‘People Were Just Trusted’ — Former DSS DG Daura Reflects On Buhari’s Administration.

 

Former Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura, has said the late former President Muhammadu Buhari was surrounded by sycophants who betrayed his trust and contributed to the problems experienced during his administration.

Daura, who is also the vice-presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today aired on Monday, September 7.

He responded to claims that Buhari’s administration was the worst in Nigeria’s history, urging critics to examine the country’s political record between 1995 and 2023 before reaching such a conclusion.

Daura said his position as intelligence chief required him to remain close to Buhari and that he supported and protected the former president’s government while he was in office.

“Yes, they can say it, but I also want them, the real students of history, to go back from 1995 to 2023, when he exited, and find out which were the worst years,” he said.

“I wasn’t part of the government then. And that will show you that I stood by him and I protected that government. Everything started to give way after 2018 since I left office.”

The former DSS chief acknowledged that there were individuals around Buhari whom he described as sycophants, saying he was familiar with some of them and their actions.

Daura, however, rejected claims that he was part of a cabal surrounding the former president.

“No, there is no cabal,” he said.

“Even if there was a cabal, the intelligence chief of a country can never be part of a cabal because the schedule I handled made it necessary for me to be close to the president at all times.”

According to Daura, the individuals he described as sycophants did not necessarily misdirect Buhari but betrayed the confidence the former president placed in them.

Reflecting on lessons from Buhari’s administration, Daura argued that personal relationships should not automatically determine who gets appointed to public office.

He said loyalty or association with a political leader should be considered separately from a person’s competence, suitability and trustworthiness for a particular position.

Daura added that even when a trusted associate is being considered for an appointment, the individual’s abilities should be properly assessed and the responsibility assigned should be appropriate to their competence and the level of trust placed in them.

“And even if you are to do that, you must also weigh the quality of that person and then maybe place him in an office that befits him or is proportionate to maybe the level of trust you have in that person,” he said.

“But in that situation, an unfortunate situation, I would say, it so happened that people were just, you know, trusted.”

Daura maintained that Buhari’s administration ultimately suffered because some individuals were entrusted with responsibilities without adequate consideration of whether they possessed the competence and suitability required for the positions.