The Southern Youth Forum (SYF), the umbrella body of youth groups from the 17 southern states of the federation, has commended the Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS), Alhaji Yusuf Magaji Bichi, for exerting professionalism and innovation to the affairs of the Service since he assumed office.
Speaking on the state of the nation and other sundry issues, the leadership of the forum in a statement signed by Barrister John Atani (south-south); Engr Fidelis Nze (south-east) and Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi (south-west), said it took a cursory look at the activities of the DSS over the past two years and found out that the Service has been professional and dutiful in its security management.
According to the young southern leaders, the reticent disposition and professional role of the DSS in ensuring that the nation wasn’t grounded during the recent EndSARS protest, deserves commendation, adding that Bichi’s leadership has continued to ensure that threats and crimes against the internal security of Nigeria is eliminated or contained.
The statement read in part, “Without prejudice, some of us from the southern part of the country initially expressed reservations some two years ago when President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Bichi as the DG of DSS, but as we speak, his leadership has swallowed our misgivings because he has continue to raise the bar of the domestic intelligence-gathering agency.
“Perhaps, we should have looked more into his laudable professional track record as opposed to where he came from.
“In two years, we found out that the spy chief has been silently breaking new grounds in the discharge of his constitutional responsibilities and has been filling operation and perception gaps to enthrone a secured and harmonious Nigeria, which is the core objective of President Buhari.
“Internally, we learnt Mr. Bichi has been paying painstaking attention to the welfare of officers of the service and that has literally jerked the moral and attention of staffers on the upward swing.
“Mr Bichi has brought to the fore his experience as a core secret service operative and among other things, has reorganised and rebranded the depreciating reputation of the agency in the eyes of the public. The secret police now operates with civility, integrity and core professionalism.
“With the visible deliberate action plan to operate the state security service on strictly intelligence gathering, research analysis, conflict management, general investigation, risk and vulnerability operations, counter-intelligence, among others, there was no denying the truth that President Buhari pulled a masterstroke with Bichi’s appointment.
The forum further eulogized the DSS for being proactive in the face of security challenges, occasioned by terrorism/insurgency, banditry, herdsmen/farmers clashes, cybercrime among others, stating that the spy police has been more intelligence and knowledge-driven.
While calling for improved inter-agency synergy and collaboration, the forum urged other security agencies to take a cue from the Bichi-led management of DSS by refocusing their operations to be intelligence and knowledge driven.
“We urged the Service to consolidate on its incredible feat and outlook of the past two years and ensure that it continues to uphold human rights within the prism of the Constitution and also knock out subservient interests who may want to take advantage of lawful movements to rip the country apart.”
