By  Emma Nnadozie, Crime Editor
BEFORE President Goodluck Jonathan announced his name as the new Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, was not even  among the hot contenders to the exalted position.

The President’s announcement was not only a shocker to his contemporaries but also to many stakeholders. Although one cannot say he came from the blues, there is no doubt that nobody gave him a chance in the midst of all the names that were peddled.

However, as soon as the announcement was made, Suleiman Abba’s pedigree came into proper focus. It was randomly dissected.

The result came out positive going by the exposure and experiences he has garnered all over the years in the force. His has been a fulfillment of a tedious but steady rise to stardom.

Now that the stakes are high, emphasis should be rightly placed on the fact that he has worked in the Police mobile force, held sway as the Deputy Force Secretary, served as a liaison officer to the Police Service Commission – all these are pointers that he must be vast with promotions, discipline and deployment in the force.

Also, the fact that he has worked in Rivers State as the Commissioner of Police where he handled the political hostility, preservation of our oil wealth infrastructure, handled the restiveness associated with the Niger Delta region, is enough to show that he has been equipped handsomely for the enormous challenges ahead.

Security and safety

His stint as the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in-charge of Zone 7, the seat of power from where he was elevated, shows that he is conversant with security and safety in the Federal Capital Territory and V.I.P. Protection, buttressing the fact that he is no doubt, equipped to carry the force to the next level. Some of his course mates interviewed credit him with unparallelled humility, kindness and very deep in intelligence. He is also said to have uncommon analytical mind. That may account for the very first step he took after assuming responsibility as the number one police officer in Nigeria. He clearly defined the vision and mission of the Nigeria Police Force.

The vision, he said, should be:  To be a leading national, professional and efficient law enforcement organization while the mission is: To provide safety and security in Nigeria communities; protect and respect human rights, and to promote community partnership in preventing and controlling social disorder.

The startling difference is that while his is all – encompassing, his predecessors personalised theirs. In the same token, he went a step further by setting out the core values for the Nigeria Police personnel in keeping with international standards.

The core values includes; loyalty, hard work, integrity, honesty, humility and honour and these were clearly spelt out for member of the force.

During his maiden meeting with top officers of the force, he reportedly stated unequivocally that the thrust of his administration will be to address the continued threat to security/safety of lives and property of Nigerians.

That means he has to devote substantial focus in the fight against violent crimes and the vehicle he intends to use to achieve this is to adopt the ‘United We Stand, Divided We Fall’ approach.  In his words; “There will no longer be divisions in the Nigeria Police Force because they are signs of weakness, inefficiency, ignorance and unprofessionalism.

Therefore, the answer is attitudinal change. That means, every policeman must have to change his attitude.”  He also emphasized on the need for every policeman to be a friend to the public as he must be seen by members of the public to be a helper. For the new IGP,  the “Police is your helper and your friend” will be the slogan.

Agenda: From the foregoing, it is therefore, crystal clear that Suleiman Abba has set out a seemingly daunting task to achieve before he leaves office. That is why he should focus more on the use of intelligence in addressing serious and heinous crimes in the country.

That unit must be strengthened and critical impediments acting as clogs removed without delay in order to achieve results.  In the same vein, inter-agency cooperation and collaboration are necessary ingredients urgently needed to streamline this.

Accidental discharge

He should also focus his attention on the personnel’s proficiency in arms and weapons handling in order to reduce to the barest minimum, issues of accidental discharge. There must be reasonable motivation and reward for excellence in the performance of their duties.

He must deviate from the hackneyed idea of postponing recognition of these attributes (feats) and ensure a quicker commensurate efforts which will, no doubt, go a long way in boosting the morale of members of the force.

In the area of training and manpower development, he has to kick start methodologies that will bring this into fruition especially using best methods and ICT- based equipment and skills to impact police knowledge.

As a pointer to this, mention must be made of events in some units of the force where tremendous achievements in crime fighting were manifestly recorded. In the past few years, operatives at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, Ikeja, Lagos, their counterparts in Anambra and Maiduguri and those at the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Adeniji – Adele, Lagos, have made remarkable achievements and from all indications, it must be as a function of the leadership of those outfits.

Function of the leadership

The challenge to the new Police boss, therefore,  is to ensure that these achievements are replicated all over the formations in the country and their achievements rewarded accordingly so that it could spur them into more action.

Lastly, the police boss should consolidate on the positive achievements of his predecessor, Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, especially in the area of aesthetics and upliftment of the force.

While Nigerians strongly insist that the era of road blocks are over for good, the excesses of members of the force all over the country should be keenly monitored and appropriate disciplinary action taken against violators. Anything short of these would, definitely, be a revert to the old swan song which has been, ‘Soldier Go, Soldier Come, Barracks Remain.’