– Promises highest possible level of professional and responsive leadership_
The Acting Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Usman Alkali Baba has expressed confidence in his capacity to advance the internal security vision of President Muhammadu Buhari, saying that his appointment as the country’s new Police Force Chief, to him, is more than a fulfilment of destiny.
The new IGP stated this in his address during the handing over ceremony held today, 7th April, at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
“Being appointed to head the largest Police Force in Africa, both in terms of personnel profile and operational jurisdiction is to me, more than a fulfilment of destiny. It is a call to national duty, particularly, at this critical time that our nation is experiencing increasingly complex and pervasive security threats occasioned by terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, secessionist agitation and sundry highly organized crimes,” he said.
Alkali Baba said that in the face of the daunting challenge of leading the Force to address these threats in the shortest possible time frame, restoring security order, and returning the nation to the path of national unity, he draws inspiration from his extensive years of service, and the fact that the Nigeria Police is endowed with some of the finest, courageous and patriotic officers on whom he can rely for support to advance the nation’s internal security structure.
While the new Police Chief promised to provide the highest possible level of professional and responsive leadership as the IGP to meet the deserved aspirations of the Nigeria Police Force, he equally called on the citizens to change their mindsets and be prepared to work with them in the interest of community safety and national security.
The new IGP expressed his delight and confidence at the knowledge that the outgoing Inspector General of Police has laid a solid foundation and entrenched a culture of professional efficiency in the Force, which he said will stimulate him in his capacity as the new Acting Inspector General of Police, “to strengthen our strategies and provide the requisite leadership that will change the narratives in relation to our operational approach to the current security threats.”
Baba, full of praises for the outgoing IGP, Abubakar Adamu, celebrated him as one of the greatest policing icons, while also appreciating his laudable contributions to the Nigeria Police Force.
Speaking on the task of restoring the primacy of the Nigeria Police in the internal security architecture of the country as the main challenge ahead of them, Alkali Baba said, “It is, however, a task that I am convinced we can surmount if we resolve as a people to partner and present a common front against the subversive and criminal elements who are the common enemies of our nation.
“I am mindful of the yearnings of Nigerians for a policing system that will not only assure them of their safety, but treat them with civility and hold their human rights sacred. I promise to provide the highest possible level of professional and responsive leadership to meet this deserved aspiration,” he stated.
He also expressed appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari, for considering him worthy of the appointment, and called on Nigerian police to continue to support him with prayers so that the journey being embarked upon together leads them to the desired destination.
