Kayode Are
{{Short description|Nigerian Army Colonel}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = Colonel
| name = Lateef Kayode Are
| honorific-suffix =
| image =
| caption =
| office1 = Nigerian National Security Adviser
| status1 = Acting
| president1 = Goodluck Jonathan
| term_start1 = 18 September 2010
| term_end1 = 4 October 2010
| predecessor1 = Aliyu Mohammed Gusau
| successor1 = Owoye Andrew Azazi
| office2 = Director of the State Security Service
| president2 = Olusegun Obasanjo
Umaru Yar'Adua
| term_start2 = May 1999
| term_end2 = August 2007
| predecessor2 = Peter Nwaoduah
| successor2 = Afakriya Gadzama
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| branch = 21px Nigerian Army
| serviceyears = 1974 - 1993
| alma_mater = Nigerian Defence Academy
| allegiance = {{flag|Nigeria}}
| status = Acting
}}
Lateef Kayode Are is a retired Nigerian Army Colonel who was Director General of the Nigerian State Security Service (SSS) from 1999 to 2007 and briefly served as National Security Adviser in 2010. Are served as an officer in the Directorate of Military Intelligence up until retirement by General Sani Abacha. Are was appointed as Director-General of the State Security Service by President Olusegun Obasanjo, served in that post throughout President Obasanjo's two terms (1999-2007), and was replaced by Afakiriya Gadzama, who was appointed in August 2007 by President Umaru Yar'Adua.
Background and education
Are was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in December 1974 from the Nigerian Defence Academy as part of the NDA Regular Course 12. He graduated among the best ten student officers and was deployed to the Nigerian Army Intelligence Corp following his graduation from the Defence Academy.{{cite web|title=Col. Lateef Kayode Are, OFR|url=https://dss.gov.ng/index.php/aboutus/leadership/item/116-col-lateef-kayode-are|website=Nigerian State Security Service|access-date=12 July 2015}}{{Dead link|date=May 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} Are's NDA Regular Course 12 mates included officers such as General Owoye Andrew Azazi, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, and Admiral Ganiyu Adekeye.{{cite news|title=NDA Regular Course 12 Holds AGM|url=http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nda-regular-course-12-holds-agm/131706/|website=This Day Live Nigeria|access-date=12 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714074723/http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nda-regular-course-12-holds-agm/131706/|archive-date=2015-07-14|url-status=dead}}
Are later graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Psychology in 1980 from the University of Ibadan where he won the University Senate prize, Faculty of Social Sciences prize and the Department of Psychology prize for best graduating student. He later obtained a master's degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos in 1987.
Director General of the SSS
Are served with General Aliyu Gusau at the Directorate of Military Intelligence during Are's time in the army. In 1999, Gusau, the newly appointed National Security Adviser, recommended Are to President Olusegun Obasanjo, who appointed Are as Director General of the State Security Service.{{cite web|url=http://www.dawodu.com/oduyela3.htm|title=The president under siege|work=Dawodu|last=Oduyela|first=Seyi|access-date=22 June 2011}} There is some speculation that Are and Obasanjo's Owu kinship played a role in Are's appointment as Director General.
National Security Adviser
In April 2010, Are was appointed as Deputy National Security Adviser by President Goodluck Jonathan.{{cite news|title=Security Adviser Hands over, Picks PDP Form|work=This Day|url=https://allafrica.com/stories/201009200874.html|last1=Imam|first1=Imam|last2=Akogun|first2=Kunle|date=20 September 2010|access-date=22 June 2011|via=allAfrica}}
When Aliyu Gusau resigned as National Security Advisor (NSA), Kayode Are took over as Acting NSA.{{cite news|url=https://nigeriastandardnewspaper.com/politicsED2.html|work=The Nigeria Standard|title=Plot by Alqaeda to Destabilize Nigeria|access-date=22 June 2011|last=Johnson|first=Emmanuel|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326002127/https://nigeriastandardnewspaper.com/politicsED2.html|archive-date=26 March 2012|url-status=dead}}
Jonathan relieved Are as NSA and appointed General Owoye Andrew Azazi as NSA, effective on 4 October 2010. The announcement of the change said "The President thanked the outgoing NSA for his services, and wished him well in his future endeavours".{{cite news|url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/10/jonathan-appoints-azazi-new-nsa/|title=Jonathan appoints Azazi new NSA|last=Idonor|first=Daniel|date=5 October 2010|work=The Punch|access-date=11 September 2024}}
Five years after the resignation, Are's residence in Ikoyi was raided by the Nigerian State Security Service.{{cite news|url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/194496-court-orders-sss-to-reinstate-ex-dg-kayode-are-to-lagos-home.html|last=Ezeamalu|first=Ben|title=Court orders SSS to reinstate ex-DG, Kayode Are, to Lagos home|work=Premium Times|date=5 December 2015|access-date=11 September 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Are, Kayode}}
Category:Directors general of the State Security Service (Nigeria)
Category:Nigerian security personnel
Category:National Security Organization staff
Category:Nigerian Defence Academy alumni
Category:University of Lagos alumni
Category:Yoruba military personnel