A retired Director of the Department of State Services, DSS, Dennis Amachree has said that the failure of political leaders to make the dividends of democracy available to the masses has made them active architects of instability in Nigeria.
Equally, a security expert, Amachree, declared that corruption and lack of patriotism among the political class threaten national security.
He said this while presenting a book at the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Department of State Services, DSS, also known as State Security Service, SSS.
The intelligence agency was established in 1986, after the dissolution of the National Security Organisation, NSO. The National Intelligence Agency, NIA and the Defence Intelligence Agency, DIA were also carved out of the NSO.
In the book, titled, ‘DSS@40: My Journey Behind The Shield’, Amachree gave an insider’s perspective on the challenges, sacrifices and responsibilities that go with protecting national interests as an operative of the secret service.
He said: “The endemic corruption and deep-seated lack of patriotism of Nigeria’s political class constitute a core threat to national security, perhaps even more than foreign enemies.
“Instead of providing the stewardship required to steady a nation in decline, political leaders have become active architects of instability.
“Their conduct and systemic inaction have turned the state from a protector of the people into a major driver of socioeconomic breakdown.”
He also spoke about the “anatomy of political sabotage”, saying that the present security crisis in the country was not just a matter of insurgent or criminal activity.
“This ‘slippery slope’ is a direct result of political failure,” Amachree said.
