IGP SULEIMAN ABBA'S SACK, TOO LITTLE TOO LATE?

Icheoku says the sacking of the IGP Suleiman Abba is  too little too late since he has already mission accomplished his assignment in helping enthrone a Miyetti Allah's anointed candidate, president; a group's membership which the now former IGP similarly enjoys. Icheoku asks what took the president so long or was it the same indecisiveness that hounded his presidency throughout office and which eventually helped shove him out of office that caused the delay? Why did the president not sack the IGP when it would have mattered most, pre-election, than this post-election fire brigade approach that cannot do much to salvage an already unsalvageable presidency. The deed was already done and the genie of a lost election cannot be put back in the bottle or made whole again, not even by thousands of such firings. 

The IGP played his assigned role and today President Jonathan is on the threshold of vacating Aso Rock with President-elect Muhammadu Buhari ready to move in, so what use then is this useless sacking of the IGP now that it is indeed absolutely needless and useless and of no consequentially value? Icheoku says so what if the IGP is fired - he was an IGP now retired with full pension and benefit.  An appreciative President Muhammadu Buhari will certainly compensate him with a juicy appointment for his role in helping bring about his presidency, regardless. So query why  act now, belatedly and so late in both time and usefulness? Why create a cloud of suspicion of retribution against the IGP for not "playing ball" during the elections? Icheoku is certain that many Nigerians would be wondering what is it that cannot wait in the police force for the incoming president to address that a new IGP has to be foist now with just few weeks to an incoming administration? Except there is some damaging and threatening security report against the former IGP which the administration is not disclosing just yet, the sudden termination of IGP Suleiman Abba is rather fishy and smells of a pay back, which no decent Nigerian should support nor appreciate. 

But in absence of such smoking gun report, the decision is simply mediocre and not an executive-like; which latches on to the other point which many Nigerians had against this presidency - the indecisiveness and quisling-like decision making process of the administration whenever they make one. Therefore it will be a nice move for the president, out of office, to proceed to a business school to take a course on how to be and act like a CEO, because many of his decisions while in office lacked that executive finesse and goal-targeted objective that informs decisions.  Icheoku says no chief executive officer makes or should ever make any decision on sentiments alone, without any anticipated and intended benefit derivable therefrom. If a president is appointing a new IGP at this hour of his soon to lapse presidency, what tasks does he want the new man to help him accomplish int he police force within such a very short window? If the president wants to fire a sitting IGP at this time, what would his firing now suddenly confer on his outgoing presidency? But only Jonathan can answer to these questions, but it smacks of a very poorly articulated decision making, to say the least. 

The worst part of the calculus of the present appointment is that now both the Inspector General of Police and the Chief of Army Staff are from the same president's South-south region? Icheoku wonders what type of message of crass cronyism and nepotism is the president sending to Nigerians and at this dying hour of his outbound administration. If a new Inspector General of Police must be appointed at this hour, with just few weeks to the end of his presidency, must the new IGP also come from the same geographical zone as the president as well as the COAS? Why not appoint an IGO from the Southeast which fervently supported his aborted second term bid to at least thank them and reward them for all their sacrifice. However, Icheoku refuses to read any further ulterior motive into this sudden spring-surprise, regarding possible plans of reneging on his acceptance of defeat in the just concluded election; with now his man-friday IGP in charge, who will help quell any breakdown of law and order such his action might festoon on the land. 

Icheoku says many observers of the just concluded election agree that at least the now gone IGP Abba maintained a reasonable security throughout the country, such that there was no major noticeable or serious breakdown of law and order, either before, during and after the elections; and therefore he should rather be commended for a job well done than condemned with a sack. Icheoku also refuses to buy into MURIC's allegation that the president is "strengthening his position" with the sudden appointment of a new IGP and might dig in and refuse to vacate office? Icheoku restates that the president cannot afford to carry the full weight of an anticipating world that will descend on him, a world which have already congratulated him for his sportsmanship in conceding the election and waiting for his exit. It is rather too risky a risk and a risk not worth the presidency of Nigeria and President Jonathan is too smart to tempt his fate in this bizarre manner. 

But if he chooses otherwise and attempts such fate with such a stupid bravado, he will suffer the fate of Panama's President Noriega as US Marines will be parachuting into Aso Rock to capture him for trial and imprisonment in a US prison or waste him if that becomes inevitably necessary. Icheoku is confident that a still much young President Jonathan will find this option very unpalatable a dish to taste and will stick by his words in honor of his newly earned status as world's statesman and hand over as expected. So, what drove this sudden decision to fire IGP Suleiman Abbas and in his place appoint Edo State born IGP Solomon Arase; especially in view of the fact that the now gone IGP's retirement due date is not until March 2019? Until the presidency fully discloses its reason for the sudden decision, Icheoku alongside millions of other Nigerians will continue to express surprise while urging the government to come clean and let Nigerians into the window of their rational for the sudden decision to fire IGP Abba. In the meantime, Icheoku congratulates the new IGP Arase and prays he can build on whatever successes his predecessor recorded during his short stint as head of the Nigerian police force.