“The difference between a strong man and a weak one is that the former does not give up after a defeat.” —Woodrow Wilson
By Cosmas Omegoh
Many people pity the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Olukayode Egbetokun.
Dr Egbetokun is the only man currently wearing that hallowed appellation, and enjoying all the privileges it offers.
As far as police duties across the country are concerned, the bulk stops on Egbotekun’s desk. His words are law; power and might are also in his hands.
Egbotekun is a commander of materials, money, officers and men. He says to one come, and he comes, and to the other go, and he goes. He determines when each one will sleep and even wake up. Such is the aggregate of power right in his palms; such is the enormity of power he wields.
All things being equal, the IGP’s power and influence ought to also weigh legitimately on the citizenry. When Egbotekun roars Nigerians, especially criminals in the land, their accomplices and other non-state actors must convulse; they must catch cold; they ought to seek cover in ash holes, running and fearing for their lives. But all that seems to have changed or is changing as it were, though the rot might not have started with him.
Truth be told, right now, criminals are having a field day in the country. They are running roughshod over the citizenry. They tend to have long ignored the fact that there is a helmsman atop the police command. They are no longer bothered that his orders can determine their fate. They have all forgotten that or so it seems.
Indeed, those who know what is going on pity Egbetokun after recalling his viral declaration shortly after his decoration as acting IGP by the Vice President, Ibrahim Shettima in Abuja on June 23, 2023.
Recall that the moment Egbetokun stepped out from the arena that fateful hour, buoyed by the frenzy of his new office, he declared his determination to serve his fatherland most faithfully. But that seems to have become a pronouncement in futility. Something he probably never envisaged would be a pipe dream!
Again listen to the IGP: “I really can’t describe how I feel presently, but if I have to tell you anything, I will tell you that right now, I feel like (a) tiger inside of me, ready to chase away all the criminals in Nigeria.
“And some other time, I fell like (there is) a lion in me, ready to devour all the internal enemies of Nigeria. That’s my feeling right now.”
At the moment, the Egbetokun words appear to have fallen flat. The reason is that wherever anyone turns, criminals of every hue seem to be in pole position, operating with profound guts and gumption. The IGP seems not to have the right claws anymore to “chase” them all away, let alone “devour” them.
And now, the questions many keep asking are: can Egbetokun still match his words with action? Or has he forgotten those words? Or has he eaten them all up? Or have all of that happened?
Between June 23, 2023 and now is a little more than seven months apart. Some other questions people are still asking are: what has changed between then and now? Has Egbetokun delivered on his ‘tiger” and “lion” famed promise? Has he succeeded in chasing out the nation’s “internal enemies?” Or have they rather gathered and multiplied in their numbers?
For sure, it is common knowledge that kidnappers are taking more lands and people every day, and holding them by the jugular, demanding and determining the size of ransom their victims must pay to be free. The victims, who are multitude, include men, women, children, traditional rulers, the clergy and even security agents. Everyone in one way or another is a victim.
The evil men are causing enormous pains of unimaginable proportions to countless citizens without any atom of remorse.
In many parts of the country, bandits, herdsmen and insurgents whose activities are much more vicious, have remained in place, letting their fear to be observed as the beginning of wisdom. They are worse than hurricane, maiming and mowing down numberless citizens in a manner never seen before.
Meanwhile, the activities of armed robbers, cultists and ritualists have remained evils the people have long learned to deal with. They still leave sorrow and blood in every mind and heart.
Sadly, with the red light of this potpourri of evils in full glow, Egbetokun and his men alongside other security agencies seem to be only labouring to put it out. They come through as ill prepared, while the challenges march on. The result is that Nigeria and its citizens are unarguably bleeding on all sides.
For sure, some people wonder what goes on in Egbetokun’s mind every day. Pray, how does Egbetokun sleep and wake up sometimes? What sort of dream does he have upon receiving news of the quantum of security challenges in the country every passing day? Perhaps nightmare! Certainly, only he can tell.
But what could he do differently after all, many bewildered Nigerians wonder. That’s why he deserves the people’s help and understanding.
But he must start somewhere tackling the ills before they get worse. Perhaps he can begin with the little things.
Egbetokun can start first with his men. All around town, fingers point at some men in police uniform as the ones aiding and abetting evil. So, he should begin to fish out the bad eggs in their fold and possibly bring them to book. They are giving the Nigeria Police Force a bad name it does not deserve.
IGP Egbetokun needs to up his game in training and retraining men and officers of the Force to operate within the provisions of constitutional democracy. Often, their engagement with members of the civil society falls many nautical miles off globally-acceptable best practices. All that signals that after the sweeping EndSARS tsunami, no lessons seemed to have been learnt. Therefore, the police under his watch must be made to unlearn some of those ugly tricks of their trade that do not align with the wishes and expectations of the civil society. He must get them to relearn those right attitude acceptable the world over.
Must IGP Egbetokun be told that his men need lots of discipline to remain tactical and technical in their job in these fast-changing times? To be fair to them, the police need loads of motivation. They need better pay; they need the right materials to abide by their rule of engagement. Therefore, the hierarchy needs to raise the overall dignity of the average policeman and woman to work efficiently and effectively in their job.
For Egbetokun to regain his fast dropping tiger and lion spirit, he must also work hard to let those at the bottom of the police wrung breathe.
Getting the police to understanding team work and the need to work in sync ought to be the watchword in the Force’s operation if ever it will make any difference in the fight against the ills in the land.
After all, the “lion” and “tiger” Egbetokun tries to emulate, also oftentimes, hunt in packs!