“it is evident that the NPF can no longer effectively meet public expectations. Which then means that Disu’s job is well cut out for him”.
BY OLUSEGUN ADENIYI
“…I was once called to a scene where a young man had been beaten. His elderly mother saw my uniform and refused to speak to me. She told neighbours she didn’t trust police, that we would take money from the attackers and do nothing. One neighbour who knew me had to vouch for me before she recounted what happened. I wasn’t angry at her. I understood. I had seen what some colleagues had done. I had witnessed corruption, brutality, indifference. Her disgust wasn’t paranoia. It was learned caution based on experiences. My job was to earn her trust through my actions, not demand it because of my uniform…”
The foregoing is from a yet-to-be-published book by Olatunji Rilwan Disu, who was on Monday confirmed the Inspector General of Police (IGP). It is titled, ‘What They Didn’t Teach at the Police College: A Veteran’s Honest Guide to Navigating the Nigeria Police Force’. Considering that the whispers in Abuja had been that Kayode Egbetokun would be around for a long time as IGP, I doubt if Disu imagined he would be where he is today. But Egbetokun’s sudden ‘resignation’ paved the way. Although Disu sent me a dummy copy of the book (which reads like a post-retirement memoir) last December to help look at, I never got around to reading it until I heard about his appointment last week. The fact that he sent someone to my office yesterday to retrieve the copy indicates the publication has been ‘overtaken by events’.
Drawing from his own experience and that of colleagues, Disu addressed several personal and institutional challenges facing the police in the ‘book’. But what I find most interesting are the anecdotes. Sample this: “Years ago, one of my officers came to me troubled. His cousin, whom he loved like a brother, had gotten involved with a robbery gang. The cousin confided in him, saying he wanted out but feared the gang would kill him. He asked my officer for help. The officer wanted to know what to do. Report his cousin to the Police, knowing this might lead to arrest or death? Help his cousin escape and relocate, making himself complicit in helping a criminal? Try to convince cousin to turn himself in and cooperate? Ignore the whole situation and pretend he didn’t know? …every option led somewhere painful.”
Readers interested in the counsel our new IGP gave his officer and what eventually happened to the confessed criminal would have to wait for Disu’s book should he still decide to publish it one day. But now that he is at the helm of affairs at the Police, I hope Disu will put into practice many of the lofty ideals that have shaped his career thus far, some of which are also highlighted in his unpublished book.
Meanwhile, the new IGP is coming to office at a period when there is a national consensus for the establishment of state police. Most of his predecessors opposed the idea, essentially to protect their turf. To succeed, Disu must put the security of the country over and above retaining the power and privileges of his current office. When that transition comes, he also must work for the reform of the federal police so that its personnel become more professional and are able to effectively discharge their duties.
As the principal custodian of peace, order and security in a constitutional democracy, no institution is arguably more important than the police whose primary duties include preventing, detecting, and investigating crime, protecting lives and property and bringing criminals to justice. But as I surmised in a recent column, Mr President, Police May Not Obey You! – THISDAYLIVE, it is evident that the NPF can no longer effectively meet public expectations. Which then means that Disu’s job is well cut out for him.
In the message I sent to him last week, I told Disu that I don’t congratulate people I consider my friends when they are appointed to public office. But I do pray for their success. On that note, may God help Olatunji Rilwan Disu in his new assignment.
