Absence of transparent leadership is missing link in police, says acting IGP

Mohammed Adamu, acting inspector-general of police (IGP), says the absence of transparent, accountable and knowledgeable leadership has been the missing link in the Nigeria police force.

He said this on Wednesday while presenting a brief remark at the hand over ceremony at the force headquarters in Abuja.

On Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari announced Adamu’s appointment as acting IGP at a ceremony in Aso Rock and decorated him with a new rank.

Adamu noted that the force is blessed with the best and professional officers that can stand out anywhere in the world and tackle the nation’s challenges if the right leadership is provided.

The IGP said he will use his international policing leadership experience to restore the lost glory of the force.

“My appointment represents a call to duty and a charge to restore the dwindling primacy of the Nigeria Police Force within the internal security architecture of our beloved country,” he said.

“Commanding the largest Police Force in Africa, particularly, at this crucial time that the country is faced with multi-faceted security challenges and at the peak of preparations for the general elections, is undoubtedly an arduous task

“The Force is blessed with some of the finest officers anywhere in the world that are not only intellectually gifted & exceptionally dedicated, but professionally sound enough to surmount these tasks if the right leadership is provided.

“Amongst you seated in this hall today are some of such thorough-bred and passionate professionals who can hold their own among their peers and have consistently distinguished themselves in complex national and international engagements.

“All that you desire, from my experience, is a transparent, responsive, motivational, accountable, and knowledgeable leader who will not only treat you with the dignity you deserve in your line of duty, but who is sensitive to your welfare, needs and fair in the manner your promotion and other reward regimes are addressed. The absence of this level of leadership has always been the missing link in policing in Nigeria.

“It is my firm conviction, therefore, that if the quality personnel potentials of the Force are blended with purposeful and motivational leadership at strategic levels within the organizational hierarchy of the Force. The lost glory of the NPF which remains a concern to governments at all levels, citizens, human rights groups, the international community and indeed well-meaning officers and men of the Force shall be restored.”