by Ben Okezie

He may have tread the “political soil” where Governor Amaechi holds sway , but Mbu should not seen as one picked from Mars to be in charge of the Rivers State Police command.

The world over, they are regarded as special species of homo sapiens and sequel to their sophisticated training, they most times are a step ahead of their peers.

In Nigeria, however, many security personnel especially those recruited and enlisted into the Nigeria Police have lost every iota of credibility to the extent that it is an uphill task to build up the personnel to what it used to be in pre-independent era.

Many are products of the society, while others have refused to blend with the corrupt social ills of the society. In those days, security was an exclusive terrain where personnel was hardly seen and if they were to be sighted, it was usually during operations or at police stations.

It was very difficult to find a police officer in places where there were no security operations. However as the society develops, so the people are not only advancing in knowledge but also in sophistication.

Many have dabbled into security matters with mere primordial understanding of the entailments of security. In all of these, Nigerian politicians unlike their counterparts in other shores, have positioned themselves as meddlesome interlopers.

They present themselves as leaders and also believe that every institution in their state is intricately intertwined with their portfolio. No wonder they see nothing wrong in the steps they take on issues that have nothing to do with politics.

The case of Commissioner of Police Mbu  Joseph Mbu and Rivers State governor, Hon. Chibuike Amaechi needs mentioning. These men have different professional trainings.

While Amaechi is a politician who grew to stardom on the lofty shoulders of his supposed godfather, Mbu on the other hand, has no godfather but has attained the professional height of his career by dint of hard work and sheer dedication, which had seen him climb the police rigorous ladder.

Except the uninformed is served with his achievements, many may not know and appreciate who this officer that Nigerians want to sacrifice on the altar of politics.

Politicians care less about the achievements of officers in the police, there are officers and there are officers. For instance, Mbu, as far as I know, is among the grade ‘A’ officers of the Nigeria Police Force. Here is an officer that  graduated from the University of Lagos where he made second class upper grade in Political Science, and got enlisted as a cadet officer in 1985.

Besides, he has worked in virtually every part of the country. His first major posting was as the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ukwa-East and Isiala-Ngwa Local government Area of Abia State.

His insistence on discipline made the commissioner to upgrade him as the State Command’s Provost and later as the Head of Management in the Abia State Command. It is on record that Mbu is one of the few officers in the police with zero-tolerance for corruption and indiscipline. When he was the Federal Highway Commander in-charge of Bauchi, Yobe, Bornu and Adamawa states, motorists were daily applauding  every of his leadership qualities.

His performance in those states brought him to limelight, culminating in his being made  Chairman of the Federal Task Force on  petroleum in Niger State.

He was also appointed Area Commander in Minna where he received an award as the best area commander in Niger State.When robbery was getting out of hand in Delta State, it was Mbu that was picked and posted to Ugheli, and again he was decorated as the best Area Commander in Delta State.

His rise, which is in tandem with handwork, resulted in his posting as Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Administration in Anambra State command.He became a ready tool of positive change in the police when the police colleges in the country were decapitating and contractors were having a field day and swimming in corrupt and sharp practices.

Mbu was posted to rescue the sinking police schools and secondary schools. Before he was posted out of the education unit, Mbu had successfully restored the dignity and falling standard of all the 55 primary schools and seven police secondary schools in the country. It was during his brief tenure that police officers’ confidence was restored to send their children to police schools and secondary schools.

It was, therefore, not surprising when he was moved and made chairman of the monitoring and implementation committee of Police Housing Projects when it was discovered that contractors were conniving to deliver low quality jobs to the detriment of the Force.Like him or hate him, Mbu is an officer of repute.

He may have tread the “political soil” where Governor Amaechi holds sway , but Mbu should not seen as one picked from Mars to be in charge of the Rivers State Police command.

The Inspector General of Police, who approved his posting, understood the terrain and geo-political atmosphere before posting him there, so why all the hullabaloo? Some Nigerian politicians are short-tempered and think every Federal Government personnel serving in their state automatically falls under  their jurisdiction and therefore should be subject to every of their influence and power.

A case on record was that of Assistant Inspector General of Police Donald Iroham who as a commissioner was having a running security misunderstanding with former governor Ohakim of Imo State who turned it into a political issue and demanded the transfer of the commissioner.

After a prolonged intervention by the Inspector General of Police, Mr Iroham was posted out of Imo State to Lagos. When Ohakim got wind of his new posting to Lagos State Command, he immediately called his fellow governor in Lagos State and poisoned his mind urging him not to accept the new posting of Iroham. The pressure was so intense that Iroham end up in kwara as that state’s police commissioner.

Mbu’s posting to Rivers State is like a man thrown into a surging tide and left to swim against the tide. Such venture requires gut, stamina, relentlessness and perseverance. All these attributes are the gains of every policeman who has undergone the mobile police force training.

It is appropriate to mention that the same Mbu before his appointment to Rivers State was the CP in charge of the police Mobile force  when ethics and discipline was at its lowest ebb.

Again Mbu was redeployed to Oyo state where he tamed the ever aggressive motor union activists, though an ACN state, the cordiality that existed between the governor on the one hand and the entire cabinet and the house of Assembly with Mbu was very unique no wonder he was honoured  with a special session in the house of Assembly.

While in Oyo the  traditional tussle between the Alaafin of Oyo and the traditional appointee of former governor  who was upgraded as an autonomous ruler in the domain of the Alaafin without recourse to legality and the Alaafin went to court and the ruling was in favour of the Alaafin and the Asipa was ordered to stop parading himself as Asipa , but despite his appeal, the ruling was still the same, but previous commissioners were lily- livered to enforce the court order and when Mbu was served with the court judgement, he courageously enforced the court judgment.

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.