Former Director-General of the Department of State Services, Lawal Daura, has said the late former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration suffered because some people he trusted failed to justify the confidence reposed in them.
Daura said the experience of Buhari’s government demonstrated the danger of allowing personal relationships and trust to influence appointments without adequately considering the competence of those selected for public office.
Buhari governed Nigeria between 2015 and 2023, with his administration facing criticism over insecurity, economic hardship, unemployment and other governance challenges, while his supporters highlighted reforms and policies they said were intended to address the country’s structural problems.
The former intelligence chief made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, aired on Monday.
According to him, Buhari surrounded himself with people whom he trusted, but some of them eventually betrayed that confidence.
Daura said he was aware of the activities of some of the individuals he described as sycophants and knew “the details of what they have done”.
But dismissed claims that he was part of a powerful cabal that controlled access to the former president and influenced decisions in the administration.
“No, there is no cabal,” he said.
“Even if there was a cabal, the intelligence chief of a country can never be part of a cabal because the schedule I handled made it necessary for me to be close to the president at all times,” Daura stated.
He said his proximity to Buhari came from the demands of his office as the country’s intelligence chief, rather than from membership of any informal power structure.
He also defended the former president against assessments that his government represented the worst period in Nigeria’s political history, urging critics to place the administration within the broader context of events between 1995 and Buhari’s departure from office in 2023.
“Yes, they can say it, but I also want them, the real students of history, to go back from 1995 to 2023, when he exited, and find out which were the worst years. I wasn’t part of the government then,” he said.
Daura, who is now the vice-presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, said he remained committed to Buhari while serving as DSS director-general and believed he protected the administration during his tenure.
“And that will show you that I stood by him and I protected that government. Everything started to give way after 2018 since I left office.”
The former DSS boss said the problem was not necessarily that the people around Buhari deliberately misdirected him. Rather, he argued that some of those entrusted with responsibilities failed to live up to the confidence the former president placed in them.
Daura said future administrations could avoid a repeat of the experience by separating personal loyalty from suitability for public office.
He argued that knowing or trusting an individual should not automatically qualify that person for a sensitive government position. Instead, leaders should examine the person’s ability, character and capacity before assigning responsibilities.
He advised political leaders to match the responsibilities given to trusted associates with their actual abilities and the level of confidence placed in them.
“And even if you are to do that, you must also weigh the quality of that person and then maybe place him in an office that befits him or is proportionate to maybe the level of trust you have in that person.
“But in that situation, an unfortunate situation, I would say, it so happened that people were just, you know, trusted,” he said.
