Forum writes Tinubu, cautions against push for new bill on office of NSA

A new measure that would amend the part of the statute that created the position of the National Security Adviser (NSA) has been advised against by the Non-State Actors Consultative Forum (NOSACOF).

The forum warned President Bola Tinubu in an open letter that such a move would seriously jeopardize the security architecture of the country.

The letter begged Tinubu to forbid the realization of such a proposal and was signed by Abdulrazaq Alkali, the coordinator of NOSACOF.

The correspondence, dated January 9, 2024, is addressed to President Bola Ahmad Tinubu and says:

Let’s begin by wishing you a happy new year and praying to God for a peaceful and prosperous year for all Nigerians.
Honorable, We are deeply concerned about Nigeria, our dear country, and we write this message to you with great patriotism and dedication. Ever before your administration took office, Nigerians have understood that things would not continue as usual and that significant institutional and policy reforms would be necessary to save the nation. While he is at it, Mr. President must be aware of the efforts being made by certain individuals and politicians in the government to mislead him into authorizing certain structural and constitutional changes to certain government institutions, all the while hiding the fact that their true motivation is their own political and personal gain. Mr. President, Sir, the current effort by certain members of your administration to amend the National Assembly’s NSA establishment clause and enable the NSA to hire and establish its own staff in a manner akin to that of current government agencies and parastatals is misguided and could set a dangerous precedent.

First and foremost, adopting this law will require either a revision of the relevant section of the constitution to make room for the bill or a revamp of the NSA’s whole architecture to avoid conflicts with the provisions that established it. In addition, the bill’s final result is to reorganize the National Security Agency (NSA) into a parastatal or agency with unrestricted authority over other intelligence organizations that now exist, including the Department of State Service (DSS), the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), and the Military. The functions of these agencies may overlap significantly as a result, which will exacerbate the rivalry, discord, and lack of cooperation among the many security services. The NSA has been the center of attention for preserving and enforcing cooperation amongst the security agencies at the moment. A major factor in its success is that it draws personnel and cooperation from the various agencies, making the NSA office seem like a partner agency to the agencies.

Second, the NSA typically hires personnel with training and experience from security agencies (i.e., personnel with training and expertise to perform national security jobs). Consequently, turning the NSA office into an agency and letting it hire employees on its own will drastically cut down on how efficiently the office runs its business. The NSA office will have to spend years, if not decades, and billions of Naira training staff members to the required level of competency. The other security agencies will be reluctant to share staff members with the NSA because they will feel like they are no longer stakeholders in the NSA office. This is because the NSA office will not be able to fill the roles with candidates who have the desired expertise and speciality. Considering the nation’s current financial and security issues, this is undoubtedly the wrong action made at the wrong time.

Finally, Mr. President, let me say that the NSA office is renowned for being one of the few that employs highly qualified personnel who are chosen from among the many security agencies primarily on the basis of their qualifications, abilities, and merit. The risk of politicization through biased and unjustified recruitment, which has been observed in many government agencies (including some security agencies), exists if the NSA is permitted to follow the path taken by other agencies and parastatals. This will not be beneficial to our national security if it occurs in the NSA office.
The responsibility for choosing the best choices for our nation rests with you, Mr. President, and I have no doubt that you will refuse to allow a law of this nature to be passed with your name or endorsement.