Joy in service

Tunji Adegboyega

ALTHOUGH a 200-page book could not have told everything about the personality of Alhaji Aliyu Ibrahim Atta, former Inspector-General of Police (IGP), his autobiography, The Joy of Service, certainly gives some insight into who this amiable and perhaps taciturn man is. Yet, because of his accomplishments, especially in the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), such a man must have something in his well of wisdom that today’s generation of upwardly mobile policemen in particular, and the nation at large, can sip from.

The book opens with Chapter One that chronicles the author’s childhood, particularly his early days in his native Ebirra Land. Born on May 12, 1937 in Okene, Kogi State, into royalty, he never allowed this to get into his head. His father used his position as ‘Atta of Ebirra’ to attract development to the town. Yet, he had to voluntarily renounce the throne in curious circumstances. The author pays tribute to his “sweet mother, irreplaceable and forever adorable”; his wife whom he describes as his alter ego and his six children that he and his wife are proud of in the chapter which ends with the mentoring and child-in-ward programme that happens to be an age-long practice in northern Nigeria.

Chapter Two aptly tagged “Education in my formative years” relives the author’s experiences in his early school days, with all the foibles and nuances. How they went to farm and on hunting expeditions. It tells the story of his life in the Emir of Katsina’s palace, his admission to the famous Barewa College, etc.

Alhaji Atta’s enlistment into the Nigeria Police Force is the focus of Chapter Three. How fate, his sport acumen and the uniform and appearance of cadet officers at the time influenced his decision to join the force. An interesting aspect of the chapter was the cool mien of the Sardauna of Sokoto whose entourage was stopped by a cadet officer to inspect their vehicle particulars. While this infuriated those on the entourage, the Sardauna said the man was only doing his job (P45). How many of today’s leaders can be so humble? Atta eventually got enlisted into the Police Force as a member of Basic Cadet Course 8 after which he and his colleagues were commissioned as Inspectors.

Alhaji Atta makes a case for State Police in Chapter Four. This is one issue that has lingered for long in political debates in the country. He also believes that having between 400,000-500,000 police men under one system is inadequate for the country. The chapter also examines some complicated cases like the Gboko riots of the 1950s and 1960s, and the “Apalara killings” in the Western Region, each with its own unique characteristics and demands from the police. Police training, the Police Mobile Force (PMF) and how it has been abused is well dissected in the chapter.

His coming of age in the NPF is the focus of Chapter Five. He was tested with several responsibilities in Sokoto and Birnin-Kebbi; his service at the Police College in Kaduna where he trained both male and female recruits. His flair for sports also made him to form a female football squad, the ‘Atta Babes’ which, unfortunately, was involved in an auto-crash that affected it.

Chapters Six and Seven examine the author’s tenures as Commissioner of Police in both Rivers and Kaduna states. Alhaji Atta brought his ingenuity to bear in resolving the several crises that confronted his stations then. He so well handled the Kalabari centenary celebration that he got a letter of commendation from the then Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. He also did his best in handling the restive students of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; the perennial clashes between farmers and herdsmen, suggesting that the issue is an age-long one.

Chapter Eight relives Alhaji Atta’s sojourn at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State, as a participant in the Senior Executive Course Number 8 in 1986. The chapter also affords the author an opportunity to correct a mistake on the title of his research essay during the course.

Chapter Nine deals with events leading to Alhaji Atta’s elevation as Inspector-General of Police on December 29, 1989. He was eventually sworn in on January 2, 1990 as IGP and member of the Armed Forces Ruling Council, the highest decision-making body in the land at the time. The celebrated case of two school girls – Bisola Savage and Tomi Makinde – that were abducted in FESTAC Town in Lagos on May 2, 1991 is prominently told in the chapter. It was commendations galore when on May 16, 1991 the girls were handed over to their parents.

Policemen are first and foremost human beings; ipso facto, they need to be motivated to enhance their performance. Hence, Chapter 10 looks at welfare projects that Alhaji Atta was instrumental to their setting up as a senior police officer, or actually pioneered when he became Inspector-General. These included Nigeria Police Cooperative Society, the raising of insurance benefits to relations of policemen who died in service from N3,000 inherited from the colonial masters to about N500,000,  the NPF Community Bank which later metamorphosed to Nigeria Police Force Microfinance Bank Plc.

The chapter also tells the story of three men, among the lot, that Alhaji Atta assisted to achieve their life ambitions. But then, Alhaji Atta’s dream to transform the Police Mess from the colonial relic that it is to a ‘two’ to ‘five-star’ hotels could not materialise.

Chapter 11 dwells on Alhaji Atta’s experiences during coups. Apparently the police colleges were considered safe havens at coup times, hence the influx of all manner of people, including the very influential to the police colleges on such occasions.  The author was in Benin at the time the failed coup by Col. Buka Suka Dimka took place in 1975. Indeed, he was lucky not to have met one of his relations involved at home. The man had come to Benin at the planning stages of the plot. Alhaji Atta also says he got a prior intelligence of the Gideon Orkar coup in 1990 and passed the information to the then Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida. However, the State Security Service (SSS) disregarded the information.

The author harps on the need for cooperation between the Nigerian Armed Forces and the police for maximum efficiency, recalling that Nigeria Police was once the toast of the continent’s police forces and even one to reckon with at international engagements. The chapter closes with the sad news that the Retired Inspectors-General of Police Forum which was to act as a ‘think tank’ on issues affecting the police force and policing generally has not been active since July 2012.

A book of this nature, coming from someone who has seen it all, as it were, in the NPF cannot be complete without some recommendations on how professionalism and efficiency can be enhanced in the force, with the desired integrity to command the respect of the public. Thus, Alhaji Atta in Chapter Twelve of the book suggests a complete overhaul of the police for greater efficiency. He wants a return to the old order where traditional rulers and Local Government Police will form a ‘‘State Police” that can be structured in line with present day realities. Also, the police should be better kitted if the force is to be saved from collapse.

Alhaji Atta’s Life after Retirement in the police force, after 33 years of meritorious service, captures his experience as Chairman of the Board of Kaduna Textile Limited (initially known as Arewa Textile). He served in this capacity for about five years, during which the company was returned to profitability. A satanic rumour, and the humiliation of having to wait for hours before being ushered in to meet with the Northern Military Administrators Forum that had summoned him over the $30,000 rumour however made him to resign his appointment, with serious consequences for the company’s health.

’The Joy of Service is not only about Alhaji Atta. It also highlights the decadence in the country. The author expresses surprise that exam malpractice has become a national malaise: “Not once did I witness an incident of examination malpractice whilst the examinations (Cambridge) were going on”. He adds, to boot: “What more, the messengers collecting the examination papers from the post office were models of integrity and selflessness. Today, they would be waylaid and even at the post office level, the papers would have been tampered with; both postmaster and messenger may have succumbed to the temptation of exploiting the situation to enrich themselves.”

However, as with all such endeavours, the book is not without some shortcomings. First, its title on the cover appears too small and almost lost. Nothing stops the author from superimposing it boldly on his picture on the cover page if he wants his picture so prominently displayed as well. Moreover, some typos were observed (i.e. is it Kam Salem House or Kam Selem House? pp 144 and 153. Then there is the issue of binding which needs to be paid more attention to. The author may also consider having the title of every chapter on alternate pages for easy referencing.

But the generous use of memorable pictures which makes for better aesthetics and easier reading is highly commended. Also commendable is the ease with which the author recalls names, even of those some other people might have considered so inconsequential. The three young men that he helped to actualise their dreams and even some of those who worked with him in very junior capacities in the police force readily come to mind here. This reflects the degree of uncommon rapport he has with such persons.

In all, The Joy of Service, which would be launched on March 19 in Abuja does not only reveal some aspects of the life of Alhaji Aliyu Ibrahim Atta, the Okene prince who rose from a humble royal beginning through a dint of hard work to become Nigeria’s Number One Cop. The book is also a good compendium on the Nigeria Police Force. We need more of such quality works from leaders in all aspects of our lives for record purpose and posterity.