Open Letter To Inspector General of Police Onovo

Dear Sir

Congratulation on your appointment as the Inspector General of Police. I choose to write you this letter against taking a full page advert in the newspaper to congratulate you least I be tagged a sycophant. Your appointment is quite historic being the first from your part of the country. Failure on your part will not be so good for them. But thats not why I write!

There is no doubt that you are qualified even before your predecessor. The reason you were bypassed initially is still not clear. But now that you have the job, doing the best that you can will make them regret not giving it to you initially. So what can you do then? I have a few tips that might help, they are not magical but might aid you.

First keep large pictures of the last three IGPs at strategic places in your office where you wont miss seeing them daily. It will do one of two things – inspire you to be like them or inspire you not to be like them. Also keep newspaper cuttings of their last days in office beside each picture. I guess you can detect a trend now! As much as possible, keep your hands and ways clean clean. If in doubt about your job, read the Police Act again and maybe demand for duties and responsibilities either from the Presidency, the supervising Ministry or the notorious Police Service Commission. I'm sure none of them will tell state that you must be more notoriously corrupt then the last guy. Choose a different path that never has been threaded before. Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. Be squeaky clean especially financially because the last guys followed the other path. Reject every carrot thats dangled before you. Be a leopard but loose your spots! Be a monkey but don't like banana! Don't even consider this a stupid advice. Thats the only way Sir that you will not end up like TAFA, CHRIS and MIKE. Think about it, its those that they accepted carrots from that eventually destroyed them. Infact I will advice that you study especially TAFA and his 2003 elections experience. Wasn't those he accepted banana from and helped rig into office that disgraced him? That called him a bribe taker without naming the bribe givers? You have a lot a lot to learn from that especially as we itch closer to the elections of 2011. find out all the things TAFA did wrong and avoid them.

Be wary of the politicians and their parties! They are chameleons and vampires. They will want to use you for their dirty deeds with all kinds of promises. Tell them that your job is a professional one and that you would like to be left out of politics. Call up the new CBN Governor, ask him for a safe deposit box at his banks strong room and deposit every political ambitions you have, at least till the end of your tenure. That way they wont want to test you , you wont have to fail their test and you will avoid getting involved in South East politics especially the type played in Enugu.

Dont behave like typical Nigerian Government official who never finds anything good that their predecessors did or was doing. Especially dont be like President Yar'Adua who went on a reversal spree of everything and anything Obasanjo. You know Okiro was a professional too! If you dont like a particular policy or program of his, you can sure fine tune or rework it. Dont outrightly reverse or cancel his programs, it can be salvaged no matter how bad it is. Remember that some some have been spent on it already. Besides you can bet that yours too will be cancelled as there is no guarantee that your successor will like it. Won't you rather be remember for successfully implementing a program that brought reform to the Nigerian Police Force thn starting a new one that would be cancelled by your successor? You can put a call through to Gov. Fashola to learn how he has successfully been implementing Tinubu's mega city vision for Lagos and still no one is remembering that it was Tinubu's plans. If you fear that PDP will think you are 'running things' with the opposition, then you can call up a rare example in their midst – Gov. Imoke of Cross River State. Don't be scared to seek advise. That experience is the best teacher does not mean it must be your own experience. Consult widely.

Be a different IG, dont begin what has come to be known as 'Familiarization Tour' of Police formations as if you were just seconded to Nigeria from Cameroun's Gendarmes. Except you don't want to miss out of the 'welfare' that goes with such tours. Forge alliance with State Govts. That are committed to crime prevention and are ready to put their money where their mouth is. Embrace Fashola's Security Trust Fund. Make concessions to him like sending him more officers to his state and in return ask that he commits some of the funds to training them in areas of Human Right, Civil Conduct, Intelligence, Investigation, construction of a standard investigation Lab. And most importantly rehabilitation of the Police College Ikeja – where even the colonial Police would not be trained less a modern Police in the 21st century.

Again Nigerians would rather you be a leader than a manager or administrator. I won't bore you with definitions of who a leader or manager is. But look at these two institutions and I will leave you with the observations you make. First look at EFCC under Ribadu and Farida, then look at NAFDAC under Dora and now under Orhii. Even check out the Abuja you live in. have you noticed any difference since El-Rufai left?

Please provide leadership at Louis Edet House. Develop a plan on how to prevent crime rather than fighting it. Would it be possible to have an effective Police that is not brandishing guns on the street and yet flee at the sight and sound of armed robbers? Would it be possible to have a very courteous Police? Would it be possible to have a Nigerian Police where suspects are not guilty until proven innocent? Would it be possible to have a Police that carry out thorough investigation prosecute offenders no matter who is involved? Would it be possible to have a Nigerian Police that won't aid politicians to snatch ballot boxes at polling units? Would it be possible to have a Police that is confident and independent of the Govt. and its Party?

I believe the answer is a loud 'YES' only if the Inspector General of Police is an ordinary leader and not a super-manager or administrator. You can do it sir! You don't need to have all the money in this world to begin the modernization of our Police. You can start from Abuja and Lagos. Begin a special training for officers to be posted to these places. Call them 'Elite force' or whatever you like. Give them modern equipments experiment with this for a year or two, and then continue in phases to other states. While at it, ensure that they don't stay in the barracks anymore. Begin to implement Community Policing by first phasing out the barracks system. Let the police live with those they are supposed to protect, it will not only help in intelligence gathering, it will also help them to relate well with the people. Its probably only in Nigeria that the police still practice this type of segregation. Don't you wonder about the level of mistrust between the people and the police? Meanwhile trust is suppose to help you guys on the job.

If you set your eyes on leaving an enduring legacy for the Police, posterity will remember you for good, except you want to be remembered like your predecessors. In all my rantings, I want you you do what you believe keeping in mind that your name is not for you alone but also for your children and grandchildren. It can open and shut doors for them after you are long gone. Have a fruitful tenure and see you at the end of it all!

Best Wishes!