Nigeria police: Disu in, Egbetokun out; matters arising
If the out-gone 22nd Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun was disappointed by the circumstances of his unceremonious exit from service just few days ago, such should not be surprising. Was it not said by a sage that whoever rides the back of a tiger for an advantage should expect to serve as dinner for […]
If the out-gone 22nd Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun was disappointed by the circumstances of his unceremonious exit from service just few days ago, such should not be surprising. Was it not said by a sage that whoever rides the back of a tiger for an advantage should expect to serve as dinner for the carnivore, someday, some time.
Poetic as the quote may sound, it has played out in the circumstances surrounding the career end game for the gentleman, for whom the latter part of his career prospects seem to have been well-oiled under the presidency of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. To not a few Nigerians, certain developments in his career manifested semblance of favoritism, which seemed to have propped him to serve latter as a key asset in the president’s 2027 gambit for a second term.
Having to be dropped suddenly like an unwanted hot brick by the same principal and without fanfare remains not only a classic case of backstabbing but also offers significant lessons with respect to when, and if career public servants offer a fawning disposition to their political masters.
The simple reason behind this contention is that politicians are essentially in the business of power mongering and will see the opportunity of exploiting any so disposed public officer that can be used to further their parochial schemes as fair game.
Recently, the country was treated to the sudden announcement by the Presidency of the resignation from office by IGP Kayode Egbetokun. Following the development was the immediate appointment of Mr Olatunji Disu as the successor and the 23rd IGP. According to a statement by the Presidency, Egbetokun had resigned from office, citing undisclosed family reasons, a situation which he remains in his right to justify his resignation. Having served the national institution meritoriously since 1990 when he enrolled as an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), he had risen over the years to the enviably top rank of IGP; hence has ordinarily paid his dues several times over. And as the time-honoured maxim for all police personnel across the world goes, “When your beat is over, go home,” Egbetokun should have been out of the service as far back as 2024 when he clocked 60 years in age.
However for Egbetokun, this maxim was breached as far back as when he stayed back in office in clear breach of the extant public service rules, simply on the strength of a twist by President Bola Tinubu, who had the rule of engagement changed to favour the IGP.
The ripples that trailed the development cascaded throughout the nation’s police establishment as fostering career stagnation for several police officers, and went beyond to include a heckling campaign for restoring rectitude in the establishment by Omoyele Sowore, a human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, an online newspaper. The latter not only persistently labelled Egbetokun an ‘illegal IGP’ but was also dragged to court over the matter.
With Egbetokun’s resignation, several issues have now been thrown up for attention by the public. One of these is the interest of Nigerians in whatever adjustments in Tinubu’s expectations of whatever role Egbetokun was to play in the 2027 re-election gambit. Secondly is the need for the new IGP to appreciate the lessons from Egbetokun’s tenure and align himself with at least two principles. One is to avoid being used by the establishment to serve parochial ends since as a public officer his primary loyalty is to the people and not any junta. Thirdly, he is to avail Nigerians a police force that is not shackled to the apron strings of the president and other elements within the corridors of power.
Nigerians want to see IGP Disu as a people-oriented police boss, a status that reconciles with the public image he cultivated across the country in the various police commands he had the privilege to serve. This implies that Disu would need to be reform-minded from his starting point onwards, as nothing will impress Nigerians at this stage more than seeing the emergence of a reforming police force. For instance, among the topical challenges facing the Nigeria Police Force today are widespread corruption, impunity, low manpower, lack of modern equipment, poor staff welfare, low morale, poor training culture, as well as wide spread indiscipline and lack of accountability.
Coupled to the foregoing is the political dimension of ethnicity. These issues hardly make the office of the IGP in which Disu is now entrapped an unenviable one as it is the theatre of pelleting with public opprobrium. Yet, Disu exudes an aura of being well prepared for the task ahead.
It is significant that in his inaugural address he listed among his policy thrust such objectives as professionalism, modernisation, accountability, integrity, community partnership and public trust. While these form his immediate policy goals, also to dominate his attention shall be challenges of working out the modalities for fast-tracking the onset of decentralised policing, fostering interagency harmony between the police and other security outfits.
Welcome on board as the 23rd IGP, Tunji Disu.