By Mohammed Mohammed
The overarching safety of Nigerians appears to have taken the back seat and relegated to the background following the retirement
of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mohammed Adamu, whose mandatory 35 years of service formally comes to an end today.
Mohammed, hails from Nasarawa State, North Central zone of Nigeria.
Even though the IG will be clocking 60 years in November this year, chances are that his stay till that date cannot be ruled out as he is currently seen to be in the good books of the present administration.
Opponents of the Buhari Administration have alleged that he has repeatedly demonstrated impunity by insisting on extending the tenures of its favourite appointees thereby trampling on the laws of the land which stipulate such officers are to step down once they clock 35 years in office or sixty years of age, whichever comes first.
The case of the military service chiefs who ‘ resigned’ just last week in clear violation of the extant laws is still very fresh in the memory of the average Nigerian.
Arising from calls from tribal lobbyists from the different regions on behalf of their sons at the presidency, Mallam Garba Shehu, who validated the tribal pursuit from the different geopolitical zones, in a TV programme monitored in Abuja, said appointment into such a sensitive position should not be on the consideration of ethnicity but by their ability to keep Nigerians safe.
While President Muhammadu Buhari, is expected to start scrutinizing the list of would be successor to the outgoing IG, upon his return this week from Daura, SHARPEDGENEWS, learnt that he has instructed the Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Alhaji Musiliu Smith to expand the list of would be successor to the IGP position.
While the South-south and South-east have intensified their lobbying machineries rooting for their candidates to occupy the seat as they have felt deprived and shortchanged in the past years even as the race hots up, emirs and top leaders are also in top lobby for one of their own.
Even though the various names have been kept under the table, one notable name that has become prominent is the newly promoted as an Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIG), Mr. Dasuki Danbappa Galadanchi from Kano.
Others being championed by the Northern block, include, AIG Jitobo, who will be due for retirement in 2029, AIG Habu Ahmadu, who is the Commissioner of Police in Kano State and has also held fort at the Intelligence Department, Force Headquarters and erstwhile CP, Bauchi State.
While expressing divergent view the call for a Southerner as IGP, Shehu, said: “I haven’t spoken with the President but if I read his mind correctly, the president would rather have an IGP who would make the country safer, protect lives and property than one who is more pronounced by his tribal marks.
While that line of argument sounds right and ordinarily unassailable, there are Nigerians who would scoff at such righteous posturing as they point out that it has become a pattern to always source such persons from a particular section of the country.
To buttress this point, it might be necessary to state here that the last five inspector- generals of police, save one, have been of northern extraction. From 2010 to 2012 it was Hafiz Ringim followed by MD Abubakar , thereafter Suleman Abba from 2014 to 2015. Ibrahim Idris held sway from 2016 to 2019 having taken over from Solomon Arase as the helmsman from 2015 to 2016.
The more unfortunate part is that in the process of working towards achieving the predetermined selfish, tribal or nepotistic agenda, careers of otherwise qualified officers are regularly cut short unceremoniously.
Adamu’s tenure as Police boss appears not to have provided the solution to the rising insecurity confronting the country as the country has never before been under threat as in the current state.
There is no doubt that the country got to a tipping point concerning insecurity as cases of kidnaping, banditry, armed robbery and abduction have taken a more horrifying dimension.
The collapse in the country’s security strategy across the nation has prompted the formation of regional security outfits across the land.
In the last few weeks the increased insecurity perpetrated by the alleged Fulani herders have pitched the federal government against some regional bigwigs and traditional rulers in the South-west.
Recall that Adamu, was confirmed as substantive IGP in January, 2019 and ratified by the Police Council in May 2019.