By 
By Braxton Ilobah
The newly appointed Acting Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, assumed duty on Wednesday even as a cross section of Nigerians feel disenchanted for certain reasons.
The new IGP has though promised to faithfully serve Nigeria and humanity during his tenure as the 21st indigenous Inspector General of Police, yet some Nigerians who spoke to SECURITY REPORTERS.com on the basis of anonymity were not enthused by whatever posturing the new police boss has come with.
The fact that Usman Baba’s appointment by President Buhari defied the agitation for regional balance in the appointment of top security chiefs is considered by them as a further concretization of the northern agenda under Buhari.
The National Publicity Secretary of Ohaneze Ndigbo Chief Alex Ogbonna soon after the announcement of Baba as new IGP on Tuesday; had in an interview condemned the appointment even though the Minister of Police Affairs Maigari Dingyari contended that Baba was the most qualified among those screened for the top job.
The statement reportedly made by Ohaneze’s Director of Publicity had posited that such lopsided appointment was responsible for the insecurity in the country.
However, the widely reported statement was dismissed in another statement by the General Assembly of Ohaneze which reaffirmed its support for the Buhari administration in a statement by Ohaneze’s Director General of Strategic Planning and Implementation; Ambassador Obizoba Chiemelu Tony and not opposed to whoever the President has chosen to appoint.
Some others who spoke to SECURITY REPORTERS.com were not really bothered about the tribe of the new IGP but disturbed by the usual misgovernance and corruption that have often constrained the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force from achieving its statutory functions successfully.
They argued that if the new IGP must succeed beyond the level of his predecessors in office, the President should ensure that budgetary allocations to the police are fully released and diligently monitored for accountability.
Some of the interviewees who are ex-servicemen would also want the new IGP to ensure that posting of his men should take cognisance of individual capabilities of officers and men and not based on certain mundane considerations which largely contributed to the failure of his predecessors in the fight against insecurity.
There is the feeling that some past IGPs including the immediate past one Mohammed Abubakar Adamu was not truly nationalistic in their fight against insecurity in the country. They were said to be selective in certain circumstances particularly in handling cases relating to the Fulani herdsmen rampage in the Southern part of the country.
They have therefore advised that for the new IGP to make a difference, he should see himself truly as Inspector General of Nigeria Police Force and not the IGP of a sectional Police Force.
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