Agenda For Rivers New CP

About a forthnight ago, Mr Zaki Mohammed Ahmed took over the reins of office from the late Francis Mobolaji Odesanya as the 38th  Commissioner of Police in Rivers State.
Mr Ahmed who joined the Nigerian Police Force in 1988 as a Cadet Officer was, until this latest posting, the commissioner of police in Bauchi State. He had also served meritoriously in other capacities including that of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations at the Rivers State command.
In Ahmed, The Tide sees an officer with the requisite training  and experience to function effectively  and succeed in the task of ensuring security of lives and property against criminals in any given society, including  Rivers State if given the leverage and the tools to work.
As one who had served in the state as DCP Operations, it is easy to guess that his posting may have been partially influenced by the fact that he already has a practical knowledge of the terrain and crime profile of the state.
However, there is  no gainsaying the fact that so much has changed in the state between the 2015 general elections and now. Politics, no doubt, has taken a huge toll and introduced different dimensions that may have grave implications for the maintenance of law in the state by the police itself.
Nothing better illustrates the political dimension in the policing of the state other than the  fact that the new CP is about the seventh in less than two years to be posted to Rivers State. While we do not contest the powers of routine movement of officers and men by the police authorities, it can not be contradicted that incessant and indiscriminate change of officers does not help the security operations in the state.
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike specifically alluded to this when he accused the police of forming alliance with a political party and pursuing a political agenda to the detriment of the security of lives and property in the state.
Speaking while receiving the new CP in his office last week, Governor Wike did not  mince words when he said that the police in the state did not give necessary support and assistance to the government in its efforts at curbing crime and criminality through its amnesty propgramme that included the retrieval of illegal arms and ammunition from cultists and other criminal gangs. The governor decried the obvious politicisation of police operations in the state and asked for a change of heart from the authorities, not only in the interest of the security of lives and property of the people, but also that of the safety of critical national infrastructure in the state.
We cannot agree any less with the governor but to lend our voice with his in calling on the police hierarchy in the country to be apolitical in keeping with their constitutional role of maintaining law and order without fear or favour.
The Rivers State Government, under the leadership of Chief Nyesom Wike has, without a doubt, performed creditably in its mandate to provide a safe and secure environment for social and economic activities to thrive in the state. The success of the amnesty programme is a case in point.
To this end also, the governor has, in his less than two years in office, donated more than 150 patrol vehicles to the police beside other operational facilities and incentives. And in realization of the critical role of the police, the governor has promised not to relent but to do more.
It is against this backdrop that The Tide urges the new CP to take off from, even as we hope that the police authorities will allow him time to do his job.
Inspite of the widely acclaimed success of the state government’s amnesty programme, there is no doubt that cultism, kidnapping, armed  robbery, vandalisation of oil facilities and illegal refining of oil and sundry crimes have not been completely eliminated. This is where we expect the new CP to work hand in hand with the state government to engage these criminals head on and make the state safer and more secure place that is conducive for economic prosperity and social harmony.
We are encouraged that   the issues at stake seem not to be lost on Mr Ahmed himself as he has pledged, even without prompting, that he will remain neutral and highly professional in the discharge of his duties.
In his maiden press briefing in Port Harcourt the police boss gave the assurance that he will refuse to be dragged into politics and political manipulations but will strictly discharge his constitutional duties professionally to the best of his ability. He also sounded a note of warning to criminals to turn a new leaf or be prepared to be driven out of business in the state. He reiterated the same resolve during his courtesy visit to the governor.
While The Tide congratulates and welcomes CP Zaki Mohammed Ahmed to Rivers State, we wish to remind him that the people of Rivers State will not judge him and his stewardship as CP by what he has said but by  his performance,  the difference he makes in the security of their lives and property and the changes he effects in the conduct of his men and officers in their relations with the public.