Newly confirmed Inspector General of Police, Solomon Ehigiator Arase, has come on board at a critical phase in the nation’s democratic journey. He has been blown ashore by a providential wind of change, oozing fresh breath from a putrid stench of an expiring dispensation. Like a bolt out of the blue, he was proclaimed the nation’s number one cop that bright morning of April 21. His immediate predecessor, Suleiman Abba, had incurred the wrath of President Goodluck Jonathan and his ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) through some unexplained actions or inactions. Jonathan hired Abba when it pleased him and fired him at pleasure. Reasons for Abba’s sudden sack will remain a matter of conjecture for a long time to come. The President is not obliged to offer explanations. No prying questions, please.
Arase may enjoy a smooth tenure under the incoming Muhammadu Buhari administration, that is if he is wise enough to be his own man. Any attempt on his part to pander or hanker after the fancies of vested influence peddlers that may come in the guise of “Buhari’s men” will certainly spell his doom. For what is known of him, Buhari is not one to expect servitude from any public office holder. With a background in intelligence in the Force, Arase is presumed to know his onions. Sticking to them will be his thump card.
Shortly after he was pronounced the new IGP, no fewer than three of his contemporaries had murmured their disapproval. The unnamed officers were reported to have protested that they were enlisted in the Police Force the same day as Arase and queried the choice of the new police helmsman among their rank. Untenable as their alleged protestation may sound, it may as well be a tip of the internal struggle that may arise along the line. But the IGP need not lose a moment’s sleep over such lame argument.
For Arase, quelling such internal bellyache is a matter of discretion, and a good measure of horse sense too. Garnishing personal ambition with insipid bushwhack against a sitting IGP, as it is being done in several other public institutions, will certainly not strike any chords with the Buhari Presidency. Similarly, there will be no victory for those who may play the ethnic or religious cards against Arase’s appointment if he is the right man for the job. At this point in time, it is not the turn of any ethnic or religious segment to produce the Inspector General of Police. Rather, it is the turn of merit and capability, attributes which the present occupier of the office has so far yet to be proven to lack.
The new IGP, observers have advised, should do his job as professionally as possible, leaving politics to politicians, especially under the administration of no-nonsense Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, who has left nobody in doubt that the change mantra that has ushered him into power is not a fluke. He is, indeed, ready to walk his talk and effect the change for which Nigerians elected him. Hence, Arase is advised to watch the pitfalls of his predecessor.
Abba it was who sheepishly assumed the role of the Chief Justice, interpreting the federal constitution in Rep Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal’s defection saga late 2014. In a display of Dutch Courage, Abba had withdrawn Tambuwal’s police security cover, citing section bla, bla, bla of the constitution to justify his witless action. Just like every mortal, Arase can’t be Mr. Perfect. No one expects him to be. He will encounter testy situations as he journeys through. Therefore, he might be in need of sound advice in critical moments. Good enough, such pieces of advice cannot be in short supply from one or two of his predecessors, if he chooses them right.
One can recommend to him the wise counsel of ex-IGP Musiliu Adekumbi Smith who served under the tempestuous ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo during his first four-year tenure. Like Arase, the reticent, soft-spoken Smith was also an intelligence officer. Despite the presumptuousness and boisterousness of Chief Obasanjo in the handling of critical matters of security, Smith was able to maintain a dignified balance. He never for once jumped the gun to satisfy the former President’s obsessive cravings to dominate the political space. Throughout his tenure as the number one cop, Smith was cautious enough not to act in ways and manners as to suggest that the police under his watch, was an appendage of the ruling party. Suave and refined, Mr. Smith carried out his duties with open mindedness and saw to it that the Force did not flourish in impunity. The brutal assassination in December 2001 of the then Attorney General and Justice Minister, Chief Bola Ige, will ever remain a dark patch in the former IGP’s otherwise eventful career. And just like several other political assassinations that took place under the Obasanjo administration, the powers that be chose to play ducks and drakes with the inquest.
Beyond that, Smith will remain a reference point in humility and forthrightness for the younger generation of police officers in a long time to come. He was a disciplined officer, a gentleman. Likewise Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar ((M.D Abubakar for short) who President Jonathan appointed in February 2012, to replace the drooling and phlegmatic Hafiz Ringim as Inspector General of Police. Spruce and urbane, Abubakar brought decency to policing down the hierarchy. He was humane in his relationship with officers and the rank and file, with their welfare on the priority list. Although he could not stamp out indiscipline during his tenure, a good number of officers and men were made to account for infractions and abuse of police code of conduct. Abubakar never formed the habit of jumping into political frays, instigated mostly by chieftains of the ruling party in different parts of the country.
A case in hand was the 2013 show of shame in Rivers State, where seven House of Assembly members attempted to forcefully impeach the Speaker. The renegade lawmakers were believed to have been instigated by the First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan. The move was a prelude to a planned impeachment of the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, to serve some sinister ends. Resistance by the pro- Amaechi lawmakers, who were in comfortable majority, had led to a free for all, leaving in its trail blood and broken limbs. Evans Bippi, arrowhead of that failed impeachment move, was able to scurry out of the assembly chambers in good time. But one of his co conspirators, Michael Chinda, was not that lucky. He got the clubbing of his life from one of the pro-Amaechi lawmakers and Majority Leader, Mr. Chidi Loyd.
The blood-soaked Chinda was ferried out of the assembly chambers unconscious. A timely medical attention abroad saved his life. As a sitting IGP, Abubakar applied discretion by allowing the politicians to play politics their own way. He proved wiser than the rampaging lawmakers and their sponsors by wading in only when it was safe enough to do so. Without apportioning blame, the then IGP cleverly untangled himself from the maddening crowd of politicians. He resisted the temptation of playing the attack dog for the matriarch of the ruling party, who was pulling the strings from her Abuja comfort zone. Neither of the warring parties could pin any partisan blame on the diplomatic Abubakar. Avoiding the fall guy scenario is all about discretion, one of the strong points of the ex-IGP. Arase can safely avail himself the Abubakar manual whenever the going gets rough. He may get it free of charge.
Politicking aside, the task ahead of Solomon Arase is a daunting one. Over the years, indiscipline has eaten deep into the police apple and the scourge has continued to take frightening dimensions. Cases of extortion, torture, brutality have taken up wings, hovering over the various commands and formations nationwide. Poor service conditions and inadequate welfare have conspired to wreck the morale of officers and men. Citizens are clamped into already congested cells on a daily basis, usually on flimsy grounds. That is if they are lucky enough to escape the ubiquitous accidental discharge. The “bail is free” mantra does not fly any longer, as officers and men must augment shrinking family budgets. In some instances, suspects are made to pay their way to court under police escort, as operational vehicles are either broken down or there is no fuel to run them.
Fully grown fleeing suspects, who the law says should be accountable for their actions, get their relations arrested and detained in their stead. Ordinary citizens have learnt to withhold vital information from police in crime situations for fear of being implicated in the process. The criminal escapes, anyone found within the vicinity is arrested and hurled into filthy cells. Their relations must come forward to bail them, free of charge? Wetin you carry, a euphemism for road block extortion from motorists, sometimes takes a violent turn if the motorist dare prove to be “recalcitrant”. Thankfully, IGP Arase has outlawed the ubiquitous road block. He has even gone ahead to criminalise it, admitting that the road block has become a fertile ground for corruption.
Poor and inadequate residential accommodation has become a blight to the police. Most of the existing barracks are in a state of dilapidation, with poor sanitation to boot. Where the roofs are not hanging precariously, the walls are gaping with jumbo size crevices, exposing the occupants to avoidable hazards. Officers and men on transfer are left to make do with available spaces in abandoned vehicles, disused stalls and other inconveniences while in transit. On arrival at their new duty posts, many are forced to take accommodation in available corners around the formations, where they lay their heads after the day’s work. Their personal effects litter disused and abandoned shelves and cupboards at the premises. They rise very early in the morning to clean up, ready for the day’s routine.
From Abuja to Abakaliki, it is the same vicious circle of homelessness that has continued to plague police personnel, particularly the rank and file. Delayed promotion is added to the plight, leading to frustration, declined productivity and diminished morale. It’s a dark scenario of despondency. Arase certainly may not have the magic wand to fix these hydra-headed challenges within the space of his tenure. But he can start by laying the template and defining the course of action for short, medium and long term projections. That will set the pace for others coming after him. There is need to build a continuum of possibilities. It’s time to set the goals and Arase should be ready to seize the bull by the horns.
Born on June 21, 1956, Solomon Arase enlisted into the Nigerian Police on December 1, 1981. He is a 1980 graduate of Political Science from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The IGP also holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Law from the University of Benin and the University of Lagos. Called to the Bar in 2000, Arase also obtained a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the University of Ibadan. He had served in various commands and formations as one time Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State. A Fellow of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Arase once served at the United Nations Mission in Namibia. A native of Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State, he was the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Bureau, Abuja, before his present appointment. Arase is due for retirement on June 21, 2016.
