Akwa Ibom Is A Peaceful State – FPRO Adejobi

INTERVIEW:

Muyiwa Adejobi, a Chief Superintendent of Police is the Force Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Police Force. Recently, he was in Akwa Ibom State where he attended the second edition of Police Conference Retreat and in an interview with the Crime Reporter, Solomon OKPO, he debunked the popular belief by Nigerians that there is insecurity in the country, saying that what we have is unpatrotism. The FPRO also spoke on other issues of national interest as recorded in this interview. Excerpts:

Sir, how do you access Akwa Ibom?

This is not my first time here, I was here for the second edition of Police Conference Retreat. I can move freely here without escorts, and it’s an indication that this place is excellent and superb. So I love Akwa Ibom State.

As the Force Public Relations Officer, how do you rate the PPRO, SP Odiko Macdon, in Akwa Ibom State, at the national level, Abuja, and in Nigeria?

Of course he’s not a young practitioner, so how do you want me to rate somebody who should be a model to others, a teacher and a guide to the young ones
I have more than 98 PROs under me, and most of them are very young, four stars, two stars, and I have some inspectors that have interest in the Public Relations Unit, so with this, I can call him an elder, the public relations officer of the police.

So he’s one of those who give our young ones advice, teaching them, and guiding them on what to do. So I shouldn’t be on this hot seat to judge him. Normally, by his status, his level of experience in the department, I would say he is doing well. For him to still be here, it shows that he’s performing.

We’ve seen up there that the problem is insecurity. What can you tell us?

There is no act of insecurity in Nigeria. Even when I speak at international levels, I always say it, but we have the challenge of unpatriotism. It is not an act of insecurity if a sibling is killing his brother, if a particular ethnic group rises against excellence. It’s not an act of insecurity if people are angry with the state or with the government.

I don’t know the rationale behind it. Personally, as a student of History, student of Political Science, Conflict Management, Security, and I am an authority in this field, I’ll say, and I can still say that we don’t have any act of insecurity in Nigeria. Rather we have exhibitions of selfishness, and that is what is affecting us. Remove all these, and there will be no issues, and we will not have problems in Nigeria.
No foreigner is coming to attack any Nigerian.

Those attacking one another in Nigeria, they are from this same country and continent. We don’t separate any country in the African continent from one another because we share so many things like culture, colour, etc. So if anybody is coming from a neighbouring country to attack Nigeria, he is attacking his siblings as per culture, history, geographical location. So we should continue to live as Africans, we are one, and there is no need for us to say we want to bring down this country, or exhibit any act of non-patriotism in Nigeria.

Let us delve into politics a little. You have seen that the Muslim -Muslim ticket has caused a lot of uproar in the politics of today. In your own opinion, do you think that this will stabilize the country or it will cause a futher uproar in the political scenario of Nigeria?

I am a police officer, and I speak for my police. I understand policing, and I know everything about policing. Everything running in my brain and system is policing. So politicians are having their time, everything running in their system is politics. So let everybody mind his/her business. I speak for the police, I understand policing, and I don’t understand politics.

We are enjoying happy hours and you’re here from Abuja. Are you telling us that this will be sustained?

I want you to know that mercy is part of the tradition of the police, it is a tradition we hold so tight and it must not die. I’m so happy that we are having this in Akwa Ibom State. During the leadership of the Akwa Ibom State CP Olatoye Durosinmi, that we went for groundbreaking of another project, I have seen about three to four projects he has done, and it shows that he knows his onions. I have been in PR line for more than 14 years before I became the Force PRO. So PRO is part of me, and as a PRO, you don’t think I will not be in support of an event like this.

This is another avenue and one of the pillars of community policing, and our ability to get close to the grassroot for Nigerians to know that we are actually human beings, a complete homosapiens, and not a spirit, not _ojuju _ Calabar. So we are human beings like other people. So they should relate with us and move close to us. Everybody in the Nigeria Police Force is a citizen of this country, so we are part of you, part of the system.

Think of police, think of Nigeria, think of Akwa Ibom, like I said earlier on that I move freely in Akwa Ibom without escort is an indication that this place is peaceful. As a police, you know I have kidnapping value, so for me to move freely in Akwa Ibom is to show that on regular basis, I have situation report from Akwa Ibom that is okay, and I’m still going with some people now to assess Akwa Ibom State, to enjoy the ambience of this city.

Can we know you better?
My name is Muyiwa Adejobi, I am the Force Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police Force. I speak for the public, I speak for the Police, and I manage the image of the force.