I think Senator Isah Hamman Misau, representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District, is an emotionally troubled person, an attention seeker that battles against low self-esteem and psychological trauma of the past. The man, a controversial narrative of all forms of democratic norms, seems to be an erratic, hysterical and insecure member of the parliament that reacts on brazen impulses, thus an embarrassment to the exalted office of the Senate.
When a man is drowning, the natural tendency is to clutch to any grass or even a snake closest to him to remain afloat. It is therefore not surprising that Misau, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Navy, is making history for the wrong reasons by going berserk, hurling stones in different directions in a glass house he lives in.
As one of the “man Fridays” of the Senate that contributes to the stinking of the Red Carpet chambers, Misau has crossed the red lines of decorum and propriety by descending into the gutters, his obvious place of abode, to viciously attack the person of the Inspector-General of Police, Idris Kpotun Ibrahim.
For the purpose of records, let me declare that I have never known the IGP and have not met him except on the pages of the newspapers or television to warrant this dispassionate attempt to defend an harmless and defenceless Nigerian.
In what many scholars and political analysis describe as legislative rascality, Senator Misau, in a self-serving and myopic worldview, did hide behind his fingers to throw ceaseless punches and misguided missiles to an institution that placed food on his greedy and ravenous table.
Rising through order 43 of the Senate, Misau, a former junior police officer with inconsequential record of service except enjoying the spoils of office as Aide-de-camp to several top ranking political office holders, took the IGP to the cleaners, delving into unconventional personal attacks that defer logic in any democratic setting.
To situate and contextualize the issues raised, the senator, variably seen as a flat footed democrat in an explosive mood of anger that fails to comply with any parameter of parliamentary practice, did not only accuse Idris of corruption but went personal to attack his marital status.
A poser for consideration is: when has the Senate descended this low, inarguably to the bottomless pit of infamy, where political rascals could hide under the cover of the Red Carpet to drag a hard earned reputation to the mud?
Standing on the aforementioned order, the Senator, in a rare display of emotionally laden fury and in total disconnect between his past and oppressive present, told the Senate that police had labelled him a “deserter” from the force because he revealed corruption activities under the current Inspector General of Police.
To show the level of debate on issues on the floor, which seems to have lost focus and direction, and one that gradually moves from the sublime to the ridiculous, the senator, who enjoys the protection of the establishment as an inner member of the cabal, went ahead to throw decorum to the dogs by accusing Idris of extra-marital affairs with a lady, who, according to him, the IGP eventually married secretly in Kaduna.
At this point, watching helplessly on the television, I expected a point of order from the well informed senators in the chamber on this frivolous and unsubstantiated accusation, but alas, none came.
Just like a bull in a China shop, the senator left no one with discerning mind that he is on a voyage of mischief and disgusting blackmail to score nauseating political point against a helpless citizen, I was therefore left with no other conclusion but to suspect a carefully planned hatchet job, hurriedly done to bring to ridicule and blackmail some reputable members of the Buhari administration.
The IGP as a Muslim is at liberty to marry more than one wife and for a senator to raise such trivialities to statecraft, all with the intent of blackmail, is to say the least unfortunate. After all, who told the Senate that President Muhammadu Buhari appointed an IGP that is impotent or a eunuch to head the most vibrant police force in Sub-Saharan Africa?
From all inflamed passion, which the professional coupon clipper and rabble-rouser exhibited, I fail to understand why other senators, especially the Shariah exponents, have not raised a point of order on Islamic view point on marriage, which Misau was desperately dragging in the mud. Instead, he was left like loose cannon to undertake a voyage of uncertainty into a senseless but highly avoidable conflict. I completely submit to the dictates of Edmund Burke, political theorist, philosopher and a member of the British parliament, who was generously quoted as saying: “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing.”
I personally know Misau’s father who later retired as an Assistant Inspector-General of Police way back to late 80s and early 90s in Mubi, Adamawa State, where he served the Nigeria Police. Senator Misau’s father, who become his role model in joining the police, was a polygamist “officer and a gentleman” that had strings of women.
Not done with personal attacks, the senator became a devil’s advocate as he accused the IGP of bribery, corruption and gross misconduct, adding that the high level of corruption under the watch of Idris was responsible for the increasing cases of corruption in the country.
He submitted that the police is a non-profit generating organization, but there were instances where officers were posted to oil companies, multinational organisations and banks for fees. The IGP, he said, never remits those monies into the Federation Account.
He said: “Oil companies, banks and individuals pay money for police security. This is why you see people with dubious characters with siren in the country. We have one policeman to 800 persons but you see an oil marketer with 30 policemen.”
He also accused the IGP of promoting his boys and cronies as well as those with the financial muscle to pay between N500,000 to N2.5 million to get promoted.
Many observers of the Circus show of Misau are of the opinion that his submission, which is filled with inconsistencies, bad grammar and outright falsehood, cannot be substantiated if tested under the minimum crucible of judicial process.
In both content and character, I see the Senate being used as a rubber stamp to settle personal scores on the altar of dubious puritanical rascality that caves into gratuitous insult on the collective minds and psyche of the ordinary Nigerian.
Misau is noted for his historical antecedence to controversy and legendary rebellion against constituted authority. Just last year, he was an active member of a cabal in the Senate that rained ceaseless attacks on the Buhari administration. While on a visit to his senatorial district, his constituents nearly killed him with stones and sticks in his village for his infamous role in opposing Buhari. He was chased out of the town like a common criminal when the youths in their hundreds hurled torrents of stones and other dangerous missiles at his car only to escape the jungle justice by a hair’s breath.
The Senate seems to be drifting to a level where mediocrity and iniquity rule as glorified touts with malicious intent are allowed enviable latitude to dispense reckless statements and irresponsible conducts to the consternation of respected members of the public.
Idris was not at the plenary of the Senate to defend himself against such wild allegations, obviously obnoxious intent to advance blackmail and demagoguery to a respected institution he leads. And the Senate was not fair to him for constituting a panel headed by the Deputy Chief Whip, Francis Alimikhena, to investigate an issue raised by their colleague. How can the Senate be the prosecutor and the judge in a serious matter of this magnitude? No one will expect justice in a case generally observed as premeditated and ill-conceived to find the accused guilty at all cost. If the Senate is sincere and transparent in its dealings, it should set up an independent panel with membership drawn outside the Red Chambers so as to allow free, fair and dispassionate latitude to all parties present their cases.
Assuming, without conceding to the fact that the IGP approves the deployment of police personnel to protect multi-nationals, oil companies and Banks, could any responsible person agree with Misau’s submission that Idris pockets N10 billion monthly from such transactions? How could such colossal amount be getting into the accounts of the IGP without sister security agencies knowing? Can Misau in all honesty avail Nigerians with the account details of the accused to substantiate his predatory allegations?
With the police institution’s inability to secure up to 50 per cent of its total budget in a year, how do the officers get their duty allowances, fuel their patrol vehicles and other administrative charges to face the challenges before it? The poser to ask is: could it be a crime if such institutions that rake in billions of Naira in its commercial activities help the police in undertaking its social responsibilities of maintaining law and order?
To say that I don’t have serious respect for Idris is to beg the question, bearing in mind that he flaunts a rich curriculum vitae of exceptional gallantry, compassion, diligence and tenacity, acute knowledge of the profession and courageous conviction on set objectives to move the force to the next level.
It is curious to note that while growing up with his policemen father, Misau never saw anything wrong with policing as a profession, as his father must have done exactly what he is accusing other officers of doing. As ADC to three Ministers of the FCT, the senator, who enjoyed all the perks and “spoils” of office without performing hard duties of confronting criminals and criminality, has just woken up from his slumber to unfairly and unjustifiably accuse his professional seniors of corruption.
The senator did not also see anything wrong with the activities of the ministers he worked with, most of whom are presently answering questions before Ibrahim Magu of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
If Misau was such a saint as he claims, he should have come up with allegation of corruption against the police while his father was in service or better still as ADC to successive Ministers of the FCT.
Although Senator Misau’s treatise has elicited mixed reaction from many Nigerians, in my opinion, he should have directed meaningful energy towards clearing his name as a “deserter” that left the force in controversial circumstances. The police authorities alleged that the former Deputy Superintendent of Police, now a Senator, failed to report to duty since September 24, 2010 after he was redeployed to Niger State Police command.
The lawmaker was also accused of tendering a forged resignation letter to the public and paraded himself as a Deputy Commissioner of Police in addition to engaging in partisan politics and contesting elections while deemed to be serving police officer.
Records available to me indicate that since his appointment and assumption of office, the IGP has raised the bar of modern policing as he transformed the force to be socially viable, morally vibrant, psychologically stable, scientifically adjusted and professionally competent to meet the challenges of the new democratic order.
Since then, the police-community relations have greatly improved, while crime and criminality is promptly checkmated to allow Nigerians sleep with their two eyes closed.
The police have made remarkable achievements in fighting crimes under Idris as scores of armed robbers and notorious kidnappers that use to terrorize people, particularly in Owerri, Lagos and those along Kaduna-Abuja highways, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara forests were mostly mopped up in successful operations.
It is also to his credit that road blocks that formed a clog in the wheel of progress on our highways are gradually disappearing, while officers and men are seen happy over the prompt payment of their salaries and allowances and other entitlements to boost the morale of rank and file and officers.
An officer confided in me that never in the history of the Nigerian Police did they get an IGP that is humble, amiable, approachable and people oriented like Inspector-General Ibrahim Idris.
. Modibbo writes from Area 2, Garki, Abuja and can be reached via Ibrahimmodibbo60@gmail.com.