POLICING NIGERIA AND THE ‘GOOD GUY’

Tunji Disu has his work well cut out, writes JOSHUA J. OMOJUWA

A random Twitter user had posted a complaint about some police officers in the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Alagbon, copying the then AIG Olatunji Disu in the post. Moments later he replied, “If you have not gone far, come back I am still in the office. I will be here till 21:30 hrs or DM me, please”. I saw that tweet and was inspired enough to send him a Whatsapp message, “More grace and power sir!” I did not have to say much really, I just needed him to know his effort was being appreciated, at least by some of us. And when I said, “more power,” it was so he’d be able to do even more. Seven days later, I don’t think either of us could have asked for more than the news served, the same man had been appointed by President Bola Tinubu as the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) following the reported resignation of the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun.  

After his response, I made a commitment to visit him at the office in March, but that ‘office’ has since taken a different meaning. I will now not try to make that March visit, because a man must settle into the work that he has been appointed to do without the distractions of well-wishers. That said, if anyone can get it done, he is the one. I know many people who will be rooting for him as IGP.

That is the nature of his personality that has endeared the Acting IGP to Nigerians. It is not an accident that this will be the first IGP who had a presence on social media before their appointment, especially whilst not ever being the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Force. Using social media, he has been a crucial factor in bridging the gap between the police and the people.

For years, we have bet on individual capacity when the design of systems has repeatedly shown that an individual can only do so much. It is the prevailing design of a system that brings about holistic results. That is the essence of reforms. If there is anyone capable of making their personality tell on the system and bring about the needed reforms, that would be the Acting IGP, Olatunju Disu.

Many Lagosians had an appreciation for his leadership when he led the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), making the RRS the reference point for policing in Nigeria. Those who did not see his value came to appreciate him more after he left in 2020. The RRS lost its spark and focus and just became another relic of what once worked. “I took this decision for you to assume this responsibility because I know your record,” said the President during the decoration of the Acting IGP, a point that reflects the fact that this is one appointment based on the record and pedigree of the appointed. He has been there, done that and whilst this is a whole new league, he’s got the lived experience and network to call when necessary.

The Acting IG has his work cut out; policing is so broken, the Army and other agencies have since stopped being ad-hoc arrangements to bring about sanity, they are an ever present in our civil security architecture. Police officers themselves could be better motivated. I have spent time chatting with some of them on the road and the conditions of their service, especially that of the rank and file, could be much better. We are not going to make good, let alone better, police officers out of a group of people who are simply not motivated enough to do the job. I was excited to read, whilst editing this piece, the Acting IGP saying, “I am going to ensure that I take their welfare into consideration, because people who are motivated put in their best”. Great start. Felt like an immediate response to my thoughts on motivating his officers. Again, in the simplest of terms, the Acting IGP has his work cut out for him.

He did it in Lagos and did it so well, those who could not tell whilst he was at the helm as Commander of the RRS were quick to notice the gap left. Dubbed ‘The Good Guys’ by then Commander Disu, the RRS was a model for what policing could be in Nigeria. They were the ones who exemplified the idea of ‘Police Is Your Friend’, because they indeed were, in Lagos at the time. He also helped to restore order to the Intelligence Response Unit (IRT) when that unit was at its lowest following the controversies surrounding its previous head. He helped to reposition that unit.

The future of policing is devolution, and it helped that the president made a renewed commitment to this during the week. That said, the transition to that devolution requires for us to ensure the Nigerian Police is in the best form and position it can possibly be. Note that the devolution of policing will not mean the disappearance of the Federal Police, it’d only create policing units that’d relieve it of some of its subnational commitments whilst focusing on cross-border matters.

In his charge to the Acting IGP, the President, Bola Tinubu GCFR, made it clear that his commemoration was not just a conferment of rank but a “solemn charge to serve Nigeria”. Cliché as that sounds, we all know that service to Nigeria has hardly been the default commitment of the average civil or public servant. I have the utmost faith in Olatunji Disu, to serve Nigeria with excellence and to for once, at least in this republic, make the Nigerian Police a darling of the Nigerian people. This is a tall order, but if the RRS could do it under a certain Commander Olatunji Disu, a tougher task and bigger scale this time, but as Acting IGP and eventually the substantive IGP, this man can.

  Omojuwa is chief strategist, Alpha Reach/BGX Publishing