Intelligence-Chidoka speaks as politician, has no history of practice, competence – DSS
Miffed by the assessment of former Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Osita Chidoka, of the country’s intelligence agencies the Department of State Services (DSS) has dismissed him for lack of competence and experience.
Chidoka, while speaking on the state of the nation during a recent programme on a national television alleged that massive failure to manage national diversity was responsible for insecurity in the country.
Chidoka, who made case for an overhaul of the systems and processes, took a swipe at the intelligence agencies stating, “When we say that something is an intelligence organisation it means that the people are intelligent… So, I just can’t understand how unintelligent people manage our intelligence organisations. It’s just something I can’t wrap my mind around.
“All over the world intelligence organisations are going to universities looking for first class students; looking for people that have knowledge in technology, in engineering, in social sciences.
“They are competing with banks; they are competing with Google and all the other big employers to find this type of people. Knowing full well that they can’t pay them as well as the private sector they induce them to join the intelligence organisations.
“Nigeria is the only country where I don’t see such people going into the intelligence agencies. I dare the SSS to publish the number of first class students that are in the SSS. I dare them to publish how many people who have first class in French they have employed knowing full well that neighbouring countries around us are francophone.
“The NIA should tell me the number of first class students who have French or are native French speakers who work for them. I dare them.”
Speaking further, the former Minister of Aviation said: “This is the only country where we don’t know what it means to bring people together. We have to talk about technology. How many of the Nigerians in the tech space have been recruited into our intelligence organisations?”
However, the DSS Public Relations Officer (PRO), Dr Peter Afunanya, in an interview with our correspondent insisted that the former minister spoke as a politician.
According to Afunanya, “My service, the DSS, does not join issues with politicians. Intelligence activities are based on need- to-know; need-to-hold and need-to-access principles.
“For today, Chidoka is not on any of the platforms to appreciate the workings of intelligence community or the DSS in particular. He has no history of core intelligence practice, competence and experience.
“He exhibited lack of knowledge or complete ignorance in aspects of his analysis especially as it concerns the DSS.
“In any case the FRSC has arguably continued to enjoy a robust relationship with the DSS based on inter-agency collaboration.”
