Date Published: 10/13/09

Dear Sir,

Can Onovo hold out for long?

The Inspector General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo, strikes me as an intelligent police officer and this has accounted for what was said to be his achievement while heading the NDLEA. When Mike Okiro was appointed above him, he kept his cool and worked cordially with him (Okiro). And he became Okiro’s successor.

I read with immense interest when on his appointment many advice were published for his benefit, most praying that he does not become victim of any banana peels. He was urged to prove that all Policemen are not the same by shaking off the toga of corruption on the forehead of that Force. One believed he read and appreciated properly.

But I have started recording disappointments in him: First was of a personal party organized for him by close friends of his where girls were said to be plenty for the bash; this was reported in the social page of Daily Independent newspaper and in that raw manner. Again his intelligence rating to me diminished when he denied knowledge of Nuhu Ribadu's visit to Nigeria to pay his last respect to the late legal luminary, Gani Fawehinmi. IGP’s comment in that respect smack of intelligent person. This elicited Editorial Opinions in some print media.

I am advising him to learn lessons from these and avoid further pitfalls. He should not let his kinsmen down and by extension, Nigerians.

Udy E. Akpabio

Umuahia Road

Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.