanding diplomacy and its environmental conditionings. In this regard, what really should we understand by diplomacy?
Diplomacy is one of the methods for implementing foreign policy decisions. In this regard, it is a technique of negotiation, requiring the use of physiognomy, tact and discipline, knowledge and commitment. Diplomacy is not only an instrument of negotiation and peace-making, but also a special area of study in international relations, the origins of which date back to the end of World War I.
As a special field of study, it covers essentially international law and relations, protection of international human rights, international development, challenges of nationalism and ethnicity, foreign policy, international trade, international finance, regional economic integration, management of war and peace. In a nutshell, diplomacy is mainly about the maintenance of international peace and security, balance of power and politico-economic stability.
Let me quickly note at this juncture for emphasis that international relations as a scientific field of study is quite different from International Law both in its sense of private and public. It is also different from diplomatic history. In understanding relations that are described ‘international,’ the meaning of the word ‘international’ must first be traced to Joseph Bentham, the English philosopher, who coined the word and says it literally means ‘between nations.’ The use of the word ‘between’ simply means that such a relationship is limited to two nations only. The study of rapports between and among nation states of the world fall within the purview of science of international relations.
Unlike international relations, international law deals essentially with the study of norms. The study of facts is not mainly in its scope. Jurisprudentially, the main objective of international law is to determine the content of rules, norms, agreements applicable to international actors, interpret and also determine whether or not such norms have been respected.
Regarding diplomatic history, Daniel Colard has it that ‘l’histoire diplomatique a pour tâche de rassembler et de commencer l’ensemble des documents officiels ou secrets par lesquels les gouvernements communiquent entre eux, ou avec leurs représentants établis à l’étranger.’ Put differently, the objective of diplomatic history is to assemble and explicate all official or secret documents by which governments communicated with one another or with their diplomatic missions abroad. This simply means that the methodological approach of diplomatic history cannot but be empirical in design. History is not an experimental science.
As the workshop is on Editorial and Communications Diplomacy, Academic and Public Speech Writing, many of the issues discussed during the training fall across international relations, international law, and diplomatic history. In fact, editorial diplomacy and communications are critical issues in the three disciplines, especially when discussing order of precedence in protocol and etiquette.And more interestingly, when we talk about diplomacy, we also imply international life. There is no aspect of life in which, at least, a scintilla of diplomacy is not involved.
Three important points are also noteworthy in understanding the theme of the training. First, it has been argued that war begins from the mind and that solution to any war must also be found in the mind. How do we find peace in the mind? This is where the question of communications comes in. Communications can be verbal or written. Verbal and written communications can be aggressive, and therefore, very unfriendly. In many cases, misunderstanding arises from how information is perceived, and particularly how it is interpreted.
For example, the trending misunderstanding between Canada and Saudi-Arabia is a resultant of both manner of speaking and writing. Canada requested Saudi-Arabia to ‘release immediately’ some human rights activists under detention. The problem is not really the act of release, but timing, that is, ‘immediate effect,’ which is manu militari in undertone, and therefore responsible for the irritants in the relationship right now.
Secondly, international relations was carved out of political science at the end of World War I as an autonomous field of study, and has been mainly developed in theAnglo-Saxon world, particularly, in the United States and Great Britain for various reasons: simplicity and liberal character of their university system, necessity of their international responsibilities, special funding of research on different international questions, which also facilitated the establishment of special international relations institutes, etc. Hence, there is anAngloSaxon tradition in the methodological approaches to the study of international relations. There are also the French and Marxist schools of thought.
Regardless of the type of method of analysis adopted in the study and analysis of international questions, the important thing is their management in such a way that orders and counter-orders are not allowed to result in violence and political instability. This is the first objective of diplomacy in practice. In the case of existing crises and conflicts, the purpose of diplomacy cannot but be to prevent the deterioration of the problem and make efforts to bring about the resolution in the spirit of fairness and justice to all sides involved, and in the event of no solution, to evolve a workable compromise for purposes of immediacy.
Thirdly, at the epicentre of human existence is the need for peace and security, without which there may not be a good platform for
Questions were also raised as to why Government has not been able to deal decisively with the Boko Haram and why Government’s success has been limited to that of ‘technical defeat.’ Why is it difficult for Government to make use of the captured boko haramists to infiltrate the terrorists? And why is it difficult for Government to also disclose the sponsors of Boko Haram? The University of Maiduguri was once a victim of Boko Haram attacks. How do we prevent possible attacks? Why is it difficult to deploy satellite images to fight the Boko Haram? When will Government be able to win both the battle and the war? Whatever is the answer contemplated, the opinion of the experts was that it would take a long time to come before boko haramism can be thrown into the garbage of history. But meanwhile, Professor Nuhu Yaqub, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja, has drawn attention to Polytechnic Management and graduates in redefining the future of Nigeria. Thus, Quo Vadis Nigeria?
economic growth and development. Efforts at peacemaking have taken many forms: ensuring balance of forces, dissuasion and arms control, East-West détente, peace by non-alignment, economic cooperation and development assistance, development of multilateralism, etc. However, insecurity and threats of a nuclear war are staring world leaders in the face. In fact, the deepening situation of insecurity in Nigeria - recidivist kidnappings, the quest for autonomy by the Igbo indigenes, boko haramism, Fulani herdsmen versus farmers imbroglio, increasing activities of underground economic saboteurs, and perhaps most disturbingly, pauperisation of the people of Nigeria without an end in sight, etc - leave much to be desired. One of the main serious implications of the deepening insecurity is the call for restructuring, with all its attendant multidimensional aspects. Restructuring involves the weakening of the federal government to the advantage of the constitutive states of Nigeria. But the main fear is that some stakeholders strongly believe that it can also resolve into dismantlement of the country. Even those people who believe that such likelihood is remote, are not readily disposed towards restructuring because of another belief that there are more to gain from maintaining the status quo than from a would-be newly restructured Nigeria.
In this regard, international relations, international law, diplomatic history have a common focus: how best to maintain peace and security, nationally and internationally. The main rationale for this goal is simply the fact that relationships, be they vertical or horizontal, are largely predicated on conflicting interests. International relations is largely a conflict system in which an order is counter-ordered, and thus creating a political lull from time to time. How is this conflict system faring in a world of globalisation, and particularly in the context of development of polytechnic education?
In an attempt to answer this question, and explaining the use of e-diplomacy, Ambassador A yo Olukanni has it that‘ today we speak of e-diplomacy, e-mails as legitimate forms of correspondences, diplomacy in 140 characters or Twi-diplomacy, that is, use of Twitters in the conduct of diplomacy, Face-book accounts of foreign ministries and diplomatic missions opportunities and challenges. Thus, e-diplomacy is being considered as a possible solution. More important, Ambassador Fagbohun also noted that these developments‘ have helped the process of democrat is at ion of articulation and implementation of foreign policy and the conduct of diplomacy.’
On the second day, the workshop examined the critical issues in communications and international security. In fact, security was the epicentre of all discussions. Of the 19 lectures scheduled for discussion, only three of them are not directly security related. If we consider Ambassador O lu se gun A kins any a’ s definition of what constitutes security, it is anything that guarantees safety and humanity.
The third day was for the examination of communications policies and techniques of presentation. In this regard, Ambassador Olayiwola not only addressed the role of intelligence gathering and the media in the conduct of foreign policy, but also how to deal with global terrorism and ensuring security. He placed emphasis on the roles of the intelligence agencies, the media, the tertiary and other institutions.
The rector of the Laspotech, Samuel O. Sogunro, rightly pointed out that ‘the importance of editorial and communication diplomacy cannot be overemphasized. Editorial skills ensure that a Manager’s communication is characterised by careful and persuasive presentation of issues with well-crafted justifications.’ More important, he also has it that, ‘while communication can be described as an indispensable tool in promoting cohesion that is required for achieving organizational goals and conflict resolution,’ the truth remains that... if devoid of diplomacy it ‘can engender conflict in an organisation. The essence of diplomacy is to foster mutual understanding among key officers, protect organisational interests and avert needless industrial conflicts.’
Diverse questions relating to national development and challenges were raised. For instance, the status of polytechnic education was critically addressed, especially in terms of its parity with the universities. There was consensus on the part of participants and Many of the trainers and trainees were agreed on the great potentials that polytechnic education can bring to the development of the country. It is within this context that the workshop supported the idea of a polytechnic university.
The issue of use of the internet was also raised
On the critical issues in communication policies and international security, Ambassador Olayiwola Laseinde addressed the issue of how to contain global terrorism and ensuring national and international security, while General Ad eAji bade( rtd)foc used his attention on the Nigerian public and national security question and how to balance self and national interests. More interesting, whileAmbassador Dokun Fagbohun raised the issue of techniques of Diplomatic Communications, Ambassador O lu se gun Akin san ya looked at the place of theAfrican Union Peace and Security Mechanism for Regional Security in Africa, with emphasis on the place of tertiary education.
And perhaps more interestingly, while the former Presidential Adviser, Dr. ReubenAbati, examined the issue of management staff, policy dissemination and relationship with the media in Nigeria, Timothy Melaye, Head of GIABA, Nigeria, investigated ECOWAS regional security and how to cope with the challenges of money laundering and terrorism financing through education.
(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)