By Ben Okezie (email: [email protected] TEL: +2348056180088 (SMS only)
AS I reflect on the 63 years Independence cel- ebration coupled with our democratic dispensa-
tion and the shaky security situation in the
country, with my over four decades of crime
and security reporting, writing and analysing
security issues and the activities and perfor- mances of the personnels, l came to realize
that Truely, there is the need to fish out leaders
who got to the office of the lnspector General
of police with the fear of God, and exhibited
true dedication to duty, were disciplined and
above all, left indelible footprint plus legacies
that leaders made of sterner stuff are associated
with across the globe.
These leaders capture attention each time
they appear in the public after retirement
because their ideas and works greatly impact
their immediate constituency and the general
society.
Infact, these officers ; Louis Edet, Kam
Salem, Etim Inyang, Sunday Adewusi , lbrahim
Coomassie, Gambo Jimeta, Tafa Balogun, Mike
Mbama Okiro, Muhammad Dahiru Abubakar
and Solomon Arase .
Apart from Louis Edet and Kam Salem
whose names adorned the two police strategic
buildings in Lagos and Abuja. This writer
started covering police activities (Operations and administrations) since 1981 as a reporter
with the defunct National Concord newspaper.
Before the police beat, l had a sting with the
Customs Service when Atiku Abubakar held sway
as the Area Administrator in charge of Apapa
and Tin -Can Island ports, Lagos. However, l was
posted fully to cover the police when the newly
appointed IGP Etim Okon Inyang was carrying
out on the spot assessment of police men on road
check point duties. Precisely, In 1985, many po-
lice men were arrested and later dismissed when
they were found with money while on patrol or
check point beats.
Each of these officers exhibited enough leader-
ship qualities that even the ordinary citizen still
foundly remember not only their names, but
their enduring and impactful legacies. Ibrahim
Comassie, the Katsina born police officer dog- gedly rose to become the first northerner to be
appointed as an inspector General of police by
the Sanni Abacha administration. Commassie
would be remembered for engaging the su-
preme military council, as a member, from taking
over the new police seven storey headquarters
building.His doggedness paid off and the Ship
house built for the Nigeria Ports Authority was
handed over to the military, reasoning that Abuja
has no waterways. Commassie therefore wrote
his name in the sand of time as a dogged strategic
fighter. Although subsequent police adminis-
tration allowed maladministration to stop the
further construction of the second building.
The police institution can boast of good vision- ary leaders. It is commendable trait , to see and
emulate something that is good and can impact
on the institution and your country at large. Mr
Sunday Adewusi known as the “Action lGP” once
travelled out for a security conference abroad and
got fascinated on what he saw. He returned and
was able to convince the president, Alhaji Shehu
Shagari to approve the establishment of the Ni- geria Police Mobile Force and the Nigeria police
community bank.
The Police Mobile Force was established as a
strike or Anti-riot unit under the control of the
Inspector-General of Police to counter incidents
of civil disturbance. It is designated to take over
operations of major crisis where conventional
police units cannot cope, the unit puts Nigeria
name on the global map, when it desptched a
squadron to Congo Republic to bring sanity to the country. Over the years, the department had
lived up to its billing but needs a completely
new orientation and direction. As a visionary
leader. Adewusi idea of a police community
bank stands him out as an astute economist.
No wonder he is still celebrated as the youngest
IGP at 45 years. While we fondly remembered
Gambo Jimeta for dexterity and humane
attributes. Under his leadership Lawrence
Anini the notorious armed robber had held
Benin city and neighbouring states hostage but
after the presidential query “ Where is Anini?”
made Jimeta to recall Cross Rivers state police
commissioner Mr Parry Osayande who was
later deployed back to his native state to capture
Anini. Record shows that Osayande deployed
the non indigene strategy by using Kayode
Uanreroro of the Mobile police force leader to
capture Anini. This writer was the only journal-
ist present in Osayande’s compound when
Kayode marched the robber in handcuff before
Osayande who asked him, “ Are you Anini?
and he responded, “Yes Sir”.( More details in
my forthcoming book , “The diary of a daring
crime journalist”)
Indeed, Jimeta ( now late) was one of the
IGPs that strategically fought criminals around
the country with little resources. He is one IGP
that is detribalised as he appointed and men-
tored Tafa Balogun and Tafa Balogun mentored
Solomon Arase in the area of crime fighting.
The crime fighting history of Nigeria police
cannot be complete without the mentioning
of Tafa Balogun, the charismatic and brilliant
lawyer, whose idea gave birth to “Operation fire
for fire” including initiating the “Community
policing system”. He selected some police of- ficers from each geographical area and ensure
their training in
Community policing skills abroad with an
understanding of re-impacting and retraining
of others. Balogun, against all odds ensured the
promotion of over five thousand police officers
and men whose promotions were hanging. He
is known for his academic excellence which
is unequal in the history of police leadership.
Then emerged Sir Mike Mbama Okiro, the
“Moses” of Lagos who rescued the state from
dangerous and notorious armed robbers that invaded Lagos from Benin Republic. Who as
the Lagos state commissioner exhibited an
outstanding security strategy that rescued La- gosians from the claws of notorious and dan- gerous armed robbers like Shina Rambo who
had invaded the country from Benin republic.
As Okiro distinguished himself as a visionary
leader who instinctively may have foreseen
the coming of terrorism when he established
the anti terrorism squad that were specially
trained and equipped from abroad, despite the
fact that there was no act of terrorism in sight.
However months after his retirement, his suc- cessor, Mr Ogbonnaya Onovo dismantled the
anti-terrorism squad to the detriment of Nigeria
for no justifiable reason instead he exhibited
a myopic leadership quality that does not im-
prove institutional development.
Infact, Okiro’s visionary qualities are very
precise and can he can be described as a Lion
of security with extra sense like the lateral
line and ampullae of lorenzini of a great white
shark. twice, his ideas saved banks across the
country from armed robbers when he intro- duced body checking electronics machines to
be installed by banks to forestall robbers attack.
Again, Okiro was Nigeria’s “Nostradamus” The
man who forsaw his tomorrow. He foresaw the
impending terrorist doom that has catastrophi- cally affected the country and set up an inter- vention force known as “Police anti terrorism
squad” which was dismantled before they
could be put into operation , barely a year after
his retirement. Today, the country had suffered
immensely losing billions of Naira in property
and several thousands of innocent lives wasted.
Also, Okiro initiated the amnesty program
that rained peace on the troubled Niger Delta
region. No wonder, he is adjudged as one of
the best IGPs ever to be appointed. A pious very
religious officer, who does not miss his early
morning and evening worship. An officer made
of sterner stuff, His tenure attracted many
blessings to the police institution and supports
from both the public and private organisa-
tions. An intellectual and author who used his
brief tenure to improve the overall welfare and
structures of the police. Indeed, His tenure
rejuvenated the police as a depressed institution
whose moral and integrity was already flat- tened and disorganised. (To be continued)