Buhari was surrounded by sycophants who betrayed his trust – Former DSS DG Lawal Daura

Former Director-General of the Department of State Services, Lawal Daura, has said the late former President Muhammadu Buhari was surrounded by sycophants who betrayed his trust and took advantage of his administration.

Daura, who is also the vice-presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today aired on Monday, September 7.

He said critics who describe Buhari’s administration as the worst in Nigeria’s history should examine the country’s political record between 1995 and 2023 before reaching such a conclusion. Daura said his position as intelligence chief required him to remain close to Buhari and claimed he stood by the former president and protected his administration.

“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. “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.”

Daura said there were sycophants around Buhari and claimed he knew some of them as well as details of their actions. He also rejected suggestions that he belonged to a so-called cabal around the former president. “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.” According to Daura, those he described as sycophants did not “necessarily” misdirect Buhari but instead betrayed the trust the former president placed in them.

Reflecting on lessons from Buhari’s administration, Daura argued that personal relationships should not automatically determine appointments to public office. He said loyalty to, or association with, an individual should be considered separately from whether a person possesses the competence and trustworthiness required for a particular position.

Daura added that even when a trusted associate is being considered for public office, the person’s competence should be properly assessed and the responsibility assigned should reflect both their abilities and the level of trust 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,” he said.

“But in that situation, an unfortunate situation, I would say, it so happened that people were just, you know, trusted.”Daura maintained that Buhari’s administration ultimately suffered because some people were entrusted with responsibilities without sufficient consideration of whether they were suitable for the positions.