Lawal Daura’s gross incompetence was further exposed when it was learnt that he never discussed the National Assembly operation with any of his deputies.
Ben Okezie
The Department of State Services (DSS) is yet to come to terms with the sack of its Director General, Lawal Musa Daura by the acting president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.
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Record shows that “the DSS is the primary domestic intelligence agency of Nigeria. It’s primarily responsible for intelligence gathering within the country and for the protection of senior government officials, particularly the President and state governors. It is one of three successor organisations to the National Security Organization (NSO) that was dissolved in 1986. The SSS operates as a department within the presidency and is under the control of National Security Adviser”.
Lawal Musa Daura ostensibly began his career with the agency in 1982 and In 2003, was appointed, Deputy Director in-charge of Presidential Communication, Command and Control Centre at the Presidential Villa, a position he held till 2007. After eight years in retirement, while intelligence operations the world over have been digitalised, Daura found favour before his townsman who was elected as the president, and on July 2, 2015, he was appointed Director General of the Department of State Security Service.
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Unfortunately two days after celebrating his 65th birthday, he was arrested after being fired for gross incompetence.
Incompetence rears up its head in every career of men who strongly believe they know everything. When arrogance is flamboyantly displayed, and fellow beings are not regarded, such person soon finds out that God cannot Be mocked and he despises the prideful. Indeed, the biblical lesson of pharaoh is there as guide. My first knowledge of Daura is his selfish flaunting of his closeness to Mr. President. This was very obvious when Mr. lbrahim Magu was to be screened by the Senate. Reading in-between the lines it was very clear that Lawal Musa Daura ignored sending his investigation report he claimed to have carried out on Magu, knowing that Magu is an appointee of the President just like himself.
The sacked DG of DSS plotted and executed the rejection of Mr. Magu’s confirmation bid for his selfish reasons.
Since his appointment, Lawal Daura has never left anyone in doubt that he is related to the president and has used the agency like an Alsatian did left off the hook against his enemies. Apart from illegal arrests, he has severally used the tool of the agency against his perceived personal enemies. Even the way he executes his operations, always crossing the barrier of decency. Each time security players harp on the need for security agencies to exchange information or intelligence, it was Daura they were inadvertently accusing. He hardly exchange necessary information with other security agencies. He believes, he is appointed by the President and is related therefore should only be loyal to the President and the National Security Adviser. In his interim investigation report on the National Assembly siege by the DSS, the lnspector General of police, Mr. lbrahim ldris, had disclosed that the DSS which claimed to have intelligence about smuggling of dangerous items into the National Assembly, did not dim it necessary to share such report with other security agencies. Lawal Musa Daura’s gross incompetence was further exposed when it was learnt that he never discussed the National Assembly operation with any of his deputies. That is the height of arrogance, when instead of involving your immediate deputies, you arrogate knowing it all mentality to yourself. Life is about sharing, although there are instances where issues needs personal conviction and decision. Not in the case of the National Assembly siege. The boys were assembled late night and issued with their kits and instructions very early in the morning before their colleagues could resume at their duty post.
The only person with the siege knowledge was Lawal Musa Daura himself.
When he was appointed as the DG, many tongues wagged in the intelligence community. The question among many was “ who is this guy? What are his antecedent?
In the intelligence community, questions asked are expected to rake in answers. When President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed retired Military intelligence, Colonel Lateef Kayode Are as the DG of SSS, although from Obasanjo Owu kingdom, his pedigree speaks volume as a first class student of University of Ibadan, that notwithstanding, his incompetence as DSS DG attracted bad publicity when Odi and Zaki-Biam were razed by the military. The DSS siege of the National Assembly has been described in many ways, all tantamount to rape of our hard earned democracy, which is treasonable. The Daura case should not be swept under the usual carpet of forgetfulness, neither should we allow relationship or family tie becloud our sense of judgement. This act should be viewed as it is. The interim report of the lGP is not enough, because he is a man trying to exonerate himself. So, a high powered enquiry panel made up of the military, retired top police officer and members of the civil organisation should be appointed.
Knowing what Nigeria is all about, it is almost definite that this case will soon be carpeted as politics will soon take over the atmosphere and Nigerians will no longer remember the siege of the National Assembly.
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Should this eventually be the case, it means thelabourof ourheroespast,thosewhoshed their blood for the resurrection of democracy, was in vain. It means, those alive don’t value the worth of this democracy. No wonder, people have reduced the value of our democracy to collecting peanuts from politicians during voting period. No wonder, people look the other way when politicians and leaders rape our democracy by lying to us. The speed with which Daura executed the siege operation, should also be the same speed the federal government should carry out its investigation and prosecution if any.
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Haiti on my mind
A day to my birthday , August 17, as l ruminate over my security journey, l remembered the small black Country in the Western Hemisphere known as Haiti. As a member of the Inspector General of Police team, sponsored by the united Nation peace keeping, so l found myself in Haiti in 2010.
After my official assignment that lasted weeks, we returned to hear the sad news of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the country on the afternoon of January 12, 2010.
This was one more disaster in a country that had suffered from decades of political, economic, and social setbacks and inequalities.
With approximately 3 million people affected, this earthquake was the most devastating natural disaster ever experienced in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Roughly 250,000 lives were lost and 300,000 people were injured. About 1.5 million individuals were forced to live in makeshift internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.
Had it happened while we were there, we would have been buried alive as the two stormy international hotel we lodged was buried with all the workers and hotel guest.
Just taking out time to thank God and remember all his mercies. Happy Birthday to me.