Date Published: 08/03/09
MR. OGBONNAYA ONOVO, THE NEW IGP, AND WHAT’S AT STAKE: A NOTE (1)
By Temple Chima Ubochi
ubochit@yahoo.com
Bonn, Germany
Six essential qualities that are the key to success: Sincerity, personal integrity, humility, courtesy, wisdom, charity. ( William Menninger)
The first duty of a human being is to assume the right functional relationship to society -- more briefly, to find your real job, and do it. ( Charlotte Perkins Gilman)
Security can only be achieved through constant change, through discarding old ideas that have outlived their usefulness and adapting others to current facts. (William O. Douglas)
Although we must change the ways we protect our country, we must also guard against policies that appear attractive but offer little real protection and may even impede our ability to protect ourselves. (Richard Burr)
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Sir, the reason for my letter is four-pronged. First, as a fellow Nigerian who wants Nigeria to be everything other than what it is now, I do wish you well and want you to succeed where all your predecessors failed. Second, as a fellow south-easterner, I would want your charity to begin at home; I would want you to address the spate of kidnappings and wave of armed robberies ravaging the zone. The zone is competing with the south-south as the most unsecured in the country. Third, although you graduated years ahead of me, we are products of the same department (political science) at UNN. You are a fellow lion (UNN alumnus)! I know that the knowledge you acquired in our department, no matter how long ago that was, will still guide you in your new assignment. Fourth, security reports show that you’re a man of very modest means. Your family still lives in a rented house in Lagos, and in Enugu you have only a two-bedroom flat. You neither drink alcohol nor smoke cigarette. You carefully choose the company you keep in line with your professional demands. In this era of enormous corruption in low and high places, Nigerians are glad that there are still men of great integrity like you in the police force. Not mincing words, you are the first inspector general of police who is really qualified for the post and whose appointment was based purely on merit and not on other parochial considerations. Please accept my sincere congratulations on your appointment, I do wish you all the success in this world.
You were born on February 7, 1953 and hail from Nkanu West Local Government of Enugu State. Your Local government is one of the hotbeds of violent crime and kidnapping in the whole of the south-eastern zone. The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone 9, Olusegun Efuntayo, recounted atrocities committed by one Sylvester Ogbodo, alias Ngwu Ekere Onu, from Akegbe in Enugu State, who gives the police sleepless nights. He said the man was arrested in February, 2009 and arraigned in court for armed robbery and other violent crimes, but that the police was shocked that the Judge granted him bail even when the offences are not bailable. That criminal from your area is the leader of the gang terrorising Anambra and Enugu States.
Sir, your appointment is only symbolic and of little meaning to the Igbos. You came out on merit; but, still, you should help stem the tide of criminal activities in the zone in particular and the country in general. Ndi Igbo know that you will excel for Nigeria, because you have all it takes.
We learnt that you have mapped out plans to curb crime in the South East, not only because you’re from the region but also because you’re the first person from the zone to occupy the office of the IGP. We learnt that the fact that you must do something drastic to bring the menace of robbery and kidnapping down in the five south eastern states is not lost on you. We learnt that your success in this area will play a pivotal role in your confirmation as the substantive IGP as soon as possible, so we know that you won’t fail, as a super cop, you have all the qualities needed for your confirmation.
Some people said that you made history as the first south-easterner to occupy the position. But I see it differently, because there isn’t much you appointment can do to alleviate the sufferings which the south-easterners are going through such as the menace of erosion, bad roads, neglect of old infrastructure, absence of new infrastructure, etc. Those who think that your appointment was based on ethnic consideration or that it will be the panacea or catalyst for development of the south east zone, need to read Collins Ezebuihe’s interesting remarking:
“I congratulate Maazi Onovo, who I know, for getting the
respect and recognition he is very much deserving of.
However, Yar’Adua needs Onovo more than Onovo needs
this position in an Administration that lacks Federal character,
and looks more like those 1960s regional appointments of the
late Sardauna of Sokoto, as the Premier of Northern Nigeria,
to serve that very Region. Yar’Adua’s cabinet does not look like
a Federal one at all! Not with 3 Finance Portfolios and
more positions concentrated in the hands of Northerners!
A Bird which takes off from the ground and lands on top of
a Mow Hill has hardly made progress. Also, Yar’Adua cannot
share a whole Cow, belonging to all of us, among his Arewa boys
and, in the end, hand the South-East the tail and expect all of
us not to "worry...feel happy." No offense to Onovo, but he's
just a Police Officer and nothing more. The entire East needs
more than the tail of a cow; our infrastructures are in disrepair,
while big Federal projects are ongoing in the South-West and
all across the North.
For instances: How does this appointment compare to
having a new bridge over the Niger River? How does this post
compare with development of an industrial estate in the SE?
How does a Police position improve the lot of Eastern Nigerians?
And etc. Can any one tell me why would an Ijaw or Ibibio
person not be handed one of those 3 Finance Portfolios
in the hands of Kano boys? Indeed this appointment should not
be allowed to mask the deep imbalance prevalent in Nigeria, and
as long as those imbalances exist, this appointment or handout
will not stop MASSOB, MEND, and resurgent MOSOP from pressing
for equity.
So, Mister Yar’Adua should get to work, get more serious, and
get even handed now before it is too late for Nigeria. At this
point, accordingly, a thanks to Yar’Adua for making my older
brother a top Olokpa will NOT be in order until there is real
progress in the sharing of the nations huge wealth. This
appointment could actually be very insulting!
Peace.”
Nonetheless, people are advising, as the first man from the South East in the history of the police to assume the position of inspector general, you should dare to be different and strive to make history as the first police boss to return it to its original duty of crime fighting, security and maintenance of law and order. Your appointment might be a prelude to an Igbo presidency, because, if you perform well, inferring that an Igbo president might be all that Nigeria needs to be a great nation, will not be out of context. Be wise like a serpent and calculative as a lion that you are.
As the first south-easterner to occupy that position, the world will be watching to see what the Igbos have, that might be the reason for their clamouring for the chance to lead Nigeria. See your appointment as a test of Igbo leadership at the national level and I hope you would not blow the opportunity. Our governors (safe for Peter Obi of Anambra State) are all failures at the state level, but, some of the Igbos who served at the federal level, all excelled. You will be the highest civil servant from Igbo land and based on your performance, the whole tribe may be judged. By your performance in office, you might hasten or delay the more, the ascendancy of onye Igbo as the president of Nigeria.
Sir, I am not in any way envying you as the new Inspector General of Police, because, your job will be a very daunting one, your officers and men look unkempt and the force is one of the most corrupt institutions in Nigeria. The name of the police force you are leading stinks more than a gutter, it invokes shame, you need to cleanse it, by weeding out the bad eggs who are giving the force the name that makes it to stench to the high heavens.
You are the 14th indigenous IG. Until your appointment, you were the DIG (A) in charge of Administration and Finance. As a DIG, you served under three different IGs: Tafa Balogun, Sunday Ehindero and Okiro. You will retire on June 1, 2012; you do not have the luxury of time here, time is of the essence, you should try to work harder to achieve more for the police than your predecessors who chose to leave the police force as they met it. Tafa Balogun was convicted for defrauding the police department of billions of naira and has properties, acquired illegally, all over Nigeria. Sunday Ehindero also defrauded the police and acquired properties all over Nigeria. Now, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has accused your immediate predecessor, Mr. Mike Okiro, of contributing to the liquidation of Lead Bank Ltd, alleging that Okiro failed to repay N166 million credits advanced to him by the bank between 2000 and 2001. Okiro secured the loan to finance a pipeline laying contract which he secured from Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) using his family business enterprise, Hekiro Nigeria Ltd, to obtain the credit facility. We also learnt that Okiro has landed properties in Ogun State, where he served as police commissioner, and in Abuja. In addition, he has schools and hotels also in Abuja. All these properties were acquired surreptitiously. We hope you will not go the ways of your predecessors. Good name is better than riches. You have to make the men and women of the Nigeria Police Force everything other than those aiding and abetting crime, right from you, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to the last "recruit".
You were also the Chairman/CEO of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) between 1998 and 2000. This experience will help you a lot, because the use of illegal drugs in Nigeria is on the rise and many Nigerians are being caught almost daily at our airports as drug couriers.
First of all, we all agree that the police force you inherited is rotten to the core. The Nigeria Police Force operates as if we are in the 19th or 20th century, you need to re-position it to meet and overcome the challenges of the 21st century. Crimes are now sophisticated, so should be the police force also, so that peace, law, order, security of lives and properties would be ensured.
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is a colonial creation and still remains in that form. It was an institution put together by the colonialists for the exploitation and subjugation of the people. Still, 48 years after independence, it still remains as such, safe that the colonialists have been replaced by the corrupt ruling class that is exploiting the people just as the colonialists did. You need to make the force a people-oriented one, there to serve the interest of all Nigerians and not that of the debauched ruling class alone.
The morale of your personnel is at the lowest ebb, infact at its gloomiest; being a policeman is seen as very derogatory, people join the force not because of the love to serve, but, because there is no other job for them. Without the love to serve, officers and men would not be motivated in their duty. Your personnel need re-orientation in order to imbue them with love and pride in the service of the fatherland.
You have assured Nigerians of crime-free society and urged them to pray for you to achieve this feat. We‘ve already started praying for you. You also said that the support of your officers and men, over the years, had been overwhelming and that the confidence Nigerians reposed in you will not be in vain. You told Nigerians that you will not disappoint them or fail them. I hope that in 2012, when your tenure will expire, Nigerians will acknowledge that you kept your promises. For that to be the case, means that you would make meaningful changes by re-positioning the police to be a force to reckon with nationally and internationally. I hope that Nigerians will in 2012, when it will all be over, acknowledge that you delivered and did not disappoint. Ndi Igbo say that “the tone used in borrowing would not usually be the same used when repaying (onu eji biri akü, abughi onu eji akwu ya)”.
As the new Inspector General of Police, you have two choices. Either you overlook the problems of the force and wait out 2012 when your tenure will expire and then will hand over the moribund outfit to your successor or you choose to reform the force. If you choose the latter, know that you will step on big toes and will make a lot of enemies in that process, because some people are gaining from the horrifying condition the force is in and will fight against any effort to reform it. If you go for the latter option (to reform the force), you should be under no illusion that you will be frustrated and at a point in time, you might be forced to give up the effort to put the force in order, you might be forced to fatalistically resign to fate and will then have to drift along until you are pulled out in 2012.
Sir, although you’re part of the rotten system in the Nigeria Police Force, but, your new appointment has given you an opportunity to place the force on a different pedestal. Sir, please get down to work. You also commended your predecessor for his leadership style and pledged to continue from where he stopped in fighting crime. You need to put in more effort than him (your predecessor) in this regard, because, during his tenure crimes ballooned out of proportion. Imagine what the south east zone looks like today, nobody should be praying for the crimes and lawlessness we witnessed during Okiro’s tenure, his, was one of the worst times in Nigerian history.
One thing you should have at the back of your mind is that many Nigerians hailed your appointment as IGP; at least, you have the goodwill of the people, but, don’t be like Yar’Adua that entered the presidency with huge goodwill of the people, but, turned out to be a disappointment.
Nigerians from all walks of life have commended your appointment. Some said that Yar’Adua took the best decision on the matter, as you are a fine officer, who has a pedigree. Some said that your appointment was the best thing that has happened to the police. That you are the best man for the job going by your track record, ranging from your non-controversial nature, endurance, uprightness and fairness to issues! People are saying that the police, with you at the helm, will be re-positioned, re-oriented and restructured in such a manner that it would compete favourably globally. That the much-needed reform in the police force could only take place now, since other administrations paid only lip service to the issue, because your service, so far, to the police in various capacities will give you the edge to initiate and implement reforms in the force. Almost everybody believes that your appointment is based on merit, experience and on what you can do, and not on where you’re from. Suffice it to say that you were chosen based on track record, your competence and qualification and not on ethnicity. In the past, ethnic considerations and personal loyalty were the major criteria for the most senior appointments in the police, the result of which was an inefficient and corrupt force.
Others see your intelligence, energy and wealth of experience as second to none. For many, you‘re an individual that will bring change. Infact people agreed that you’re educated, intelligent and smart, a fine officer, who has served the country well in the assignments given to him in the past. One fact that is obvious is that as the former DIG in charge of administration, you had an edge over the other DIGs and that will serve you well along the line.
Your job of crime bursting is cut out for you. You have to tackle head-on the ever rising wave of arson, murder, rape, kidnapping and other heinous crimes. Also, you have to sincerely address the issues of low morale and high level of corruption within the rank and file of the police which have eaten deep into the fabric of the force. Some Nigerians rightly pointed out that the image of police has to be polished and repackaged to truly police our communities, that policing must come back to the community level while the barrack environment and mentality inherited from the British must be abrogated.
Sir, the lesson yours truly and others have learnt from your appointment is that endurance pays. You were the man the former IGP Sunday Ehindero handed over to, as the most senior in the police, when he was retiring, but the baton eventually moved to Okiro. Many in your shoes could have resigned from the police in protest. But you did not. You continued your work and today, you’re in-charge. That’s the price of endurance, hard work and dedication. We were told that you never wavered during the period you served under Okiro, who was hitherto your junior in the Force. We learnt that you remained resolute in your commitment to the Police and discharged your duties with zeal. The bottom line is that you should please do everything necessary to make the police the pride of the nation.
People also described you as an upright officer who brooks no truancy or illegality. You put your faith in God, insisting that it is only He who has the power to position any man at His own time, hence your total devotion to the Force. People said that your uprightness and integrity may be the much needed tonic that will transform the police and restore its lost glory.
I want to tell the world why you were chosen: Your track records of performance gave you the position. Your simple, non controversial and business-like attitude which was noticed from close quarters when you worked with the office of the National Security Adviser as Deputy Inspector General in Charge of Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID), was also a factor that led to your appointment. Most of all, the matured manner and equanimity, with which you took the appointment of Mike Okiro as IGP in 2007, even when every permutation had pointed to you as the next IGP, did also the magic for you. You are a lesson in endurance for all. We all were impressed with the excellent cooperation and loyalty you showed to Okiro despite losing out to him. As DIG, you worked closely with Tafa Balogun, Sunday Ehindero and Mike Okiro, I hope you would not allow their corruptive tendencies to affect you while in office; the trio as inspector generals, was very corrupt and they left the force virtually as they met it, I hope you would be everything other than who the trio were as inspector generals. Right from your time as the NDLEA boss, you are among the few police officers that have not been accused of any embezzlement or corruption. We know that your appointment has no ethnic or tribal undertone and is as result of hardwork, patience, endurance, steadfastness and waiting for God’s time.
Sir, we are told that you have concluded arrangements to reposition the Nigeria Police Force through the reorientation of its officers and men and the provision of adequate equipment and welfare for the entire force. We learnt that you would soon unveil your agenda for the force and that you would begin a tour of all police commands and zones soon with a view to rebuilding confidence among officers and men. In addition, we were told that the police high command has warned banks across the country to monitor all their staff in major strategic positions involving cash, in order to reduce the rate of fraud cases occurring in different branches of banks. That’s a good move and should be sustained. Also, the banks should be warned further about transfer money with bullion vans as some of their workers do give away the information about the time and movement of money to armed robbers making the latter to strike and cart away the money with precision. It is always an insider that gives his or her bank away, as the person gets his or her own share after the operation. The idea of transferring huge amount of money from one bank to the other with helicopter should be considered, landing pads could be constructed at central police stations or areas close to banks in all major cities.
Sir you said that the Nigeria Police have the capacity to fight crime. Until now, it wasn’t so, please tell us how you will go about this. The spate of kidnapping, armed robbery and violent crimes, especially in the South Eastern part of the country, should be a subject of serious concern for the Nigeria Police and will continue to be an open sore in the conscience of every police man, leader and politician in the area. As you rightly said: we definitely shall not tolerate this brigandage! I have no doubt whatsoever that you posses the capacity to deliver on your promises to sustain the fight against crime and would help to usher in a new lease of life, with guaranteed security for lives and property, and an environment that is conducive for meaningful socio-economic development for Nigeria. Your call for support of the Force in executing the arduous responsibility of providing security for lives and properties and for Nigerians to support the officers and men in the challenge to rid the society of all forms of criminality and to engender justice and the rule of law, is well placed and should be considered done. I hope, I speak for all well meaning Nigerians.
Sir, we learnt that the strength of your force is estimated to be 377,000 policemen, as nobody actually knows how many officers and men the force has. That’s too bad, you need to get the figure accurate; please do a head count of your men. We also learnt that there are many ghost officers and men in the force still drawing salary and allowances, identify and weed them out.
Sir, the religious and sectarian riots and violence have being plaguing Nigeria since independence. Millions of lives have been lost and properties worth trillions of naira have been destroyed, infact the ethnic violence was what led to the civil war and uptill now, that scourge has not abated. Currently sectarian/religious riots have unleashed pandemonium and chaos across the northern states such as Borno, Yobe, Kano, Bauchi etc. All your predecessors were unable to tackle the menace as there are ethnic and religious riots almost every two months in one part of northern Nigeria or the other. Please prove that you are made of different stuff and cannot be cowed by such violence by liaising with the Police Commissioners of those hotbed states and thereafter seeing that a rapid reaction force against this violence is put in place so as to nudge the violence in the bud once it starts anywhere, before it gets out of hand. These sectarian/religious violence and riots are depicting Nigeria as a lawless country (which it is) in the eyes of the international community and they are putting Nigeria more on edge; if care is not taken, the demise of Nigeria will come from those sources. Please do something about the riots, every other inspector general swept it under the carpet and carried on as if there was “no fire on the mountain”, but, if the worst case scenario happens, everybody will heap the blame on your doorsteps. You know as onye Igbo, “your name is not good in whispering (onye aha ya n’adighi nma n’nkpöröhihi)”
A few days ago, the Police in Bauchi State overpowered a Taliban group that attempted to overrun a Police Division. In the operation, the Police recovered two locally made pistols, 100 AK – 47, live ammunitions, bows and arrows and two bags containing substances suspected to be gunpowder and other explosive making devices. Such feat is what Nigerians expect from the police, it should be sustained.
To be continued
THE THANXS IS ALL YOURS
