Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has charged
the Directorate of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies to
develop new innovations in order to be able to counter novel security
challenges that are threatening Nigeria’s democracy.
Dogara, while speaking at the Graduation Ceremony participants of EIMC 10
of the Institute for Security Studies in Abuja, noted that it is important
for the paramount security agency to stay ahead in the war against
violence by deploying knowledge of modern techniques in unconventional
ways.
He also gave assurance that the National Assembly will give expeditious
passage to any initiative that will further strengthen the agency to
confront violence effectively .
The Speaker said, “We cannot afford to lose the fight against violence.
We cannot . And if there’s any institution that can do this, it is
Department of State Service.
The Speaker argued that it is only when security agencies develop new
tools and evolve more advanced ways of maintaining law and order that
democracy can endure.
He noted that the security challenges that confront Nigeria’s democracy
are no longer conventional saying, “Every challenge now in terms of
security comes with an element of something novel, something new,
something that has not been tested before. So, we need to stay ahead and
the responsibility lies squarely on your shoulders.
He charged the graduants of Course 10 of the Institute who were drawn from
all security agencies, National Assembly, para-military organisations and
other Federal government bodies not to waste the knowledge they have
acquired especially now that the country is facing many security
challenges.
“You have become salt on account of this training, you have become yeast.
But of what value is salt or yeast if it cannot be deployed? So you have
to do everything possible to deploy the knowledge that you have acquired.
“I was talking with the DG and he told me his vision for this institution
to attain a status such as that of the Institute of Policy and Strategic
Studies in Jos and I said to him that as legislators , we are more than
prepared to support that initiative but the ball is in his court and if
they push that executive initiative to us, believe me, as someone who
believes in the advancement of our democracy, I promise that we will do
our best to pass it.”