Stop wasting experience in the Police

The appointment of an Acting Inspector General
of Police,IGP,from the rank of Assistant
Inspector General, AIG,has created another

season of instability in the commanding heights
of the Nigerian Police force.
If precedent is followed,the choice of MrIbrahim
Kpotun Idris by President Muhammadu Buhari as
the new IGP will compel the premature
retirement of the six serving Deputy Inspector
Generals, DIGs. They were appointed after the
immediate past IGP Mr Solomon Arase assumed
office April 21, 2015.
President Buhari settled for Mr Idris as the new
police boss following an integrity test conducted
on the top echelon of the Force. Before his
appointment, he was in charge of Operations at
the Force Headquarters until Tuesday last week.
Idris was at different times Commissioner of
Police in Nassarawa and Kano States. Apart from
his first degree in agriculture, he holds another
bachelor‘s degree in law. He had also won a
‘Medal of Merit’ in international peace keeping
operation.
President Hari is empowered by the law to
appoint any suitable senior police officer as
Inspector General. He made the right choice
given the background of Idris. The Acting IGP is
expected to bring his wealth of experience to
bear in the policewhich has a crucial role to play
in sustaining the nation’s democracy.
Beyond this, the new dispensation in the police
leadership has far reaching implications for the
nation, the system and the career of the senior
officers that would compulsorily retire. The six
DIGs who are the first set of casualties are
barely a year in office.
The nation invested so much in their training for
optimal performance. This comes with
experience which is invaluable. With their
untimely exit, the Force will be denied a cream
of crack officers who still have value to add to
the system. They are leaving at a time they are
bracing up to the challenges of their offices.
Nigeria is in dire need of a more effective police
system that guarantees law enforcement, crime
detection and prevention as well as respect for
human rights. This feat can only be attained with
tested hands who are not easy to come by.
We bemoan a situation where top police officers
who have something to offer are routinely retired,
especially at this time when the nation is
grappling with serious security challenges.
We recommend that the office of IGP should
have a tenure. This will afford the nation an
opportunity to get the best out of the Digs and
AIGs. The Acting IGP has two and half years to
retirement. The implication is predictable if his
successor is picked from the lower ranks of
those in line of succession . The nation cannot
afford this costly waste any more.