Police IG cares more about cars than dying Nigerians

Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris has been in office for almost a month, yet the strongest statement he has made is about official cars.

Idris lamented to journalists on Sunday, July 17, 2016, that his predecessor, Solomon Arase had taken away all the police cars and left him with an old car, a claim which Arase has denied.

“A week before I was announced IG, when you look through my office window, you could see so many cars. But the cars all disappeared when I came in,” Idris said.

“When I took over, there were no vehicles. I discovered that the last IG went away with 24 vehicles, including two BMWs. The DIGs some took seven, others eight. And they left me with an old vehicle,” he added.

Notice that Idris wasn’t concerned about the corruption involved in the carting away of 24 cars, rather he was concerned about not being able to ride in a fancy vehicle.

He also unwittingly revealed that he had formed the habit of looking longingly at the many cars outside his window before becoming IG.

It’s astonishing that a man now charged with protecting a country facing serious security challenges in the form of terrorism, kidnapping, militancy can have the presence of mind to complain about official cars.

Idris has said nothing about his strategy to combat the rampaging Fulani herdsmen, he has not issued any firm statement on how his tenure will be better than Arase’s.

We don’t know how our new Inspector General plans to combat the rising spate of kidnappings in the country or how he will address the recent violence in Ikorodu.

We don’t know if he will succeed in stopping his officers from brutalizing innocent Nigerians or if he’ll quell their penchant for bribery and corruption, but we do know that our new police boss loves cars, and he loves them new.

Idris’ comments highlight the gross misplacement of priorities which is common among public officials in Nigeria, it also shows that President Muhammadu Buhari has probably hired an unserious person to occupy a very serious office.

Nigeria’s police force is in need of a major overhaul, because now, more than ever, citizens need capable officers to protect them from the many bands of marauders running loose in the country.

ALSO READ: Arase denies taking 24 police cars away

That’s why the position of Inspector General is one of the most sensitive in the country at this time, one that should be occupied by a person of strategy and strong will, a person with strong moral fibre and impeccable scruples.

Unfortunately, however, it seems that what we’ve gotten is a hungry police boss who cares more about cars and the trappings of office than the lives of the citizens he has been appointed to protect.