Kano blast as failure of intelligence services

So, acting on that, they filled up the complex with combat-geared police men. Fine. Also last week, the State Secret Service, SSS alleged they had Intel that there was an office the APC was using for cloning INEC voter’s cards. And they acted with alacrity. Both events show the prowess of our services in gathering […]

So, acting on that, they filled up the complex with combat-geared police men. Fine. Also last week, the State Secret Service, SSS alleged they had Intel that there was an office the APC was using for cloning INEC voter’s cards. And they acted with alacrity. Both events show the prowess of our services in gathering intelligence and swiftness in acting on them, when the matter is political.
On Friday in Kano, just like many other days in the past, when major, devastating disaster would happen, their intelligence gathering failed. You begin to wonder if it is not the same guys who often flaunt intelligence report as excuse to carry out many nefarious acts. It now dawns on me that their gathering of intelligence expertise only resurrect when they are on political duty that will warrant display of brutal force against helpless citizens.
Some days back, the FBI picked up two “would-be” bombers connected with the Ferguson riots. The two men described as reputed members of a militant group called the New Black Panther Party, were arrested in the St. Louis area in a sting operation. The men were suspected of acquiring explosives for pipe bombs that they planned to set off during protests in Ferguson. They were at the planning stage when they nipped them. That is how a serious security service should be: proactive.
I have never seen our security services being proactive to stop attacks. They are just a bunch of trigger-happy hirelings. Even when their own barracks, bases are to be attacked, they know nothing of it. In this age and time, securing people and the society has gone past the stage of numerical strength. It is done scientifically. And if you can’t get the real deal, you will be beaten to the game. It took the US ten years to get Osama bin Laden. Those were ten years of rigorous intelligence gathering. It took three years alone to get just the real name of the close ally that would lead them to Osama’s message carrier. When you deal with terrorists, you need to roll up your sleeves. It calls for serious work. If we really want to fight terrorism, there is an urgent need for the overhauling of our security agencies, especially the police and the secret service. It is shameful that as big and wealthy as this country is, we don’t have functional CCTV cameras in our major cities and institutions. Terrorism is very difficult to fight. But we are not even anywhere near fighting it.
The forces we have now are just those with gra-gra mentality. Those saddled with securing our lives are only good in wielding guns and tormenting innocent citizens. We must begin to see this issue as a serious one. Everybody; the leaders and the led. This is because if a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

Comrade Abdulateef Usman Abiodun, Lagos <[email protected]>;