Dons Eze
TINUBU’S CHANGE OF SPY CHIEFS AND BRAZILIAN CONNECTION, BY STEPHEN ANGBULU
On the evening of Saturday, August 24, 2024, visuals from the State House showed Ambassador Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, the country’s top spy, emerging from a meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
It appeared to be one of those routine visits by agency heads who merely tell the press that they had “fruitful deliberations with Mr President,” even if the reality could be far from that.
It could have indeed been a fruitful deliberation, but it could also have been a dressing down, new marching orders, or a warning to improve performance.
However, Abubakar appeared to have nothing to hide this time. In his words, he had “tendered his resignation” to Mr President, who “graciously approved it.”
When asked why he resigned, Abubakar told journalists, “There are quite a number of reasons one would do that. Some personal family issues, but nothing very serious, actually, and the friendship will continue.
“I discussed with Mr President; he understood very well, and I promised to remain steadfast regarding issues and the security situation of the country.”
He continued, “It’s routine to brief Mr President on security issues from time to time, and today is no exception.
“After the briefing, I tendered my resignation, and Mr President graciously approved and accepted it.
“I thanked him for giving me the opportunity to serve Nigeria under his transformational leadership for an extended period of 15 months, which is very rare—to have the opportunity to serve two Presidents consecutively. So, I thanked him sincerely, and I promised to remain professionally dedicated to our country.”
However, Abubakar declined to clearly answer how the President reacted to his resignation, saying such details are better revealed by the Commander-in-Chief himself or the National Security Adviser, Mr Nuhu Ribadu, in whose company he arrived at the Villa.
“I think it’s not for me to say this. I would be breaching protocol. But perhaps the NSA or Mr President himself will say it.
“But what I can tell you is that I’m very grateful for the opportunity the President gave me to serve the country under his leadership; for the encouragement I received, the confidence he had in me and my service, the opportunity to speak to him, to submit briefing notes and advice, and so on.
“For me, this means everything, and I have had the opportunity to mentor officers and staff during the entire period I have been DG. This is the seventh year, by the way, and the opportunity to mentor younger officers to step up. We now have many officers who can perform this job excellently,” he said.
Two days later, the President approved the appointment of new Directors-General of the National Intelligence Agency and the Department of State Services.
“The new appointments follow the resignation of the previous NIA and DSS chiefs,” read a statement signed by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale.
At the NIA, Mohammed Mohammed succeeded Abubakar, while Mr Adeola Ajayi, succeeded Yusuf Bichi as the new Director-General of the DSS.
The two outgoing spy chiefs were appointed in 2018 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Leaving service after more than seven years at the helm must have felt like a sigh of relief.
However, the nature of Abubakar’s exit, the subsequent resignation of the DSS Chief, Yusuf Bichi, and the almost immediate appointment of new heads left some Nigerians with questions, primarily because, in Africa, voluntary resignations of government officials occur once in a blue moon.
On the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, a user named Awwal said, “This is rare in Nigeria. It takes courage and selflessness to resign from these kinds of positions, honestly. The majority of Nigerians will wait until they are sacked. I wish him well.”
Another wrote, “Who read his face and his voice? So many words left unsaid. He is not telling us something.”
Countless other curious Nigerians were not opposed to the change of guards. They just wanted to know why.
Sources who spoke to Saturday PUNCH said poor handling of the #EndBadGovernance protests and the seizure of the presidential jets “embarrassed” the President who demanded their resignation.
President Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, had questioned the intelligence gathering mechanisms of the two agencies following the violent nature of the #EndBadGovernance protests in some northern states and the seizure of three presidential aircraft in France.
While Bichi was held responsible for lack of functional intelligence on the protest, Abubakar was reportedly queried for the NIA’s inability to have reports ahead of the seizure of the jets by a Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited.
What’s not in doubt is that their predecessors were tasked not to repeat similar mistakes.
The statement by the Presidency announcing the appointments said Tinubu expects the new spy chiefs to “work assiduously to reposition the two intelligence agencies for better results.”
He also charged them to “bring their experience to bear in tackling the security challenges bedevilling the country through enhanced c ollaboration with sister agencies and in surgical alignment with the Office of the National Security Adviser.”
As Nigeria-Brazil flight talks resurface again
Last Thursday, President Tinubu reopened an old conversation with the newly appointed Brazilian Ambassador to Nigeria, Carlos Jose Areias, to prioritise direct flights between Nigeria and Brazil on his agenda.
While receiving the Letter of Credence from Areias, Tinubu said his February discussions with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva regarding the issue remain a priority for Nigeria.
At the sidelines of the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, both leaders discussed the possibility of establishing direct flight operations between their respective financial capitals – Lagos and São Paulo.
Both countries also reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral relations, primarily to increase the volume of trade and cooperation across solid mineral exploration, healthcare, and agriculture.
They also agreed to work out the modalities for President Tinubu’s state visit to Brazil, following an invitation from Lula da Silva.
But six months after those talks, the state visit is yet to happen, raising questions about the likelihood of a direct Lagos-São Paulo flight as Nigerians continue to pay exorbitant prices for long-haul connecting flights.
Whenever that happens, we hope that Nigeria puts her best foot forward.
