Time to Close Down the Department of State Services

by admin | Apr 7, 2025 | government, military, national security, politics, security

In August 2024, Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, a prominent figure within Nigeria’s intelligence sector, was appointed as the new Director-General of the Department of State Security.

After six months of being here, Ajayi is advocating for fresh ideas regarding Nigeria that imply the breakdown of the government’s conventional security framework and its role in addressing the escalating instability.

As stated by the head of DSS, communities—as opposed to the nation’s security agencies—ought to be considered the primary defense against present challenges.

He made
the proposal
In mid-February in Abuja, several current and former security officials were present, including the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa; neither raised objections to this dubious notion.

You shouldn’t anticipate that the Nigerian Army, police, and SSS will safeguard each individual citizen,” he stated. “That approach won’t be effective.

We anticipate that security agencies will carry out their duties. This aligns with the constitution, which states that “ensuring the safety and well-being of citizens should be the main objective of governance.” It emphasizes this as not just a secondary aim, but rather the principal one.

This indicates that ensuring the safety of citizens is the top priority for the national government of the federation, which holds authority over and manages the security organizations.

Ajayi provided instances of Nigerian communities that have successfully countered and thwarted assaults, suggesting these could serve as models for Nigeria to overcome its security challenges.

This is a feeble argument. Nigerian communities have consistently protected themselves, and continue to do so, even when faced with an uneven distribution of contemporary weaponry. They often confront assailants armed only with traditional weapons like sticks and machetes, while their adversaries wield more advanced firearms such as pistols and automatic rifles—tools frequently used by abductors, extremists, or sometimes law enforcement personnel against these groups.

The state holds the primary duty to safeguard its populace, an obligation that falls upon the government once they have taken their oath of office. However, in Nigeria, following the swearing-in of officials, the pursuit of opulence and a feeling of authority frequently overshadow this sense of commitment.

We should remember that the APC gained power in 2015 primarily due to the unrest in Nigeria, with Muhammadu Buhari promising to leverage his military expertise to tackle this issue.

This indicates that both he and his successor, President Bola Tinubu, have collectively held power for the APC party for 10 years, unfortunately resulting in an increased sense of insecurity across Nigeria.

Remember, Buhari spent considerable time in a London hospital as insecurity grew worse. Similarly, Tinubu has frequently traveled to France for various trips, seemingly mired in ineptitude or crafting excuses to shirk their duties. This lets citizens bear burdens that the law assigns to officially designated bodies and institutions.

“Our society emphasizes community,” Ajayi stated in his intricately crafted initial strategy for defense.

Why can’t we join forces against scoundrels and frauds?

I was unaware that powerful, violent, and well-organized terrorist organizations were referred to as “miscreants.”

The head of DSS continued, “It is essential for the elite class to engage with their respective communities, approach us for validation and advice, after which we can jointly curb these troublemakers… security begins at an individual level…”

What does ‘Join us… get some form of approval and guidance’ mean? Who exactly are these ‘us’? In what way do Nigerian communities ‘join us’?

What exactly does “some form of approval” mean? Is there anything in Nigerian law that allows the Department of State Services (DSS) to equip villages and communities with items like brooms and clubs to confront herders who are equipped with automatic firearms and GPS technology?

Through which routes will villagers journey from the various parts of Nigeria to reach the DSS Headquarters along the Lagos-Kano railway line?

The Ajayis within the Tinubu administration have overlooked another aspect beyond the constitution: the APC came to power through what many perceive as fraudulent means, having sworn to eradicate Nigeria’s security issues.

Sure, here’s the information retrieved from the website of the electoral commission:
the 2015 APC Manifesto
, where it grandiosely promoted “APC’s practical answers.”

In addition to other commitments, the party pledged to:

Hire at least an additional 100,000 police officers and create a well-trained and adequately equipped Federal Anti-Terrorism Multi-Agency Task Force aimed at dismantling Boko Haram and all forms of insurgency.

Implement an instant salary increase along with enhanced benefits for all five security teams.

Tackle the root causes of unemployment, poverty, and social inequality that sparked the uprising by implementing an all-encompassing economic development plan aimed at revitalizing the impacted regions and their populations.

The APC expressed concerns: “Sixty percent of Nigerians reside below the poverty line, merely three percent receive adequate healthcare, and only about half of our children progress from primary to secondary education. Additionally, our roadways and railway networks are severely deteriorated. Fewer than thirty-five percent of the population has reliable access to electricity, with many experiencing frequent outages and persistent power deficits…”

It stated, “The Nigerian population requires assistance; aid from mismanagement, respite from the severe poverty faced by so many of us; relief from a deteriorating nation. An APC administration would deliver this support.”

Relief? A decade later, the APC had merely exacerbated the issues, leading to stratification marked by opulence and laziness among the elite and their relatives.

This all happened as the economy crashed, the naira depreciated sharply, major corporations withdrew, the power supply became unstable, joblessness surged, and many Nigerians migrated to neighboring countries like Niger, Cameroon, and Ghana. Wealthy Nigerians often relocate their loved ones overseas.

Rather than achieving security, we have accumulated an
Air Force arsenal
as the terrorists gain strength, which targets civilians, while the National Security Adviser offers praise
phantom “Tinubu Gains
.”

In January 2024, the Nigerian armed forces
announced
that it had dispatched its special forces throughout the nation as part of an intensified effort against insurgency, kidnappings, and various security threats.

In January 2025, Air Force chief Hassan Abubakar also
announced
That the Air Force completed 15,915 flight hours over an 18-month period. Then why has Nigeria become more insecure?

The issue lies within the lack of sincerity among Nigeria’s leaders, which keeps the country stagnant. The fact that Tinubu took a private trip to France while the crisis in Uromi was unfolding and as new US trade barriers were approaching serves as a reminder that he does not perceive our situation with any sense of immediacy.

Thus, Nigeria seems to be operating on autopilot with issues like insecurity, inadequate infrastructure, and a shrinking economy becoming routine. This situation is perpetuated by a government that believes citizens who are struggling to make ends meet should manage on their own.

However, it is not typical citizens such as Ajayi who possess the legal power to operate across Nigeria’s 36 states and 774 local government areas. If the DSS under Ajayi fails to recognize and neutralize these terrorist groups—which lack airports, sea ports, or diplomatic facilities—but can still freely resupply with weapons, then they bear responsibility for this failure.

How can armed herders managed by the DSS move freely to remote villages and farms across the nation, carrying out unchecked violence?

Why, DSS, are the intelligence agencies reveling in all the authority, prestige, armaments, and funds, whereas it is the impoverished citizens who have to resort to taking up weapons?

In this era of remarkable technological advancements, why is DSS concealing itself in Abuja, offering security and domestic assistance to politicians as Nigeria faces turmoil?

Perhaps citizens ought to take their defense into their own hands, rendering the DSS an unnecessary extravagance. If this were to happen, then it should be dismantled first.

Provided by Syndigate Media Inc. (
Syndigate.info
).