Insecurity: ‘We Must Get Communities To Defend Themselves,’ Says DSS Boss

The Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi, has expressed the need to allow communities some level of armament to be able to defend themselves against invaders.

Ajayi stated this in his remarks at the annual maiden lecture of the Alumni Association of the National institute for Security Studies (AANISS), which has as its theme, “Mobilising Stakeholders to Curb Insecurity in Nigeria: A practical approach,” in Abuja.

Citing examples of ‘Siawas’ and ‘Azare’ people in Bauchi State, the DSS boss said the locals were able to kill all the invaders because they had a better understanding of their environments.

“They did not only repel them, they seized their weapons, and since then, you can attest to me that you hardly hear about Tafa Balewa again. What I’m trying to say, the practical approach to mobilising people is that you have to get everyone involved.

“You do not expect the Nigerian Army, police, DSS, to protect every Nigerian or every government. It is not going to work,” he noted.

Ajayi added that the country must create layers of defence to reduce burden on the national security architecture.

This, he said, is in order to allow the military, police, and other security agencies to deal with the bigger threats and organised crimes.

“But it is impossible for us to deploy to every community in the country. It is unimaginable that any security agencies have the resources to do it. So, as we leave here, we all belong to one community or the other.

“What we have to start experimenting is how we can make the community be a fist in the first line of defense,” he said.

He added that Nigerians practice a communal culture by doing things together.

“We do festivals together. We do ceremonies together. So why can’t we fight some miscreants, some shenanigans among us together? The community should say, you cannot come here.

“We have to allow some level of armament for the communities and they can serve as the first line of defense,” Ajayi maintained.

He stressed that there will always be security problems. “When I hear people say this is security in Nigeria, as long as human beings exist, there will be security problems. The issue is the response. We have to take that mentality away.

“What is the security agency doing? Who, apart from a tree, knows that they want to come and cut him? Only a tree. We have to get the communities to rise and defend themselves. And the time to start it is now”.

He added, “I come from a village and I talk to my people. I know the level of armament they are entitled to. I know how they organise themselves in quarters. I’m using my expertise to guide them. You cannot wait for the military to come and do it”.
The Director-General, Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Major General Garba Wahab (Rtd) in his lecture stressed the need to monitor and evaluate government policies.

He lamented that the country has overtime, paid lip service to security education and entertainment.

Wahab also added that the elites have weaponised security and poverty, leading to loss of values.

He further charged the government to win the confidence of border communities who have been neglected.