4. Abba Kyari: The Revolutionary Security Agent
The Police is another public institution with a terrible image. The average policemen are seen as folks who, for the sake of making a quick buck, could joyfully sell their best friends down the river. While this image is largely exaggerated in many cases, it is a fact that high and low ranking police officers have been caught collaborating with armed robbers; one of them was not only caught, tried, convicted but was also publicly executed for the crimes of supplying weapons and protecting robbery suspects. The stories of police corruption must, however, factor cases of shining stars who make the Force proud, policemen with conscience such as a certain Julius Adedeji who was honoured by the BBC as the “Nigerian Policeman who has never accepted a bribe.”
The primary responsibility of the Nigeria Police is enforcement of law and order, ensuring that Nigerians are shielded from various crimes and criminalities that every society grapple with. Of all the crimes that the police deal with, violent crimes (kidnapping and banditry in particular) not only seize the public imagination but also excite mass hysteria. Abba Kyari is a policeman who, since he enlisted, has set himself a personal target to stop violent crimes, especially armed robbery, wherever he is posted. He has become something of a folk hero in the media people for his heroic acts of bravery on behalf of those threatened with violent crimes.
Abba Kyari is a revolutionary champion public servant and humanist, an icon of empathy, proactiveness, innovation and courage, and a true warrior of a new national integrity movement (NIM) – as I see it.
Next: The Humanist as a Businessman
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