Intelligence service generally is characterised by secrecy, anonymity and discreet operations, for the sake of the safety and security of those involved in such duty. In the present era of sophisticated electronic and information technology, that field of activity has become an awesome profession, where dabblers and charlatans do more harm than good. Both in the public and private domains of operation, intelligence professionals are supposed to be people of high integrity, committed to truth as motivating principle. They are purveyors of truth.
Be it for research purposes or political service delivery, intelligence work is not meant to be an instrument for dark and unethical projects. Since it demands a high level of intellectual sagacity, those engaged in intelligence service are easily sucked into the vortex of the realm of illusion and errors, serving dark purposes. The deeper anyone explores the realm of errors via intellectual channel, the deeper one gets into dangerous waters. To come back to normalcy thereafter, has its price and demands deliverance.
For those who would have the inclination and resources to dig into relevant details and statistics, there are shocking records about the number of people in need of psychiatric help. They are largely people who had applied their intellectual acumen in activities that pander to base and unethical human propensities. Unfortunately, many of such persons are ranked as shining stars in public services, pandering to vanity and pride.
It is unethical for any public servant holding a high position to tell the world, even in a joke, that a federal government has no duty to protect citizens from “bandits”. It is even more unethical and also suspicious for ruthless, armed criminals to be given the label of bandits, rather than call them by the true name of what they are. Among various groups of people engaged in intelligence work are those who gather and disseminate information for public consumption. Is it ethical for a high public official to distort truth for political purposes?
Hypocrisy is defined as “a way of behaving in which you pretend to have better moral principles than you actually do”. Since Intelligence service goes beyond spying or gathering vital information with intent to undermine the well-being of persons or nations, according as one is paid, information officers are included. Similarly, researchers, private investigators, security operatives, journalists and other professionals in the vast field of communications and information technology, also come in the category of intelligence service. The difference lies in job description, field of specialisation, employer, etc.
Obviously, level of training, equipment at the disposal of the personnel, schedule of duty as well as the beat of service, would differ widely among intelligence practitioners. Those serving state agencies may have additional specific training and orientation according to prescribed needs. But what we find quite common is the possibility of politicisation of intelligence operations, including a tendency of deliberate disinformation, mis-information and outride policy of mendocracy.
Mendocracy, like cryptocracy, is a deliberate strategy of installing a propaganda machine in the polity with intent to teleguide the information sold out to the public. During a war situation such strategy is usually widespread, with Nazi Germany serving as a ready example. Expectedly, every system of mendocracy soon runs aground, as the masses soon become aware of the deliberate bamboozlement. To restore confidences of the masses can become quite difficult.
In a democratic governance, liberal communications ideology rules, characterized by adherence to professionalism, rule of law and respect for truth and facts, open for verification. Partisan ideology can also be foisted into a democratic system by political, religious and other authoritarian groups. We see in Nigeria, currently, attempts by some clever extremist groups to float and inject partisan ideology into a secular polity. One of such is the issue of Sharia law, propagated and foisted under various mechanisms.
Part of the hypocrisy in intelligence service delivery includes the privatisation of the intelligence and security organs of state, under partisan ideology. This cannot inspire mass support and confidence under a democratic and secular polity. Way back in 2000, Dare Babarinsa told Nigerians that “The Fulani ruling class, rootless and without any cohesive political ideology or nationalist cultural interest, has clung to Islam as a political weapon”. The issue at stake is not religion but power and the future of the Nigerian state. Game of subterfuge or bluster would not help!
What has been going on in Nigerian politics includes the pursuit of sectional agenda through some clever means. Those who have recognised this devious strategy should speak up before the situation gets worse. For a section of the country to mix religion with politics in a secular state demands that this issue be resolved boldly and honestly. What is Boko Haram if not a religious ideology seeking to reject Western education and culture, with Sharia world view providing a better alternative!
It is hypocrisy to pursue such agenda using the services of state security and intelligence agencies. To politicise the services of such agencies is to deprive them of their professional code of practice which includes non-partisanship. When salt loses its value or “saltness” it becomes fit to be trampled underfoot. Same goes for a “Presidency” which devalues its status and exultation. The bond of unity among security operatives gets undermined.
What is happening currently globally provides opportunities for individuals and nations to recognise how they stand inwardly in terms of deficiencies and hypocrisies prevailing everywhere. Vanity provides the snare that leads to a fall. The craft of intelligence operations can lose its awe and glory when it serves as a sectional weapon rather than the purveyor of truth. The value of information lies in its factual accuracy after objective and balanced analysis before dishing it out as an instrument of human upbuilding. Similarly, the value of intelligence service delivery lies in its reliability and accuracy, not as a partisan tool.

By: Bright Amirize

Dr Amirize is a retired lecturer from the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.