A retired Director of the Department of State Services, DSS, Dennis Amachree, has declared that political leaders in Nigeria have become active architects of instability due to their failure to make the dividends of democracy available to the masses.
Amachree, a security expert, equally declared that corruption and lack of patriotism among the political class threaten national security.
He spoke while presenting a book during the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Department of State Services, DSS, also known as the State Security Service, SSS.
The intelligence agency was created in 1986, upon the dissolution of the National Security Organisation, NSO. The National Intelligence Agency, NIA, and the Defence Intelligence Agency, DIA, were also established from the NSO.
In the book titled, ‘DSS@40: My Journey Behind The Shield’, Amachree offered an insider’s view of the challenges, sacrifices and responsibilities that accompany the protection of national interests as an operative of the secret service.
Highlighting the threat posed by politicians to national security, he said, “The endemic corruption and profound lack of patriotism among Nigeria’s political class represent a fundamental threat to national security, one that arguably surpasses external adversaries.
“Rather than providing the stewardship required to stabilize a nation in decline, political leaders have become active architects of instability.
“Their actions and systemic inaction have transformed the state from a protector of the people into a primary driver of socioeconomic collapse.”
Also speaking on the “anatomy of political sabotage”, he stated that the current security crisis in the country is not merely a result of insurgent or criminal activity.
According to Amachree, “This ‘slippery slope’ is a direct symptom of political failure.”
