Mr Agboola Oshodi-Glover is the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 11, comprising Osun, Oyo and Ondo states. In this interview with GBENGA ADERANTI, he talks about his fears, career and family life. Excerpts:
WHAT was your perception of the police before you joined them?
I was seeing the police from far off then; I had nothing to do with them. I grew up around Yaba College of Technology; a peaceful environment. The only time I saw policemen then was when students were about to protest or riot. The highest rank we saw then was a sergeant.
But when I joined the police, they said they were going to give us the ASP rank. That was a big one. Even if people had wanted to help me, they didn’t have access to the top to talk on my behalf. Joining the police was a way of life because it would give me job.
Of all the careers available to you when you left the university, why did you opt for the police?
I joined the police by accident. It was at the time we started having employment problems. I wanted to be a teacher. I went for an interview in Lagos State where I met a friend of mine who also came for the interview, and he told me that he had gone to collect the form for police and that I should go to the Police Service Commission. I collected the form and did the interview.
I served in Niger State, and the principal there loved my work. I was one of those who won the president award. The president now was then the head of state. By the time someone came to my house and said they saw my name in the papers that NYSC wanted to give me an award, I checked the date and it was the same day we were going to do our final interview for the police. I said I had better gone to tell them at the NYSC if they could give me a note to the Police Service Commission. Of course, they gave me a note. They rejected the notes from many other applicants but accepted my own and one other person’s. I did my own interview and went for the award the following day.
The late Tunde Idiagbon was the one that presented the award on behalf of President Buhari. Idiagbon was the Chief of Staff. Then, the quota for each state was five, but Lagos State got one more, and I was the sixth person, based on the award.
How has the experience been since you joined the police?
It was wonderful when I first started. The weight of the uniform was too much for me. As an ASP, when we finished our cadet training, we were posted to Auchi. I was given a house, a bit far from the office. People would be looking at me, until I later got used to the police work, and I admire it.
When you told your parents that you were going to join police, what were their reactions?
We are from Lagos. My parents were not too much averse to it. Although my mother died a long time ago, my father knew it was a federal job and he didn’t object to it. In fact, in the society, you are accorded respect if you are a police officer. It is good to be in the police or any of the forces because you have a spread. You can take care of businesses anywhere. If any of the family members is having a problem you can stand in for them. The most important aspect of being a police officer is that you have the ability to solve problems for members of your family as well as others.
Policing is a good job and it cannot be in conflict with somebody’s faith because it is those things God wants to do for people that you are assigned to do as a police officer. But most of the time, people misconstrue it to oppress other people or trying to make a way, thinking that it is by force you can make people to give you things. You don’t need to force people to give you things, because if you are doing your work properly, you will flourish and people will appreciate you and come close to you because they believe that you are their friend. But most times, they don’t want to regard police as their friend. Once they see that you are not really looking out for fault by which you can take advantage of them, they will be readily available to assist you and to help the work.
What has been your most difficult times as a police officer?
There are many, beginning with that of Auchi. There was a time somebody committed double murder far in the bush. The Divisional crime Officer (DCO) said I should go and arrest the man. I had to use all sorts of tricks. I told him Oga wants to see you, this and that. I was able to take that person from deep inside the bush to the police station.
Another one was when I was an Assistant Commissioner. I was posted as the Area Commander, Festac, Lagos. The first day I got there, I was just signing my handover notes and they said see rioters coming to the station! The day before, a policeman had shot somebody and the people were rioting. I had to go out and persuade them. I didn’t even know who to call, because I was just coming. I had to face the angry mob myself and tried to persuade them. I calmed them down and we were able to solve the problem.
How has postings affected your family?
I’ve been a bit lucky. I’ve not gone far from my base. It is not easy for a policeman, because most of the time, you would not see your family for a long time. And as a young man, you may be going around doing things without even thinking of the young wife at home who will be coping with all the problems of taking care of the family. So it didn’t affect me too much, because my wife was up to the task and she tried to take care of the children to go to school.
There was a time we had to take them to Abuja but they lost a year, because by the time we put them there, bringing them back to Lagos, they were saying the standards at the other side were not the same. It affected their education a little, but not much, because my wife and I decided that she must stay in Lagos to take care of the children. But she would tell me how long I had stayed away and how she had managed, which a young man would take for granted, but those things are very important.
Do you sometimes get scared that something bad might happen to you as a policeman?
There is no policeman who does not sometimes get scared. If you go for an operation, there is no way you will not be scared. But you have to be brave. Sometimes, you have to face violent and hostile crowds, and you cannot run away because the duty demands that you do your best in the face of trouble. When I was in Anambra State, it was a terrible time. The arms and ammunition in the hands of criminals were more than those of the police and sometimes you were thinking that they might even come and abduct you from your room while you were sleeping. But you have to continue to fight and get the men to fight the criminals in the face of limited resources. So you cannot afford to run because that will make you a weakling, and you cannot afford to do that.
Should I assume that it was the most difficult place you ever worked?
Yes, I can say that.
Then how did you manage to scale the hurdles?
I was not the CP. But we had the best strategy to confront and curtail the situation there. The anti-robbery men there were very good. We had a contingent of Police Mobile Force (PMF) units that were given to us from other parts of the country, and we were able to deploy them to places where we could now subdue the rampaging kidnappers and robbers. And, of course, other security agencies also helped. The army were coming in, but the police were the ones bearing most of the brunt, and the governors were cooperating.
There was a day some robbers were coming all the way from Nsukka. They had killed the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and robbed the banks. Somebody called me that the robbers were coming through a particular place. We had to deploy an APC. We positioned it on that road and we were able to get the robbers. In fact, while they were trying to share their loot, the policemen were able to barge in on them, shot some of them and arrested some. There was one guy, if you saw him, he was about 6ft Talking about missions, why is it that our policemen do better outside the country?
The thing is that in those places, you have the facilities. You have the tools, and in fact, when you are in the midst of people who are behaving well, you show yourself as a responsible human being too. Coming from the background where we have been working with our bare hands and you get to a place where you have facilities, you will definitely excel.
Would you allow your children to join the police?
Of course, I will. I want one of them to be a police officer because there seems to be danger everywhere. Somebody has to be able to stand for the family and be able to know the direction of things in the country, because you find that every institution wants to intimidate the other people in the society. There is the need for somebody within the family to help the family. I want my son to be a police officer.
But now, to recruit our children is becoming a problem. A lot of people are interested in becoming police officers, and a lot of people who have oversight functions on police are even trying to take over the recruitment of policemen from the police. We also are now begging so that we can have our children to be recruited.
If you have a fresh chance to choose a career, will it still be in the police?
Why not? It is a place where you can do good to people. You are the nearest to the people in the society. Those who say police is your friend, they know what they are saying. The police is like the referee. He is like a man within a community and knows the problems of the community, and he is the one who can wake up in middle of the night and save those who are in danger.
When I was in Kwara State, there was a lawyer who was critical of the police. He didn’t want to see anything good about police. But one day, he was coming home in the night, and he saw some people pursuing him. He had no option but to call the police. He called me and I had to call the patrol team. They went there and had to escort him home. After that, I didn’t hear any complaint from him again. But one will be happy when you know you’re doing something good to people.
For example, when we were in Anambra State, there was the problem of if a man died, the brothers of the deceased could come and start packing the things in the house without having regard for the wife of the deceased who had been with him and children. We had to be there and said, ‘Look, we don’t know anything about your culture, but the law says this is the wife of the man, and his children are entitled to the property.’ We provided security for them and that one stopped.
How was your growing up?
It was a peaceful one. I grew up in Yaba College of Technology. I attended All Saints Anglican School, Yaba. I wanted to be somebody, get a good job, but I didn’t know what. Although I used to love General Yakubu Gowon, any time they were on parade, you would see the beautiful uniform and moustache. I loved to join the force then because the young men in the army were the ones making waves then in the politics of the nation.
Could that be one of the reasons you opted for the police?
I will consider it a joy that I was able to be in the uniform. Because when you are looking for jobs and there is nobody to help you, and you keep trying on your own. God just helped me in this case and I was able to scale through.
Any regrets?
No regrets
