FORMER Provost Marshal of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General Don Idada Ikponmwen (retd.), has lashed out at the Inspector General of Police, IGP, over his declaration that ”laundering” or “re-branding” the image of the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, would make it efficient, saying the police boss shockingly underestimated the problem at hand.
Reacting to IGP’s comment at the recent Police Public Relations Officers (PPROs) Conference at Agulu, Anambra State, thus, ‘It is the realization of the bad image of the NPF that informed the decision of my administration to embark on image laundering activities to re position the Nigeria Police force.’
And IGP’s further remarks through his representative, Assistant Inpector General of Police, AIG, Baba Tijani, to wit, ‘Unarguably, certain indiscretion and perceived inaction by some personnel of the force as well as the security challenges in some parts of the country impact negatively on the image of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF).’ As well as his charge to the PPROs, ‘I urge the NPF image makers to do everything humanly possible to correct the situation.’
The retired army officer officer and attorney said the IGP’s comprehension of the meaning of laundering was faulty, as it means false presentation and whitewashing, positing. “The IGP should, therefore, discard the idea of “laundering the image of NPF altogether, because it portrays negative meaning to the public. Indeed no amount of re-branding would be sufficient to transform the NPF as it is today into a worthy asset for efficient national security management.”
He stated, “The approach of ‘laundering’ as a measure for correcting the anomalies in the NPF must be jettisoned because no amount of re-laundering will solve the core issues militating against the efficiency of the Force. Our view is that the questions of orientation, training, equipment, motivation, patriotism, manpower and adequate funding being very crucial should have been mentioned in the important Agulu Conference.”
