By Chuks Eke
It was a gathering of eminent personalities and senior police officers over the weekend at the Zone 13 Police Zonal Headquarters, Ukpo, in Anambra State, as the newly promoted Deputy Inspector-General of Police, DIG Abayomi Peter Oladipo, pulled out on meritorious retirement from the Police Force.
The ceremony which was attended by senior police officers, including the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, AIG in charge of Police College, Oji River, Emmanuel Simon Brete who was represented at the event by the Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commandant of the College, CP Uduak Otuita; Commissioners of Police from Anambra, Enugu and Delta states: Onitsha Police Area Commander, ACP Temitope Fasugba; the leader of Yoruba Community in Awka, Oba Razak Olahan, Police Officers Wives Association, POWA, the Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps, Corps Commander Bridget Asekhauno, among others.
In his retirement remarks/farewell speech, Oladipo, who was recently promoted to DIG from the rank of AIG, shortly before his retirement, charged officers and men still in active service to see the public they serve as their responsibility.
Oladipo noted that since policing is not a call to wealth but a call to serve, it behoves the serving officers to offer their best according to the police act, adding that if any serving officer seeks comfort above duty, he or she might end up finding none.
According to the DIG, “the essence of seeing the people you serve as your responsibility is because they are the reason you wear the uniform and as such you are under obligation to serve with dignity as a public servant and not a public slave”.
He reminded them that they will always face a choice either to be driven by immediate gain or by enduring honour, even as he insisted that, by choosing carefully, one will satisfy their present, while the other will define their future.
“Build institutions. Do the job the way it ought to be done. Let professionalism and justice guide you, even when personal interest tries to lead. Stand firmly against crime and illegality. The wrong you ignore today may find its way back tomorrow closer than you expect”, said Oladipo.
In their separate accolades, CP Otuita, Oba Olahan, Corps Commander Asekhauno and ACP Fasugba felicitated the retiring Oladipo for his meritorious services to the force and his perseverance to reach the pinnacle of his career, saying that it is the wish of every serving public servant to attain such a level and pull out of service peacefully.
