By Editor
From Sack To Architect Of Nigeria’s Security Reforms
Former National Security Adviser, General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, is widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most accomplished intelligence officers, despite being removed from intelligence service at a point in his career.
A native of Gusau in Zamfara State, Gusau’s career trajectory remains one of the most intriguing in Nigeria’s military and security history.
His story took a dramatic turn during the regime of General Muhammadu Buhari, who came to power after the coup of December 1983.
Under Buhari, Gusau was removed as Director of Military Intelligence and sent on a training course in Britain, effectively pushing him out of the intelligence cycle.
However, his fortune changed after the August 1985 coup that brought General Ibrahim Babangida to power.
Gusau returned to the centre of security affairs, first as Acting head of the defunct National Security Organisation, NSO, and later as Coordinator of National Security.
In 1986, the NSO was reformed and split into three agencies – the State Security Service, SSS, the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, and the Defence Intelligence Agency, DIA.
Gusau played a critical role in that restructuring, which laid the foundation for Nigeria’s current intelligence architecture.
He later served as Chief of Army Staff, National Security Adviser and Minister of Defence at different times.
Analysts say what makes his history worth studying is how he bounced back to the centre of security management after being sidelined.
The question many ask is what happened between those periods and what role he played in shaping Nigeria’s major security reforms, a story Jibo Online TV seeks to explore.
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