By Emma Nnadozie
Immediately after the announcement of the appointment of Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, popularly called MD by friends and admirers last month, hell was let loose.  Virulent attacks came from some quarters-some calling him a tribal jingoist, others a religious fanatic, etc.

The bulk of protestations came from Jos axis where he served as a Police Commissioner during one of the deadly religious riots in the area.  In fact, the barrage of condemnations were so pronounced to the extent that admirers of the new Police boss had to swing into action with a view to presenting the true picture of the man saddled with the onerous responsibility of piloting affairs in the force.

*M D ABUBAKAR

Though, the protests, which many still tagged ‘misplaced’ seem to have died a natural death, one man who claims to have been grossly affected by the development spoke on the issue.  Dr. William Ikechukwu Ochin, a Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon at 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Yaba, Lagos who vehemently condemned what he called ‘the unwarranted attacks’ on the new Police boss, said Nigerians should be careful with the way they damage the hard-built reputation of their fellow citizens.

“This is because, if we are to build a better society, our children must be made to inculcate better ways of dealing with other human beings. Any foundation fraught with acrimony, falsehood or deceit will definitely not augur well for the future of the country.

That is why I decided to narrate a vivid account of my personal encounter with the new police boss without bias so that those calling for his head with their allegations will be made to retract the erroneous impressions they may have created in the minds of others who do not know the man MD Abubakar.

His story:  “In telling you this story, two examples will suffice.  I am a Consultant Surgeon and my relationship with people transcends ethnic, religious and tribal barriers.  I am from Enugu State.  I will humbly call myself, from all intents and purposes, a de-tribalized Nigerian.

The story I will tell you dates back to the 90’s and I have never stopped narrating it to people especially, those that kept on agitating against members of the Nigeria Police Force ascribing ethnic bias to their sentiments. You know most of us are rightly agitated about the way some of our policemen perform their duties.  Each time allusions were made to unnecessary sentiments, I always narrate this story. That is why I feel it is apt to repeat my narration without pride or prejudice, with no intent to curry favor or derive any gain whatsoever.

In 1992 immediately after the Ist Nigerian Musical Awards organized by their then President, Tony Okoroji, I had cause to pay a private visit to Mohammed Abubakar when he was a Superintendent of Police.  It was at the Military towers, opposite Ikoyi Club.  I met four young men from his state in his house.

One of them raised the topic of the musical awardees being mainly from the Southern part of the country.  He had barely finished saying that none of the award recipients came from the North when Mohammed Abubakar lost his cool.

He took them up by asking what they did for a living, their level of education and finally, he challenged them to give him the names of any other musician of repute from his area other than, Dan Maraya Jos, who was also one of the recipients.  He took ample time to advise them on how to embrace challenges instead of condemnation and lamentation.

Another occasion that showed the enigma that is MD was during the same period when he had a breakdown at the then notorious and dreaded CMS bus stop, late in the night. While fixing his car, some hoodlums confronted him threatening to kill him.

Being a fearless officer, instead of succumbing to them, he challenged them.  A fight ensued and surprisingly, most of the miscreants ran away with varying degrees of injuries.  He ended up with a knife stab on the chest.  I was privileged to have treated him while on call duty at the Military Hospital, Ikoyi and found out that the stab ended up on the rib and did not go further and I praised him for his gallantry.

“I do not think a person with such salient record of open mindedness and bravery should, in any way, be victimized or vilified, unnecessarily.”