TheCable

As far as I am concerned, the only evidence that the Adamu Mohammed, the current Inspector General (IG) of Police is working hard is—when Nigerians are no longer being killed like rams and goats and these shameless and senseless killings are happening every-day. In saner climes, it is productivity that determines whether public servants are working hard or not. A man may be portly and be productive and shrunken and be totally unproductive!

In the field of marketing, a marketer is said to be productive, only when he or she makes sales. Without making sales, he or she is not working hard, even if he treks everyday from Lagos to Daura and back to Lagos. No organization survives economically while resting on mere activities of its workers. If they are not being productive, the organization is going to go down and within the shortest time possible, it is going to be completely forgotten.

Also, no serious nation survives in every sphere of its national life, resting on the oars of unproductiveness of those who are in the corridors of power. Will President Buhari retain those who are taking care of his cows in Daura, if his cows are being killed and stolen daily, saying to him that they are working hard? The only proof to show they are working hard is when the cows are healthy and increasing in number. But in Nigeria, it is sad to say that the life of a cow is worth more than that of a human being.

A professor was kidnapped a few days ago and had to pay 5million naira before he could regain his freedom and our C-in-C said the man leading the Police force is working hard. If this is the newly embraced and approved definition of hard-work, then Nigeria is forever doomed. For the umpteenth time, for the IG to be truly hard at work, whether he is portly and chubby as Tafa Balogun or Skinny as Adamu, the ongoing pointless and meaningless killings and kidnappings must be brought to a standstill.

I am of the opinion that the current policing strategies being adopted by the Inspector General of Police cannot birth any meaningful progress in a context of protecting our precious citizens. A few days ago, I travelled by road to Oba Ile, Ondo State. Apart from the fact that the roads are dreadful, the Police Road Blocks (PRB) are too many, creating unnecessary traffic jam, making life more difficult for our priceless-people. Going by what I saw, even if we have 10million Police men, it would never be enough to protect our people. Other nations of the earth are using modern-day technology to protect their people. I wonder why we cannot reproduce and replicate same thing in Nigeria. If the current archaic policing-strategies are not changed, employing more people to join our Police Force is not going to solve the lingering problem of insecurity in the land.

Also, some months ago, I was at the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to renew my driver’s license and I had to explore the five year option, because of the madness I experienced at the place. What I saw at one of their operational bases in Lagos State made me to understand that Nigeria is deliberately built to fail. The process that is supposed to be made very painless and trouble-free, so that our people could renew their licenses without—sweating, spending more than necessary and wasting their precious time—is deliberately made terribly and horribly multifarious and cumbersome.

This is where I am coming: till this moment, no one knows where exactly the President of Nigeria was for ten (10) days and what he did in the United Kingdom for those days. Whatever Mr. Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu tell you on his trip to the UK is second-hand information, because they did not travel with him to the United Kingdom. Leaving that ugly development behind us, when the aircraft he took to the UK landed in Abuja, instead of going quietly to one of the waiting cars, taking him to the Aso Rock, because of the current spate of killing and kidnapping in the country, he was grandly welcomed back to Nigeria as if he was a guest. As far as I am concerned, that was gratuitous, superfluous and uncalled for!

As if that was not enough, before jumping into one of the waiting cars, a reporter asked Mr. President a very simple question, weaving it around what he is planning to do anew—to stop the ongoing killings and kidnappings in a nation that is being daily watered with the blood of innocent citizens. To which the President of Nigeria characteristically went off course, saying something totally different from the question that was asked. This is the question: “Are we likely to see a different approach in the fight against insecurity, especially kidnapping, which is a big issue now?” And this is the answer he gave, “You know, I have just seen the IG, he is…I think he is losing weight; so I think he is working very hard.” In other words, those who are chubby in the administration of PMB are not working hard. Isn’t this laughable?

Buhari’s comical-response reminds me of a man, who was under the weather—who was at a pool, having five (5) porches in Jerusalem in the days of the Bible. The answer he gave was quite different from the question he was asked by Jesus. The question is; how do you trust a leader—who is not a good listener to solve national problems? And how do you trust a leader—who is clearly not empathic? Remember, effective leaders are both empathic and keen listeners and it is obvious that PMB is bereft of these core leadership qualities.

Dancing and playing around the latest definition of being hard-work, it is safe to say that everyone—who is not losing weight in the administration of PMB is not working hard. And the truth be told, Muhammadu Buhari himself is not losing weight. In a context of his latest definition, it is also safe to say that our C-in-C is lethargic and languid!