What Obasanjo Said About The Nigerian Police

The former president of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo has stated that the Nigerian police force remains the most maligned and unappreciated government agency in the country.

Obasanjo said this yesterday, November 18, while playing host to the nation’s police boss, the inspector general of police (IGP), Solomom Arase, and other top officers of the police at his Presidential Hilltop home, Abeokuta.

He added that, even as the police remained the first point of call for assistance when people experience security breaches or challenges, this reality still has not whittled down some of the negative feelings of Nigerians towards the force.

Obasanjo urged the nation’s police boss to see the unappreciative attitude of Nigerians to the force as a challenge, and work towards addressing it by flushing out the ‘bad eggs’ among them, which often draw negative perceptions to the police.

The ex-president said for the force to become more effective and efficient in policing the country, it
requires quality information and intelligence-gathering as well as the assistance of the public.

Earlier, Arase told his host that he and his team were in Ogun state among other things to assess the level of preparedness of the force regarding providing adequate security for people’s property during the burial of late Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo set for next Wednesday, November 25 in Ikenne, Ogun state.

Arase, who also visited Governor Ibikunle Amosun in his office, explained that the police will deploy surveillance helicopters for the burial of the late matriarch.

According to him, the ambience of the burial ceremony must be one that befits the late HID Awolowo.

However, he revealed that he will be in the state for the next 48 hours in order to rub minds with the police authority in Ogun state towards ensuring a hitch free ceremony.