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.”
