President Yar'Adua Steady And Systematic Progress - Nigeria First

Posted to the web 8 December 2007

Olusegun Adeniyi

In the course of a dinner at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala , Uganda two weeks ago, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua had a long conversation with the British Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown. It was during the session that Mr. Brown asked President Yar'Adua what the immediate priorities of his administration are and in what capacity Britain could help.

President Yar'Adua said he had always been fascinated by the British justice system in which investigations into crimes continue even decades after they occur such that regardless of the passage of time, culprits could still be brought to justice. He said the efficiency of the UK police is a standard to which our nation aspires and that, as he seeks to reform the Nigerian Police, he would specifically request assistance from Britain in that direction, especially with regards to logistics, training and finance. This is indeed in tandem with the President's philosophy and explains why he recently directed the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, to re-open all unresolved criminal cases, especially those relating to assassinations, and ensure that investigations continue until there are breakthroughs.

The attraction for crime, in our country, according to the President, is due in part to the fact that investigations are rarely ever concluded, and culprits are most often, never found by the security agencies, even in high-profile cases like assassination of prominent people in the society.

It was the outcome of this discussion with the British Prime Minister who pledged the assistance of his government that the President narrated at the meeting with the Internal Affairs minister, Major-General Godwin Abbe (rtd.) and the IGP where he called for a committee to harmonise the many existing reports on the reform of the Police.

The plan is to come up with a coherent and practical programme of action with specific timelines while mapping out areas where the assistance of the UK authorities will be needed in the implementation of the reform process.

That was what transpired at the meeting, which the Minister recounted in his media briefing. But perhaps to give effect to the cynical journalism axiom of not allowing the facts to get in the way of a good story, what we now read in a section of the media is that the President has decided to surrender the Police to the British Government with scathing editorials and commentaries that fly in the face of objective reality. Full Story