AIG Rhoda Olofu… who killed two birds with one stone

Attaining the rank of Assistant Inspector General in the Nigeria Police Force is not an ordinary feat. The rank automatically grants you membership in the management team of the Force. And holding the position of Force Secretary burdens you to ensure the administrative functionality of the Force. The story of AIG Rhoda Olofu the newly appointed Force Secretary is a beautiful one. It is a story of love and career since 1990 when she enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force as a cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police with her husband, AIG Tony Olofu (rtd). She is the second woman to hold this position in the annals of the Nigeria Police Force.

I elected to write about the appointment of AIG Rhoda Olofu because it is an interesting one. In the course of her career, she found love and she also excelled. These are the two-birds. Her husband recently retired as Assistant Inspector General of Police, and they remain one of such few couples in the Nigeria Police Force. They both distinguished themselves remarkably in the offices and positions held. Someone once made a joke about how the couple greeted themselves when in uniform and when at home given that they both enlisted into the force on the same day. I could not help but laugh over it because it was hilarious. This is a story for another day.

They were course-mates and grew together in rank until her husband retired some years back upon attaining the age of 60.  What struck me was the tremendous support system they both deployed in managing their affairs which worked magic and a lesson for couples in similar situations.

Back to the crux. The Force Secretary in the Nigeria Police is the engine room for its policy and administrative matters ranging from promotion and appointment of superior police officers, deployment of superior police officers, records of superior Police Officers,  discipline of superior police officers, police council meetings, inter-ministerial matter; and promotion boards. This is indeed a strategic office that requires a thoroughbred officer to handle. And this much, AIG Rhoda Olofu brings to the table with her long history of professionalism, competence and experience.

AIG Rhoda Olofu was at various times the Assistant Commissioner of Establishment Force Secretary Office, Deputy Commissioner Admin Training and Development E Department, Deputy Commissioner of Research and Planning F Department, Commissioner of Police Servicom, Commissioner of Police X-Squad Force CID, Commissioner of Police Western Port Command and Assistant Inspector General of Police Marine Police covering Western port, Eastern port, inland waterways and the force marine. She has earned her stripes and her appointment as the Force Secretary is indeed in recognition of her hard work and dedication over decades. She is indeed well grounded for the position.

The appointment of AIG Rhoda Olofu is in line with the new Force Gender Policy, which would ensure gender sensitivity and inclusivity in its policy and operations, in line with IGP’s vision to reform the police. The Gender Policy for the Nigeria Police Force is formulated within the framework of the Nigeria Constitution which guarantees equality and the right to freedom from discrimination; and the various global, regional, and national policy commitments to gender equality and women empowerment.

Upon the introduction of this policy, the Nigeria Police Force appointed its first female Force Secretary in the annals of the force, AIG Yetunde Longe who recently retired from service, paving the way for AIG Rhoda Olofu as the fourth Force Secretary of the Nigeria Police Force. There are indeed lessons from this appointment. It must be emphasized that competent women must be allowed to contribute to policy formulation and implementation in the country.

There are some examples of how some women missed out in times past. For example, the first-ever female Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG Ivy Uche Okoronkwo narrowly missed the opportunity to become the first Inspector General of Police. She was customarily retired following the appointment of Mohammed Abubakar, her junior in rank as the inspector general of police in 2012 by the Goodluck Jonathan administration. However, things are beginning to look up for women in the country. The Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration is gradually changing this narrative, which has been reflected in the appointment of women into the sensitive office and reflected in the recent one in the Nigerian Police Force.

I had a conversation with Tunde Olusunle, Professor and mentor in creative writing recently about his thoughts on the appointment of AIG Rhoda Olofu as the Force Secretary. Little did I know that I was evoking memories. He was unequivocal in his assertion that she would hit the ground running in her characteristic manner. He went on to lecture me on his relationship with the couple. He said, “Their trajectory is very interesting! AIG Rhoda Olofu was a year behind me at the University of Ilorin and her husband AIG Tony Olofu was my NYSC mate in Owerri back in the days!”. He also shared an article he wrote about the couple. In the article, he wrote thus:

“I have a longstanding relationship with the latter couple, which is as intertwined as it is interesting. I first met Tony Adejoh Olofu, in August 1985, at the Alvan Ikoku College of Education, (AICE), Owerri, Imo State, which used to be the permanent orientation camp of the National Youth Service Corps, (NYSC), in our time. While Olofu was deployed to the same AICE for his primary assignment, I was posted to Imo State Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri. To this extent, we were both in the state capital and also in the same Community Development (CD) group. CD groups were constituted by the alphabetical arrangement of the names of NYSC members, which meant that Olofu was in the same group as “Olusunle.” To this extent, we rode in the same truck to the “NYSC Farm” located at Emekuku, on the outskirts of Owerri, every week, for our CD.

“We went our different ways upon the completion of the NYSC in 1986. In the absence of the kind of telecommunications technology we have today, we resorted to exchanging letters, sent through the Nigerian Postal Service, (NIPOST), to keep in touch. And somehow, many of those letters came through, even if they took a little while. I received one such letter from him sometime in mid-1993. By this time, I had been appointed Director of Information and Public Affairs in the administration of the late first civilian governor of Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu. Olofu was serving in one of the police formations in the country. I’m trying to remember some lines from that correspondence now: “… Should you receive this letter, it serves as your formal invitation to my wedding to your sister from Kogi State and I will appreciate your presence and company, please.”

“I got into perhaps the largest agbada possible on Saturday, July 22, 1993, and drove from my base in Lokoja to Okene for the event. Olofu sighted my grand costume from the high table where he was seated with other dignitaries, as I made my stately entry into the venue of the programme. He promptly directed one of the ushers to guide me to join special guests at the high table. As I exchanged pleasantries with the big people and the couple, I saw in the bride, a face I could remember very well from my alma mater, Unilorin.

“The bride was indeed my sister. Rhoda Adetutu Emmanuel, (her maiden name), was an alumnus of Unilorin where she studied political science. She graduated in 1986, a year after my generation of students. The newly wed Mrs. Rhoda Adetutu Olofu carried herself with requisite dignity and self-respect in school. Unmistakably pretty, she was a bit reserved and very selective of her friends and associates.” This was quite interesting. To date, they have remained friends and the story is an interesting one.

This is wishing AIG Rhoda Olofu the very best in her new position. There is no doubt that she would bring her experience to bear. I must also commend the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun for this milestone. Hoping that in the years ahead, more and more women will be given the opportunity to be counted among those who contributed to sustainable growth and development in the country.

Ocheja, a military historian and doctoral researcher, is an alumnus of the Nigerian Defence Academy.