SECURITY analysts have shed light on reasons for recent changes in the State Security Service (SSS) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) leadership.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, August 26, appointed Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi as the new director-general (DG) of the SSS, and Mohammed Mohammed as the new DG of the NIA.
According to a statement by the special adviser to the President on media and publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, Ajayi and Mohammed’s appointments followed the resignation of the former NIA and the SSS DGs, Ahmed Abubakar and Yusuf Bichi, respectively.
It is a routine thing – Analyst
But in a chat with The ICIR, a security analyst, Senator Iroegbu, claimed the incidents were beyond resignations.
According to him, the resignations and appointments were expected because every President would like to work with security and intelligence chiefs they appointed and are comfortable with.
Iroegbu, the editor-in-chief of Global Sentinel, said although government is a continuum, when it comes to matters of security and intelligence, it is a serious issue and no President will leave them in the hands of people he cannot trust.
“I think it is expected because every president would like to work with security and intelligence chiefs they either appointed or are very comfortable with.”
He commended the President for leaving the former security chiefs in their positions for a year.
“The President has been patient. It is not as if it is compulsory he must retire them, but I’m sure he wanted to at least understand the ground because these are Buhari’s men. So he would like to have his men.
He argued that the President must have instructed them to resign, citing his preference for his own people.
In his opinion, a security expert, Oladele Fajana said there was nothing new in the replacements, stating that it is a normal practice.
Fajana said the problem with the country is that serious issues are always politicised.
“Ordinarily, that is what is obtainable all over the world. Security is not a matter of politics. Another thing is that politically, they have to go because they were there during the time of Buhari.
“They have spent a year with this man (Tinubu) too. So they can never continue to be there till eternity. The baton has to change hands; there is nothing wrong with that,” Fajana stated.
He noted that to succeed, the President has no choice but to put somebody he can trust in sensitive positions such as the NIA and the SSS.
Security implications
Speaking on the security implications of changing heads of two critical security agencies in one week, Fajana said it is not an issue provided the new appointees are ready to work.
Fajana said the new DG of SSS had been in the organisation for a long time and had occupied various positions that had prepared him for the intelligence organisation.
Concurring with Fajana’s claim, Iroegbu stated that there was no security implication provided the new security chiefs were competent enough to take charge and execute the President’s goals.
Advise for new intelligence chiefs
Iroegbu urged the new DGs to be accountable to the nation in the overall interest of the country and not only to the President who appointed them.
“Sometimes they need the fact that yes, they are accountable to the President, but not at the detriment of the country. They should be able to stand up to the President and advise him appropriately if the administration is taking the wrong route.
“Sometimes when they are appointed, they feel their loyalty is only to the President, even if the President’s action negates the good or the integrity of the state.
“So your loyalty to the President should be to the extent that his actions and that of administration is in the overall interest of the country. So this is where I think there should be a delicate balance,”,” Iroegbu urged.
He acknowledged the President’s symbolic role but emphasised that advisory bodies must intervene if his actions harm national interests.
The new appointees
According to Tinubu’s spokesperson, Ngelale, the new DG of SSS Ajayi rose through the ranks to attain the post of assistant director-general of the Service before his latest appointment.
He said Ajayi had, at various times, served as state director in Bauchi, Enugu, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Kogi.
Meanwhile, the new NIA boss, Mohammed, has had an illustrious career in the foreign service since joining the NIA in 1995, said Ngelale.
He served in various capacities, culminating in his promotion to the rank of director and his subsequent appointment as the head of the Nigerian mission to Libya.
A reporter with the ICIR
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